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TR2 Twin Bonnet Catches


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I have been contacted by a TR Forum member who is restoring an early TR2. He asked if I would make him a pair of bonnet catches complete with their inner wing platforms. 

As you can see from the pictures the prototype items have been made. My thanks to Daniel Morris in Honolulu!!! for supplying me with a rare original set to copy.

My intention is to complete one off, small batch, of catches and/or platforms. The price for the twin bonnet catches will be about £340 for a pair, the cost for the handed inner wing platforms will be approximately £100 a pair.

Please contact me if you would like further information.

Regards Russell

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Hi Russell

These look really good and will be a Godsend for anybody who has a car with them missing.

Original sets (if you can find one!) sell for about £500.00 and would invariably need some fettling/repairs, so your price looks reasonable I would say.

Presumably, you could make more at some point in the future were the demand there?

There must be a few early TR2 owners in the US that need these.

Cheers Simon

 

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They look to be excellent copies. Luckily, mine were in good shape.

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I'm going to jump in here and say that this remanufacture project deserves a ton of respect.  Like the thermostat housing project, it demonstrates that we (or some of us!) can remanufacture obscure and somewhat complex parts that are key to originality.  But unlike the thermostat project, Russell did this as a one-man job, in a matter of weeks.  The skill set to do this seems to be fast disappearing (at least in my uneducated view) so anyone who pulls it off like this is tops in my book.  I sure am grateful to all the craftsmen and older enthusiasts who have helped me with my cars over the years.

Aloha

Dan 

Edited by 2long
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12 hours ago, 2long said:

I'm going to jump in here and say that this remanufacture project deserves a ton of respect.  Like the thermostat housing project, it demonstrates that we (or some of us!) can remanufacture obscure and somewhat complex parts that are key to originality.  But unlike the thermostat project, Russell did this as a one-man job, in a matter of weeks.  The skill set to do this seems to be fast disappearing (at least in my uneducated view) so a anyone who pulls it off like this is tops in my book.  I sure am grateful to all the craftsmen and older enthusiasts who have helped me with my cars over the years.

Aloha

Dan 

Well said Dan. Without input from a whole host of other individuals and groups "Preserving the Marque and keeping Cars on the Road", enjoying our cars would be a whole lot more difficult. Other more recent examples of parts NLA are the cantrails engineered/facilitated by Ian Smith, and Pete W with the metal floor bungs, not to mention the double thermostat housings and new MOSS 4 pot cranks courtesy of the SDF.

Ian

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10 minutes ago, RoyM said:

a bit controversial but perhaps us as the owners of these cars should actively make more accurate parts for these cars and not be so reliant on some of the offerings available.today

Hi Roy,

perhaps there should be a new thread started - 'NLA parts required'

This may reveal parts squirreled away or motivate somebody to knock  them up.

It is surprising what can be produced in a simple workshop.

Roger

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5 hours ago, RogerH said:

Hi Roy,

perhaps there should be a new thread started - 'NLA parts required'

This may reveal parts squirreled away or motivate somebody to knock  them up.

It is surprising what can be produced in a simple workshop.

Roger

W

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Roger, and others.

I have been involved with another car club in the passed, and over a very long period of time have made, or organised the manufacture of many parts. I am afraid over that long time things have changed. "Product Liability" is a very big issue for the private individual making parts. Particularly  anything that is made which could be understood as a "Safety critical". The obvious ones are, brakes, steering, suspension, etc. There are others that are not so obvious. Several years ago a UK club sold hub caps to a man in the USA. The hub cap came off, and hit a car coming in the opposite direction, causing personal injury. The club in question was extremely wary of selling anything else into the US for fear of litigation. 

For the private chap in shed making parts for historic cars simply in order to keep them going can be a real concern if something does fail. In my experience Product Liability Insurance is almost impossible to obtain under these circumstances.

Russell

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4 hours ago, YOW500 said:

Roger, and others.

I have been involved with another car club in the passed, and over a very long period of time have made, or organised the manufacture of many parts. I am afraid over that long time things have changed. "Product Liability" is a very big issue for the private individual making parts. Particularly  anything that is made which could be understood as a "Safety critical". The obvious ones are, brakes, steering, suspension, etc. There are others that are not so obvious. Several years ago a UK club sold hub caps to a man in the USA. The hub cap came off, and hit a car coming in the opposite direction, causing personal injury. The club in question was extremely wary of selling anything else into the US for fear of litigation. 

For the private chap in shed making parts for historic cars simply in order to keep them going can be a real concern if something does fail. In my experience Product Liability Insurance is almost impossible to obtain under these circumstances.

Russell

s

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Hi Roy,

 in a nut shell - Yes.

Even if you give it away there is always a liability.

However one must look at the risk.  Steering and brake parts obviously carry a big risk if there is failure.

Most other things carry far less risk.  

For instance the above bonnet lock has some risk  - but there are two of them. Should one fail then you know the other is not far behind.

But then our cars are 40 - 60 years old and many of the TRiumph parts are failing - but there is no comeback as TRiumph ain't not there.

 

Liability goes even further. If you accept a home made freeby and then pass it onto another user and it then fails the liability comes flying back to the originator with out him knowing what was going on.  You can get Insurance but at what cost.

For this reason the SDF very rarely produces and actual item. They take the idea to a supplier (who would have the insurance as a normality) who then =get it manufactured.

 

So if anybody posts an NLA item and it comes under a safety critical nature ten it could be passed onto a third party supplier.

 

Roger

 

 

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Roy, you are potentially correct. These situations can be very difficult.

In the case of the bonnet catches the likely fail, to allow the catch to open, would be the spring. In my case the original spring has been copied by a National spring manufacturer. The early TR2s also had twin catches, and a safety catch. So you end up making a judgement call in connection with the particular item you are making.

Russell

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1 hour ago, RoyM said:

no worries, just chucking out some food for thought, i have made a pair of wheel spats for my 3a and did think it would be a good idea to list if any owners wanted a pair but now i may think twice what with product liability an all.

Hi Roy,

I wouldn't worry too much.   What moron would fit spats and then cause a nuclear accident and then blame you. :blink:  Actually !!

People are continuously buying selling brake and steering parts.

 

Roger 

 

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I am a member of the series 1 Land Rover Club and over the years have restored many early Land Rovers, I still have 4 in my collection. The series 1 Land Rover club have commisioned many new replacement parts which can be bought through the club. In addition many private companies and individuals are now producing replacement parts. For example in 3 years the situation has gone from one whereby one person was making high quality wings, doors, tailgates etc in a workshop at the bottom of his garden, he had a 2 year waiting list, to one where two companies are now commercially making nearly all body components. If there is a demand its amazing how quickly companies start producing components, however for low run specialist parts it is still reliant on the initiatives one the "one man in his shed". There are many about but they tend to make things for themselves and we never find out about them I would encourage anyone who is making parts for their cars to let us all know what they are doing through the forum.

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Hi Russell,

Absolutely I will buy a set. I am ready now.

Well done making these. I too was needing a pair, having borrowed a pair from my brother I was thinking of making my own. I have a single catch but that's it.

Happy to buy a pair.

 

Will you be emailing me with detail?

Thanks Nick

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Now that we have conquered the early TR2 bonnet release and the double hump thermostat housing, it is time to chase the "baby Tenax" problem!

 

Wonder if the current owners of the Tenax patent would be interested if we are able to presell say 3 or 4 thousand?

Lou Metelko

Auburn, Indiana

USA

54 TR2   TS981

 

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Some 5 or 6 years ago, the Spares Development Fund (SDF), working through one of the major suppliers in the TR market, tried to get the small Tenax fasteners produced. 

As everyone knows, this device, though small, is quite complicated, and even though the larger Tenax is used on Morgan cars and on boats, no producer could be found.

As I know from my ownership of a TR2 in the 1960s, the small Tenax is easily damaged unless one is very careful when fixing over the peg - hence the demand for any old stock still lying about.

Ian Cornish

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