Some while ago I asked the list for advice on my problem which was my MGB
GT bonnet catch that behaved badly and consumed release cables. For those
interested the following is what I have found by continuos mucking about.
All through this fiasco I missed one important point - The safety catch was
not set correctly. I missed this because it is off to one side and is so
simple nothing can go wrong with it !! While pulling down on the bonnet
and watching the male entering the female bit (alright chaps, settle down)
I heard this 'boing' . I could not see where anything was catching to make
the noise. The solution eluded me for days. Then I noticed the hook of
the safety catch was "boinging" on the wrong side of the adjustable holding
U shaped catch. The mechanism is so simple and missed when you are so
intense on looking at another part. I had to put several washers under
the leading screw hole to get the hook to go back to engage properly even
after adjusting the U thing. Strange but true, so one has to assume that
my catch has been bent out of shape at some time. That done I tried
several adjustments of the prong and when I found the right length by
watching it snagging in the hole, I tried the release cable. It was great,
I tried about a dozen times and it worked as smooth as silk. But then I
noticed that the bonnet was proud at the back so I adjusted the hinges and
lowered the back of the bonnet about 1/4 inch. (I had 'adjusted' the
bonnet a while back as one side half way down the wing looked too
high). Looked great.........but the latch did not work. The cable worked
but the bonnet stayed still.
So then the little bulb lit up !! The whole problem has been that the
bonnet hinges were not set correctly allowing the bonnet to twist as the
prong went in the whole. This twist made the prong go hard against the
hole latch and hold it there. Obviously I could not see that the prong was
doing this. My big problem now is adjusting the bonnet which is really a
two man job for amateurs.
Thank you to those who have given me advise on this subject in the past.
Regards
Barrie Robinson
705-721-9060
MGB GT V8 in the making
Aston Martin DB 2/4 MkII in the wings
Purveyor of O-ring kits for Smith and Jaeger gauges
---- and of stainless steel mesh grilles for MGBs
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