I got back from visiting the fellow here who is an old English panel
beater and much to my dismay, my bonnet center panel requires way too
many hours of work. He said that it is very repairable but it would
take about 100 hours of careful metal finishing to finish the work
started by some previous body man.
It would appear that the car this bonnet came from ran underneath
something like a large truck. The body man then roughed the metal back
out to within about a half inch or so and rebuilt the contours with
plastic filler. It’s not all that bad, it’s only damaged on one side
but it’s just that the hours involved make it impractical for him to
spend that much time.
He suggested that I take it to one of the restoration shops in town that
specialize in '50’s type cars but warned me that again, they will
probably quote me something like 100 hours at $35 per hour.
While I will explore this possibility, I would like to ask if anyone
knows of a good Series 2 bonnet, preferably from an OTS or FHC, that is
in reasonable condition and price? I suppose I could just use the
center panel as the other panels seems to be fine. I’ve heard the
stories about making up a good bonnet out of pieces of other bonnets but
at around $4,000 new, I’m willing to give it a shot. After all, new
bonnets were once just pieces until they were mated together and
adjusted.
I’ll also check the jag salvage yards on Monday.
Thanks,
George Cohn
'70 OTS (Bonnetless)
I have an extra bonnet that I will let go for $200. Surface rust but no rust
holes. It may be good for spare parts. I had picked it up several years to
use for spare parts and now my wife says it has to go. I’m in Northern VA.
Dino
70 2+2----- Original Message -----
From: George Cohn gwcohn@azstarnet.com
To: e-type@jag-lovers.org
Sent: Saturday, December 11, 1999 7:36 PM
Subject: [E-Type] Bonnet Repair
I got back from visiting the fellow here who is an old English panel
beater and much to my dismay, my bonnet center panel requires way too
many hours of work. He said that it is very repairable but it would
take about 100 hours of careful metal finishing to finish the work
started by some previous body man.
It would appear that the car this bonnet came from ran underneath
something like a large truck. The body man then roughed the metal back
out to within about a half inch or so and rebuilt the contours with
plastic filler. It’s not all that bad, it’s only damaged on one side
but it’s just that the hours involved make it impractical for him to
spend that much time.
He suggested that I take it to one of the restoration shops in town that
specialize in '50’s type cars but warned me that again, they will
probably quote me something like 100 hours at $35 per hour.
While I will explore this possibility, I would like to ask if anyone
knows of a good Series 2 bonnet, preferably from an OTS or FHC, that is
in reasonable condition and price? I suppose I could just use the
center panel as the other panels seems to be fine. I’ve heard the
stories about making up a good bonnet out of pieces of other bonnets but
at around $4,000 new, I’m willing to give it a shot. After all, new
bonnets were once just pieces until they were mated together and
adjusted.
I’ll also check the jag salvage yards on Monday.
Thanks,
George Cohn
'70 OTS (Bonnetless)