76 spitfire 1500 Bonnet/door alignment

[hardhatharry]

76 spitfire 1500. Been prepping bodywork ready for paint for months now and struggling with bonnet /door alignment. The top of the wing/ door is tight and it gets wider as it travels down. If I press the bonnet down at the front the gaps go OK. Also the bumper will not go far back enough as it fouls the gusseted part of the bonnet hinge pipes which makes me suspect the hinge boxes are too high. I did replace the hinge boxes as the old ones were rotten. Any tips on how to line up the boxes correctly? As these hinge boxes were cut from another chassis I'm also concerned that some metal has already been lost and cutting again will loose some more, any tips on this too? I also have a time issue as my mate who is painting the car looses his garage in July so quick fixes appreciated. Thanks all

[Colin Lindsay]

Being an... ahem... expert on Herald bonnet gaps (ok so the Gt6 gaps were perfect) both of those need to come down at the front; if you imagine the top rear corner of the bonnet as the pivot point then moving down at the front will pivot at the bonnet top corner, thereby bringing the bonnet back at the lower edge and so align the gap. The driver's side looks as though it will drop slightly however worryingly there's no room for downward movement at the passenger side sill, as the bonnet is currently resting on it, and if the bonnet is raised at that side, it'll be too high at the top. That sill may be on incorrectly.

Do you have any room for adjustment at the front hinge boxes by loosening the bolts and dropping the brackets, or are they at full drop already?

[Badwolf]

Colin is right, the front needs to drop to close up the gaps with the corner valance and the passenger door but the cill appears to be too high. There is something not quite right in the 3d geometry here. As an interest, how does the passenger door line up against the B post and is the front LH quarter valance fitted correctly?

Addition

Are your bonnet stop cones in place or is the bonnet sitting directly onto the bulkhead? Are the bonnet tubes ok, not bent, fitted awry or bolted loosely?

I see on looking at a hi magnification of you photo that the bonnet actual hangs over the sill where the filler is at the corner, but is just above the sill at the front section. Levelling this up to give a consistant line may make a big difference at the front. Looking from the front, does the bonnet appear level...measure the height from the road. This sort of 3d stuff is something that I hate and have it to come myself if I ever get my bonnet finished.

 

 

 

[hardhatharry]

9 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said:

Being an... ahem... expert on Herald bonnet gaps (ok so the Gt6 gaps were perfect) both of those need to come down at the front; if you imagine the top rear corner as the pivot point then down at the front will pivot back at the lower edge and align the gap. The driver's side looks as though it will drop slightly however worryingly there's no room for downward movement at the passenger side sill, as the bonnet is currently resting on it, and if the bonnet is raised at that side, it'll be too high at the top. That sill may be on incorrectly.

Do you have any room for adjustment at the front hinge boxes by loosening the bolts and dropping the brackets, or are they at full drop already?

Full drop already 

[hardhatharry]

7 hours ago, Badwolf said:

Colin is right, the front needs to drop to close up the gaps with the corner valance and the passenger door but the cill appears to be too high. There is something not quite right in the 3d geometry here. As an interest, how does the passenger door line up against the B post and is the front LH quarter valance fitted correctly?

Addition

Are your bonnet stop cones in place or is the bonnet sitting directly onto the bulkhead? Are the bonnet tubes ok, not bent, fitted awry or bolted loosely?

I see on looking at a hi magnification of you photo that the bonnet actual hangs over the sill where the filler is at the corner, but is just above the sill at the front section. Levelling this up to give a consistant line may make a big difference at the front. Looking from the front, does the bonnet appear level...measure the height from the road. This sort of 3d stuff is something that I hate and have it to come myself if I ever get my bonnet finished.

 

 

 

Door lines up great with the b post. Quarter valences mount points need alot of bending at they are a mess. Tubes look OK and the bonnet used to fit before I started the work. 

[hardhatharry]

Just now, hardhatharry said:

Door lines up great with the b post. Quarter valences mount points need alot of bending at they are a mess. Tubes look OK and the bonnet used to fit before I started the work. 

The bonnet has had new wings, nose panel and strengthener. 

[Colin Lindsay]

The worry is that the top panel of the bonnet is in line with the body at the bottom of the windscreen as the lower front wing rests on the sill, and it's right down on the very front edge of the sill, too. This means there's no downward movement possible on that side, because as you drop the front of the bonnet, the rear will rise and it will be out of line at the top edge. The door gaps may become parallel, but the top will now sit too high. It's hard to tell from a photo alone but if the door can be raised slightly, it may move forward against the sill, and correspondingly the bonnet can now be raised to meet the top of the door, but it's still going to be too high across the bonnet top side to side.

Have a look at this thread from 2020: