John Bonnett

I've decided not to fully weld the bonnet supporting frame at the moment because it can be easily altered if need be once the two bonnet halves are welded together. So I'm leaving it there for the moment and turning my attention to the cooling system. As with my GT6, I'm using a MK2 Golf GTI radiator which I bought new for an amazingly good price of £26.00 delivered. I bought the shroud complete with electric fan off Ebay a year or two ago for the GT6 but there was insufficient room to fit it. Not so this time; it fits in easily. The radiator itself has two spigots on the bottom and I made up two mounting brackets fitted with grommets to suit. Further location of the radiator will be provided by the ducting. I've made a start on the ducting by cutting out some card which I always find very enjoyable. Once I'm happy with it I'll transpose it onto aluminium.

The bonnet supporting frame is now made and tacked together. It hinges open and allows sufficient access to the engine bay. The hinge pins can easily be removed allowing quick removal of the bonnet if needed. The Spitfire catches pick up on the standard fixings so work nicely as they should.

The bonnet will be supported and reinforced by a tubular steel frame which I am in the course of making. A couple of picture attached. I am using Triumph bonnet catches and have now mounted the various fittings onto the shell. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the bonnet reinforcing corners which incorporate the rubber cones are available as a Heritage repair panel and these will help enormously.

I've finished the bonnet hinges and tacked the clevises to the chassis rails. The horizontal tubes will be welded to the air intake aperture and the sweep simulates the amount that bonnet can be opened before hitting the road.

Since my last offering, I have had to completely revise the position of the bonnet and also the air intake aperture hoop; so a bit of a step back. But it really is vital to make sure I'm happy at this stage because there will be no going back after this. It has to be right now. So, what have I done? Well I've moved the bonnet back towards the scuttle by one inch and have raised it at the front by a whopping 48mm. This allows the curves of the wings to flow nicely into the door area and to me, it looks just right. I have also lost some excess shape by cutting out and welding up. So I have been busy and hopefully, productive. The bonnet will hinge off the underside of the main chassis rails using custom made items. It will be important to get these in the optimum position so that the bonnet opens sufficiently for adequate access to the engine bay.