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the dreaded caught bonnet catch


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My bonnet catch was working fine, releasing OK until one of my adjustments to get the bonnet fitting better. Then the handle and cable wouldn’t budge, looked like the tip of the primary catch was jammed.

 

The various suggestions for getting out of the poo include broomstick through grille. If you have a radiator shroud fitted, the day before in my case, this one won’t be any good for you.

 

Remove headlight and then broomstick is another one. Getting past the mudguards looked dubious to me so I put this one down the list.

 

Undo front bonnet hinges. From under the car you can get at the two bolts that hold the hinge to the tub (with great difficulty) so I chose this one. There isn’t much room so ease up on the forearm bodybuilding beforehand, and spanner movement is restricted. I used 2 different spanners with a faint difference in angle on the head which allowed me to loosen the nuts mm by mm.

Once undone, they allowed my to raise the front of the bonnet a couple of inches before the end of the hinge fouled the tub. At this stage, if, like me, you are blessed with good luck, you can access the two bolts at the sides of the bonnet that attach the hinge. The other three on each side can be accessed from underneath the car with a socket. If you are doing this on a day when gravity is medium to high, watch out, as you undo the last bolt, that the hinge doesn’t come down through the gaps and dong you on the face.

I guess it is a tribute to the TR engineers that it is possible to perform all of the above otherwise some radical metal surgery would be the only other solution.

Even with the bonnet up an inch or two, it was not possible to see the catch past carbies and air cleaners etc., so no tricks with broomsticks were available to me. Mine is RHD.

 

Now I have to work out where to move the latch business so that it doesn’t happen again, and work out whether an accessory latch control will be the answer, or a hand hole through the metal somewhere near the latch.

 

While the main benefit of this sort of exercise is character building, I’m also finding that I’m gradually developing a bit of technique for fitting the bonnet neatly that expands on Manuel’s ‘fitting the bonnet is the reverse of the procedure for removing the bonnet’.

 

Having just finished I’ve discovered it is caught again, but this time the cable moves fully in and out, so that’s means I’m getting better each time.

 

I’ll have another go tomorrow after I’ve bought the 3 inch hole saw for that flat bit near where the hydraulic master cylinders are. (I’m going down the ‘hand hole’ path.)

 

I now realise the correct procedure would be to paint and fit the bonnet before fitting the manifolds and carbies ( and radiator shroud.) The broomstick might do the job then. This hindsight has come far too late for me.

Edited by littlejim
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Hi LittleJim,

on first thoughts it's almost an insolvable problem - how to open a box with a seized lock on the inside!!!

 

One possible thought - when you pull the release cable give a firm blow to the bonnet above the catch with the ball of your fist.

This will push the plunger into the catch allowing the lever to spring away - or not as the case may be.

 

Best of luck.

 

Roger

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Hi Jim,

 

That's a bugger mate... :( You have convinced me on the fitting of an auxiliary lever (mechanical). I've heard about smacking the bonnet (where the catch is), while someone is pulling on the release cable can work too..Oops...same as what Roger said..

 

Tony

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...when you pull the release cable give a firm blow to the bonnet above the catch with the ball of your fist.

This will push the plunger into the catch allowing the lever to spring away - or not as the case may be.

 

The converse of this is when shutting the bonnet. When we bought Lynda's TR4A it had been nearly 30 years since I'd owned one and as this one was in somewhat better condition than the previous one, I was much too gentle with it and closed the bonnet quite carefully. Needless to say, the catch didn't catch. Even serious greasing didn't improve matters but when I asked TRGB how to resolve it, Chris simply gave it a gentle whack as described and it shut perfectly. Now I just let it drop from about 9" and it shuts perfectly. Must remember to fit an emergency release though. blink.gif

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One possible thought - when you pull the release cable give a firm blow to the bonnet

above the catch with the ball of your fist.

 

 

This has been my standard practice for yonks.

Raises a few eyebrows sometimes, but the bonnet hasn't stuck.

 

I used to have a nipple screwed to the end of the inner cable

as additional insurance against the cable slipping through the

standard fixing.

That should be enough really, but I do now have an emergency

release as well.

 

AlanR

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Banging the bonnet is a classic, but getting the safety release gizmo is a better one.

 

http://www.lbcarco.com/specialf.html

 

Cost a few quids, just a tiny hole for the lever above the passenger knees (or yours if you're RHD) and that's it.

 

Badfrog, what me worry....

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Tony et Al,

 

the auxiliary bonnet release is a good solution to the most likely problem with the catch, a busted cable, and the next most likely, a jammed primary catch.

However that is not the problem I have, the cable and the release are working perfectly at the moment.

 

because I haven't got the catch mechanism on the car, or the catch mechanism on the bonnet, both of which are adjustable, in the correct position yet, the end of the bonnet part of the catch is jamming under a part of the car side mechanism that doesn't get moved by the cable. When you pull the cable only about a third of the mechanism moves. That leaves about two thirds of the round hole unaffected by cables or auxiliary levers.

until I get the adjustment set up correctly I have to be able to push the 'knob end' bit of the bonnet mechanism across the rim of the body mechanism over to where only the moveable bit of the catch is holding it. In the meantime the only way to get in there is to undo the hinges at the front.

While I'm getting good at this, and practice makes perfect, it is knocking the paint job round a bit, and after the second or third go it is becoming a bit repetitious and I'd prefer to be doing something else.

 

I'm hoping I can position a decent sized hole under the catch so that I can get to it with a screwdriver or such (and torch) and move the offending bit over to where it should be. That should be a lot quicker than removing the hinges even with my by now massive amount of experience.

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problem now solved.

latch.jpg

 

through the new hole you can see the latch and the hole the bit on the bonnet goes into, above the heater hose..

It took 4 more goes to get things in the right position so this saved me days. I was able to push the bit caught in the hole with a screwdriver. Easy access to the part of the latch where the cable goes too.Will recommend it to all my friends.

Surprisingly there's nothing expensive you can put a drill into on the other side of the hole.

The 3 inch hole will take one of those rubber floor plugs, after I tidy the edges a bit.

Edited by littlejim
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Standard way to set up the catch without trauma is to line the bonnet up first with the rear rubber buffers and the back lip rubber and the side buffers fitted but dont fit the catch on the bonnet. When you are happy that the bonnet fits then jam the bulkhead catch in the fully open position and fit the spring pin to the bonnet but dont fully tighten the bolts on the pin bracket but tighten the bulkhead bracket fully, just nip them so that the pin bracket will still slide around its mounting point( a bit of grease under it will help). Then holding the bonnet in the middle of the back end (Otherwise they will tend to to lift on the side you are holding) lower the bonnet gently into position. that way the pin will slide over to self centre itself into the receiving hole. Once you are happy that it will go right down and up without catching then tighten the pin bracket up and then adjust the length of the pin to stop any up or down movement. Then adjust the cable to ensure that it gives a full pull of the mechanism and fit auxiliary lever.

Stuart.

Edited by stuart
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through the new hole you can see the latch and the hole the bit on the bonnet goes into, above the heater hose..

It took 4 more goes to get things in the right position so this saved me days. I was able to push the bit caught in the hole with a screwdriver. Easy access to the part of the latch where the cable goes too.Will recommend it to all my friends.

 

Sorry didn't realise you were trying to align it.

 

When I had my catch off, I realigned it, lowering carefully as Stuart says, by putting masking tape over the catch, a blob of dirty grease on the end of the pin (I have lots of dirty grease...) and lowering the bonnet so it just marked the masking tape.

Then adjusted the catch, new masking tape, repeat until centered.

 

A bit late to be telling you this... sad.gif

 

I do have an emergency release as well.

 

Ivor

 

Emergencyrelease.jpg

Edited by 88V8
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Sorry didn't realise you were trying to align it.

 

When I had my catch off, I realigned it, lowering carefully as Stuart says, by putting masking tape over the catch, a blob of dirty grease on the end of the pin (I have lots of dirty grease...) and lowering the bonnet so it just marked the masking tape.

Then adjusted the catch, new masking tape, repeat until centered.

 

A bit late to be telling you this... sad.gif

 

I do have an emergency release as well.

 

Ivor

 

Emergencyrelease.jpg

 

Blimey Ivor the emergency catch is a bit of an overkill in engineering terms! You could lever the Titanic off her moorings with that one :lol: You could do with a limit stop on it as well (IMHO ;) )

Stuart

Edited by stuart
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The other alternative to Badfrogs mod or Little Jims hole are wing vents and a wire coat hanger.

 

A wire coat hanger is rigid and slim enough to get into almost any gap so when faced with the large opening of a wing vent its no problem at all cool.gif !!

 

At last, a use for those pesty wing vents laugh.giflaugh.gif

 

 

(NB: A good quality wire coat hanger will not only solve this problem but hang exhaust pipes, bind broken components, dipstick the tank etc etc. Never leave home without one)

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Blimey Ivor the emergency catch is a bit of an overkill in engineering terms! You could lever the Titanic off her moorings with that one laugh.gif You could do with a limit stop on it as well

 

As Stuart said without the stop Ivor!!!!!!! that can make the bonnet virtually impossible to open

I agree. There is actually a stop on the vertical rod where it passes through the top of the footwell.

 

I got it from a chap in Toronto, here's his website which now seems a little moribund. I think it was flagged up on a forum somewhere and at the time I was too busy (=lazy) to make my own.

 

http://5688739105315...&attredirects=0

 

Ivor

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Thanks Stuart, I ended up doing it roughly in that order, but in my case the centre bit caught in the hole a few times. I was using plasticine to give a bit of an idea of alignment.

The hole gives me great access to the latch and mechanism so I won't be fitting an auxiliary. Although Ivor's is a work of beauty and certainly looks the job with length adjustment possible.

Suggest his MKII have a rose joint or two as well.

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Mark Macy at www.macysgarage.com in Ohio sells a similar kit (maybe not quite as robust, but serviceable) for $12.95.

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To quote Mr P. Anka "...my way".

 

plug.jpg

 

I had time to fit this after cleaning up the $25 Penrite oil spill.

(Latest tip for other members who like me are down to their last functioning grey cell: if the oil pressure doesn't come up after a few seconds of cranking, now is the time to look for oil leaks from the top of the filter, don't keep going until the the battery is running out of puff.)

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