Herald Bonnet Mind Games

[Mashby]

Hi,

 

I am going quietly mad trying to get my bonnet to stop fouling on the door when it's open. It has been like this for a long while.

 

The bonnet catches the drivers door when I open it and it's taking its toll on the leading edge of the door skin. When the bonnet catches are down the passenger side is fine it lines up nicely with the door and there is no play when you tug it. The drivers side when the catch is down, does not line up with the door (it looks to close to the body) and there is a lot of play when you tug it. I have tried adjusting the height of the rubber domes at the top to see if that changes things but no go. I have attached a couple of photos

 

It is driving me mad. Any advice appreciated

[sulzerman]

Hi

Your bonnet looks to close to the door. You can adjust fore and after adjustment on the hinges at the front. I would spray plenty of release fluid/oil for a few days before attempting to release the hinge bolts. The bolts are on a elongated slider type of bracket. It can be a time consuming job but the gap between the door and bonnet is normally about a quarter of an inch

Hope this helps

Cheers

Paul

[Clive]

Agreed. The gap needs to be quite big to avoid hitting the door. A real faff I am afraid.

[dougbgt6]

I ever so slightly touched the bench with driver's side bumper while parking up.   No apparent damage but the bonnet had been pushed back on the adjustable hinge and started to foul the door. I found it quite an easy job to slacken the bolt and relocate the bonnet. Maybe it's more difficult on other models?

[Pete Lewis]

the tie rods to the turrets have a turn buckle barrel on end is LH threade so undo the lock nuts and shorten the rod to make a larger gap

 

  is the door  proud or the bonnet  underflush .

  the hinge is adjustable on the door bolts ,to move it in out  but moving this  will also  also alter the line up to the B post,

  is the door proud at the bottom of the B post ??   

 

  you can pack out the bonnet hook on the baulkhead with a plate or washers to move the lower wing outwards ,  

  you can add a thick rubber or wooen ramp to contact the latch roller to assist in outward travel

 

    Pete

[dougbgt6]

Pete, that sounds like a different mechanism to mine and Sulzerman's? Are heralds/vitesses  different from spitfire/gt6s?

[Pete Lewis]

Yes they are quite different, you dont have the tie rods on S &GT6

 

there is height adjustment on H &V by removing the overider ther is a drop link on slotted holes

these are often upside down

the slot goes to the dumb iron and the single hole takes the bonnet pivot bolt

Pete

[Steve C]

That bonnet is way too close to the doors and bulkhead. As Pete says, the bonnet on Heralds and Vitesses hinges between two slotted plates on each slde, which are bolted to the front chassis "horns". The adjusters are the two big hex tube nuts on the two adjuster rods which go from the suspension towers to the bonnet hinge points. It is not untypical to find the hinges over-tightened or rusted solid, bent adjuster rods, and seized tube nuts.

I would soak the bonnet hinges in WD40, and the tube nuts. If they will turn, slacken off the bonnet pivot bolts. Then if the adjusters are not bent, and will move, turn the so that you are, in effect, lengthening the adjuster bars and pushing the hinge points away from the bulkhead.

If they won't shift, take the adjusters off the car to a bench vice, and apply whatever combination of penetrating fluid, heat and brute force it requires to free them off. Then drill a 1/8 hole through the wall of the tube nut so that you can pump oil into it to prevent it seizing again, clean up, lubricate, re-assemble, straighten if needed, and refit. They will not trouble you again.

If the hinge pivot bolts are too tight, it has the effect of clamping the assembly together, making it harder for it to slide in its slot. They are pivots, and the nyloc nuts need to be closed up, but not overtight. You should be able to do this without having to remove the overriders, which is a b*gg*r of a job. It may come to that though, if you have home-made / incorrect pivot plates or some other issue causing the problem

 

Good luck with it

 

Steve C

[Mashby]

Many thanks for all the advice. I have adjusted the long hex nut on the adjuster rods which has solved the fouling problem, but there is still a lot of play when the drivers side catch is down. I may try packing out the catch on the side of the bulkhead as suggested. I assume the two bolt holes are threaded?

[Pete Lewis]

Yes , some have nuts on the inside under the side toe panel

they allow for some adustment

 

the clasp on the bonnet has some movenet, but the cones need raising to pre load the clasp hook

 

these float in big holes and need to centralize and locate inside the conical hole on the bonnet

[Darren Groves]

The small section of bodywork that the bonnet cone bolts to can get pulled down over the years, so I've had to lever it upwards in the past which can gain the few mm  you may need to make it a snug fit.

[Steve C]

A good way of getting the cones properly centred is to adjust them to the required height, then just loosen the securing nuts enough to let them have some lateral sliding movement, lower the bonnet to position them, then raise it again and nip them up tight. I have also found the synthetic version of the cones, as sold by the club shop, to be really good. Some of the rubber repro ones on the market are junk, and fall to bits in no time.

 

Regards

 

Steve C