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MG MGB Technical - removing bonnet hinge

My 1971 MGB bonnet caught air, and blew up. I got a replacement bonnet but noticed the hinges were also deformed. I have a set of replacements. I see in Moss that there is a nut that you have to remove, below the dashboard. Anyone know if the nut is easily accessible?
r schwartz

Yes the nut is fairly easy to access. It is positioned just in front of you near the top of the firewall.
Iain MacKintosh

Bob- Goodluck. I felt like such a jackass all during my embarrassing replacement process. From lurching off the freeway blind, to tieing the hulk down to get home, through the hinge replace and endless adjust to get the hood to sit "about right". To this day, I have NO IDEA how it happened...isn't the catch failsafe engineered?!? guess not. Anyone with comments on why the hood pops and then the safety catch releases for fun and frolick? Vic
vem myers

Finally got to replacing the bonnet hinges, the passenger side was no problem, I am having real problems finding the nut on the firewall on the drivers side, it seems to be right above the steering column, does anything have to get dismantled just to access the nut on the backside of the hinge?
r schwartz

Position of the nut on the driver's side is a mirror image of that on the left although it is a little more difficult to get at because of the dash layout.
Iain MacKintosh

Thanks Iain, I did find the nut, and it's right above the steering column. Although, after many attempts, I could not get a socket on it. Guess it would be nice to have a "flexible" extension on my socket wrench to get the right angle so I can get on the nut, and turn it.
r schwartz

Vern!

"Failsafe" Give your head a shake! The engineers at Pressed Steel who designed the hood release mech were the sons of the guys who designed the waterproof bulkheads on the Titanic!

It is a scary thing when that hood comes up. I've only had it happen once, and then I was lucky enough to react as it started to come up and slow down. The rotten thing slowly floated back down into place. I was in traffic in the middle of a bridge so slamming on the brakes wasn't an option...It wasn't even my car!
I have heard of an owner whose hood bent over the W/S frame and whacked him on the head so hard that he nearly passed out. Stitches for him as well as a new bonnet!

Rich
Rich McKIe

There is nothing new under the sun. BBC TV Watchdog programme is currently having a long-running battle with Renault as there have been hundreds if not a couple of thousand by now reports of Clio bonnets flipping up and causing accidents, written off cars and all sorts. Renault deny there is a problem, sy the owners must be at fault for not maintaining the catches properly (even though maintenance of the catches isn't listed in their own manuals), or the owners just can't close the bonnets properly and should seek instruction at their local dealership!

http://www.channel4.com/4car/news/news-story.jsp?news_id=15915&cntsrc=rss_4car_News_15915

As for 'fail safe' there is a safety catch as well as the normal lock, but as to what condition they are in - adjustment-wise and corrosion-wise 30 years on is anybody's guess. But this is the first instance I can recall on an MGB in my 18 years of mailing lists and BBs.
Paul Hunt 2

This thread was discussed between 26/03/2007 and 31/03/2007

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