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Spitfire bonnet gas strut choice


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There seem to be different bonnet gas struts available.

Some of these have the lower bracket fixed near the  bonnet hinge box and some are attached to the radiator frame.

Can anyone advise if there are any apparent advantages, one type over others, please?

Edited by Unkel Kunkel
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19 hours ago, Unkel Kunkel said:

There seem to be different bonnet gas struts available.

Some of these have the lower bracket fixed near the  bonnet hinge box and some are attached to the radiator frame.

Can anyone advise if there are any apparent advantages, one type over others, please?

I recently fitted the ones that are fitted by the hinge box.

IMG_20230505_135605_411.thumb.jpg.9bc43186535baec65b0f61681d2eb7b3.jpg

They work well, are simple to fit and I found just one strut will hold the bonnet open. I did find though that the drivers side strut fouled the air inlet pipes which I got over by attaching that strut on the opposite side of the bracket and re-routing the pipes behind the radiator stay.

I also found out my bonnet hinge on the passenger side wasn't bolted down as tight as it should have been. When the bonnet is closed the strut is under constant tension and in my case, moved the bonnet rearwards on that side, fouling the door.

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Fitted the same kit this afternoon. With the front plates bolted to the hinge by the front 1/4 valence.    And fuuny enough also had to reverse the drivers side so inside the wheel arch not outside as it caught the intake pipes.    Will see as times goes on if it gets too much muck etc there.   

Certainly makes bonnet operation a lot better.

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23 hours ago, Richeee said:

Fitted the same kit this afternoon. With the front plates bolted to the hinge by the front 1/4 valence.    And fuuny enough also had to reverse the drivers side so inside the wheel arch not outside as it caught the intake pipes.    Will see as times goes on if it gets too much muck etc there.   

Certainly makes bonnet operation a lot better.

I only fitted it to the "wrong" side at the hinge end which gave a bit more clearance but still had to move the air intake pipes a bit. Apart from that they work well.

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20230611_150408.thumb.jpg.f97282074db03d7df4f838cbcbcb5a24.jpg

6 hours ago, Unkel Kunkel said:

Has anyone any experience of the type where the lower fixings are attached to the radiator bracket?

Yes mine are. No problem at all. But what I did do was to drill and bolt through the face of the bracket and the radiator support. Because the brackets are held with the radiator support bolts and if you want to remove the rad you have no support for the bonnet. 

Danny

Edited by dannyb
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33 minutes ago, dannyb said:

20230611_150408.thumb.jpg.f97282074db03d7df4f838cbcbcb5a24.jpg

Yes mine are. No problem at all. But what I did do was to drill and bolt through the face of the bracket and the radiator support. Because the brackets are held with the radiator support bolts and if you want to remove the rad you have no support for the bonnet. 

Danny

Thanks, Danny that’s helpful.

So, both mounting systems gives good results but the intake hoses may need rerouting with either and the rad bracket type benefits  from  extra bolt as per Danny?

(When I finally get my bonnet  rebuild finished… )I will get rad.mounted struts.

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On 12/06/2023 at 13:41, Stratton Jimmer said:

My Sixfire had two gas struts but I have since removed the offside one. Both were attached adjacent to the bonnet hinges as shown in this photograph.

spit bonnet strut.jpg

Interesting  SJ - did  you remove the offside one because of clearance issues?
Using just the one, does it function OK and not “imbalanced”.

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On 12/06/2023 at 14:41, Stratton Jimmer said:

My Sixfire had two gas struts but I have since removed the offside one. Both were attached adjacent to the bonnet hinges as shown in this photograph.

spit bonnet strut.jpg

Mildly off topic: What is the thing next to the horn that looks like a dial? Is it to set the temperature an electric fan activates?

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On 14/06/2023 at 11:28, Unkel Kunkel said:

Interesting  SJ - did  you remove the offside one because of clearance issues?
Using just the one, does it function OK and not “imbalanced”

There wasn't any problem with clearances but the two struts were too strong and were forcing the bonnet back against the scuttle. It is slightly unbalanced now but certainly no worse than my GT6 which has just its original support.

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On 16/06/2023 at 10:46, Stratton Jimmer said:

There wasn't any problem with clearances but the two struts were too strong and were forcing the bonnet back against the scuttle. It is slightly unbalanced now but certainly no worse than my GT6 which has just its original support.

Mine did this on the passenger side, which led me to discover that the hinge bolts weren't tight enough. Resolved that and all ok now 👍

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