Bonnet Boot and Doors

how to get a good fit…..

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Bonnet Fit

(If anyone has a picture showing the gap before being fixed, please add it)

Once the bonnet is trimmed, roughly fitted in place and the hinges secured you will initially be disappointed when you close the bonnet at how bad the fit is, don't despair, this is normal and can be fixed quite easily. The first thing to do is fit some rubber stops or trim to the back (non-hinge end) for the bonnet to rest of when closed and raise it up a little. For this you can use rubber pads, or companies such as Woolies sell various D-Section that can be used. See an example in the picture, thin rubber D-section was fitted where shown in yellow.
The main problem with the fit is around the drivers side where the brake master cylinder is, there is usually a large gap here. Don't be tempted to start trying to bend the bonnet to fix this, the problem is that the body is low, not the bonnet high.

To resolve this you can put spacers between the bodywork and the chassis in this area to raise the body. This can be done with anything such as thin plastic or wooden strips and fixed in with polyurethane adhesive, this will allow more or less strips to be added to get a perfect fit. Often up to 1cm thickness is required to get a nice final fit.
Once the bulkhead is covered in a nice stainless sheet, all the spacers are hidden away. The picture below shows the area the spacers are fitted in Pink.

Remember, similarly to the doors, make the body fit the bonnet, not the bonnet fit the body.

bonnet1.JPG
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