So this is what I got when I bolted it on
this is the bonnet just with pivot bolts in and laying on car. Sides seem to spread a little from the sills and sill to bonnet gap side vs side is different.
This is with the balance hinges not connected.
Where to go from here?
First thing you might try: open the bonnet, and loosen the bridging brackets, at the back upper sides of the wing/bonnet interface, then gently pad and wrap a ratcheting strap around the whole rear of the bonnet, cinch it up, tighten the brackets, then see how it fits.
These things have 7.5 degrees of freedom!
Did this bonnet come with the car?, did it fit well before?
came with the car. Fit ok. Was taken apart repaired by pro who test fit it. It was then stored upright in garage for about 17 yrs while life got in the way. And here we are today.
I have now put it on with the same shims and locations that it previously had. It’s not horizontal at the sills, the gap to the firewall is almost ok.
should I be trying to do this with the rubber seal on?
I disconnected the balance brackets and it improved a bit
As Paul said, you can work with the width. Your opposing sill gaps pose a significant problem. Install your latch pins, and adjust to fit your cowl/ scuttle. Then start shimming. I think your bonnet may be twisted by the look of your opposed sill extension gaps.
Has there been work done to the sills that they may be dropping away from the bonnet?
Tom
Doesn’t matter: the bonnet will be open whilst cinching it in.
Then, release/close/check fit/ repeat/say bad words/ jiggle, shove, shim/say more bad words.
Having the landing strip on is a good idea.
The original sill were piece patched using sections of an SNG new sill. The battery area on the left was repaired and the right rear of the sill was repaired. The main sections of the sills are original, believe it or not
Hello Bill,
Use a long straight edge lined up with the top line of the sill below the door, with the straight edge projecting forward to just past the front end of the sill. The top line of the sill below the bottom edge of the bonnet should be a continuation of the top line of the sill below the door.
I suspect that the bonnet was a rubbish fit by the pro, as the fit of the bonnet doesn’t change sitting in storage upright on its end.
Regards,
Bill
Bill, this is a method I used to fit a new factory bonnet to my car, that had never been fit before. Try this, it will eliminate the easy stuff. A good passenger sill gap should be doable. Your drivers side should improve as you adjust out your passenger side. Hopefully your bodyman did his work with the bonnet in place. Almost impossible to get sills and bonnet correct separately.
This method is what used after squaring my scuttle edge, which you have done.
1)Carefully, tape up your perimeter with a double stack of blue tape. Bonnet , sill, and scuttle.
2)Mount your rear latches between loose and just snug.
3)Remove the cushions from the latch pins.
4)Remove most of the hinge shims from the front , vertical and horizontal. Leave in about 3/16. On the bottom, none on the front. Leave the hinge bolts loose.
5)Get a couple helpers and set the bonnet down, 6)engage the rear latch pins and push down and back until you like the gap at the top, and rear most gap at the sill extension. Your latch bolts should not be so tight they will fight you, or so loose they don’t stay put once you like the fit. ( can take a few tries)
7)tighten the latch bolts. Both, verticle and horizontal.
8)Now go to the front and without raising up the bonnet , start adding or subtracting shim until your sill extension gap is acceptable. This will get you close enough to see your problems, and tinker.
Good luck!
Karl
I posted my bonnet fitting experience several years back, here
You may need to cut and reweld the bottom edges of the wings to achieve a good parallel gap v. the top of the sills, as I did
As to the wings flaring outward at the rear, you will of course need to slacken the bolts on the bonded wing flanges and the tie pieces between the rear of the wings and centre section stiffeners before squeezing the edges inward, then retighten.
is the 9/16 inch spacer the height you spaced the bonnet
or is the 5/8 dimension the height you spaced the bonnet.
I am beginning to think I have a large problem here.
The perspective in photos can be hard to judge. It looks to me in the photos that the drivers (North America) side bends down, As Bill suggests it should be in line with the sill line under the door. If that was messed up it seems the rest of the bonnet could be adjusted OK. If the dr. side sill was rotated clockwise in your picture that would take the wedge gap out on the dr. side, then the pass. side might be adjusted in a normal manner. Until you are sure of the sills you can’t proceed…
I think I have multiple problems. The passenger side bonnet is resting on the foremost edge of the sill and that triangular piece that eventually holds the rubber weather strip.
The left side sill is not at 90 degrees to the bulkhead. and the fenders also seem wide of the sill at the bottom.
ordering some top shims from SNG tomorrow to raise the nose and see what that does if anything.
Also, don’t have a straight enough straight edge to check against the bottom of the door sill
Right side sill to BH seems to be 90 degrees per framing square
Bill Bilotti Wrote:
Also, don’t have a straight enough straight edge to check against the bottom of the door sill
Hello Bill,
You need to get one and start from basics. If the angle between the scuttle and the sill is not 90degs, the top line of the sill forward of the scuttle panel not being in line with the top line of the sill under the door may be the reason. I make straight edges as required by cutting an aluminum strip out of 4 - 5mm sheet, 60mm wide x the length I require; any decent sheet metal shop will be able to help you with that. Until you know what is causing your misalignment issues its hard to effect a resolve.
Regards,
Bill
9/16” was the height measurement but that was particular to the car and may vary. The thing is to support the level of the bonnet to match the level of the skuttle while matching the angle of the wing quarter panel with the angle of the A-post/sill. You may need to do some surgery to get it all in line, as I did.
Maybe take a time out to ruminate. I find a comfortable chair and good single malt helps get the creative juices flowing.
Am pondering the predicament with a glass of Michel Schlumberger Chardonay right now. Several should have me forgetting all about it, annonce.
I was planning on picking up a 36 or 48 inch aluminium rule. Not good enough?
It’s generally true the door sill, and sill extension are on piece, so the gaps will line up. That is not however a rule. I have seen several cars where the sill extension is leaded up 1/8-3/8 to gap the bonnet properly. As Nick pointed out, another common solution is to unfurl the bottom of the sill portion of the bonnet. Make the adjustment, and re- weld.
