I just swapped in earlier bonnet hinges for the ones originally fitted to my 73 XJ6 (this is to permit use of factory fog lamps which are fouled by the 73-only bumper overriders).
I cannot get the bonnet far enough to the rear (lacks about 1/2 inch). The hinge adjustments provided don’t seem to attack the problem, It seems that the hinges need to be shoved into the frame member towards the rear, but the 3 mounting bolts have no provision for fore-aft movement. Any suggestions? Of course I sourced the 69-72 hinges as used, so they might have been damaged in some way. Look fine though.
Thanks Paul. Still puttering with it but will let you know. I still have the original hinges so I’m going to compare. They’re supposed to differ only in the bumper mounting but not bonnet hinges AFAIK.
The only way to reduce the gap at the scuttle is to move the hinges back as you suggest. There is some fore/aft adjustment with the frames being slotted but not much and it’s difficult to access the bolts (certainly on the v12) with radiator and other obstructions.
The hinge to bonnet bolt up area is often weakened by corrosion and this can cause the bonnet to move forward too (under the constant load of the helper springs), increasing the scuttle gap.
… and of course the whole assembly is very heavy and unweildy so its definitely a two man job to encourage it to move rearward when the bolts into the frame a slackened off.
Thanks very much, Mike. Yes, the fore-aft adjustment seems minimal. There’s no rust or evident damage to the bonnet area with the caged nuts. We will remove the bonnet and have a better look. I will then compare the standard hinges to the 73 only, hinges but I think others have done this swap without difficulty. I also have a 71 bonnet, but it’s not freshly painted, nor fitted with fog light brackets (thanks @RustfreeMike) and louvers. So hopefully I won’t have to use that. Lastly, I believe others have kept the 73 hinges and, after some hacksawing, fitted the earlier bumper and bumper guards to them. I hope something works.
Bob, Don’t know if this is helpful but… I have 2 '73’s - one has been retrofitted with early hinges and the bonnet fits perfectly. I don’t know if the bonnet is original or if it was transferred to the car from an earlier one when it was converted.
The other has the original, un-molested, big-a$$ '73 hinges and it, like yours, has a large gap at the windshield end. No other damage is evident. The hood closes and locks but something ain’t right. A PO has messed with the lock pins - IIRC they seem welded, also springs replaced with springs that are way too strong. I haven’t investigated further because it all works and that car needs alot more attention so haven’t gotten to it. Perhaps try removing the lock pins and then closing the hood to see if it aligns? Just a thought.
Well, some more progress, maybe. With some BFH work we were able to shove the hinges (bolts removed) into the frame rail to get a perfect fit. Panel gap at the scuttle is a bit large, but same as it was before. Looks fine. Fitted an early bumper, overriders–looks great. And then for the final act of the day, we fit one of the FT8 fog lights and it is perfect. So now we have to figure out how to bolt on the hinge to the frame rail. May just drill a couple of new holes. The tapped holes are pretty far away from the slots in the frame. Might try to pick them up-- a decision for later contemplation,
just a followup…we wound up drilling through the centre of the slots in the frame, then tapping new holes in the hinges. Two outside only, couldn’t reach the single inside bolt. Probably about 3/4 inch from original tapped holes. So now we still have a bit of adjustment, via the original slot. Don’t know why the difference exists. Could have found out by comparing hinges, but this way we didn’t have to remove the bonnet. Again, thanks for your help.
