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MG TD TF 1500 - TD Bonnet Handle adjustment

Hi folks, this curious, whilst re-fitting my bonnet catches and handles (after a total rebuild from many donor cars) the handles on the offside and the rear handle on the nearside don't reach the square hole in the catch.
They're assembled correctly.
I'm thinking I'm going to have to cut off the mounting holes and weld on an extended plate and drill and re-mount the catches a little higher.
Anybody experienced this before?
Regards,
Cliff
CJ Harvey

This is a common problem, and a result of hand built cars. No two are exactly alike.
You have several options. You can move the fender up. This would require bending the flange that bolts to the frame, and drilling new mount holes for the attachment points to the tub. You would probably have to move the runningboard too. You could also move the bracket with the square hole in it up, or file out the square hole. You could also cut the bracket and weld an extention in to it.
You could modify the hood latch, but I would not recommend it.
D. Sander

Cliff,
How is the fit of the bonnet on the car? Did you use the new rubber for the firewall and the lacing around the rad? Could they be holding the bonnet up in any way?

How far exactly is the latch from mating with the hole in the catch plate?
There are several holes you can elongate to get the plate to move up higher. Before resorting to moving the wings.

I don't think it should be that far out if all the measurements are correct.

Rod


R D Jones

When reassembling after a tear down assemble loosely, tie every thing down then tighten all the fasteners. Every thing should adjust and come together and line up.
CJ Lusch

With a hammer, a vise, an angle grinder, drill, file, a hunk of metal & a bit of will you could knock some up to suit using the ill fitting heros as a guide, in no time at all. You could also extend them as you suggest if you have access to a welder. I'd make sure the guards & running boards look good in their original holes, matching on both sides & I would only relocate them as a last resort. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

When mine wouldn't snatch I discovered it was because I'd left the bonnet prop on the side of the tool box - Probably not Cliff's problem but it don't take much to keep the snatchers from snatching.
Jud
J K Chapin

I'm with Rod on this one. If everything IS assembled correctly and you have left the bracket bolts loose, you should be able to fasten the latches as they will draw the brackets into the correct location.

I have yet to restore a car where I had to resort to major surgery on any part to get the hood to latch.
Chris Couper

When reassembling a car after a major teardown, the hood and grill need to be fitted first. When the hood fits well, and there are no gaps the hood, tub and the grille, then the front fenders can be attached. The hood needs to latch to hold the fenders in position. With the hood latched, the front fenders and running boards can be attached. There should be a smooth, continuous fluid line along the bottom of the fenders and runningboard, starting over the front wheels and terminating with the back of the runningboard being at the same level as the bottom front of the rear fender.
The latched hood locates the position (elevation) of the fenders.
-David
D. Sander

Cliff: I wrote this up last fall. It might help you.

http://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgtd/mgtd_bonnet.htm
Chris Couper

Thanks for all your ideas everyone.

Chris, your instructional page is very clearly written.

I'm interested to see that you advise to remove the rubber where the rear hinge mounts, I left mine in place but packed the hinge slightly at the front edge to keep it in line with the centre hinge. I did this because not doing it puts a strain on the bonnet resulting in the usual stress strains and cracks by the hinge.
Anyway the rubber still supports at the same height so it wouldn't really affect my catch heights.
The front wing lines flow beautifully with the running board so I don't want to spoil this by raising the wing although I think it would be an easy fix.
The bonnet catch is about 1/16th to 1/8th in. above the catching point. I don't really want to remove any metal above as it won't leave very much.
You say that the catch only needs to be about a 1/16in below the catching point so I'm not too far out.

I think I'll probably end up extending the brackets.

With hindsight I should have done as David (Vermont) suggested but we live and learn.
CJ Harvey

Cliff: If you did not cut out the rubber at the back for the hinge support to sit in that could account for your height problem. Also note you need both the inner and outer hinge supports. So many forget the inner one which causes all sorts of issues. The hing strip must rest on a firm perch (ie wood in back and the radiator shell up front.

Did you by any chance replace the wood between the body bucket and firewall? If it was higher than the original than that could cause the issue too.

Also note that the latches can be tilted as the oblonged holes are vertical and horizontal. You still have to make sure the latch makes it into the cutout but in the end of the day it could be all the way forward or back in the bracket hole. Nobody will know when the hood is closed where it is.
Chris Couper

Cliff: Can you comment on your hood panel geometry? Does the seam on the side panel match the seam on the scuttle?

Also how close is the hood corner to the fender when closed?

See the attached picture to compare.

Chris Couper

Hi Chris,
The seam on the side panel is above the seam on the scuttle by about 1/8in but this is the thickness of the rubber, this doesn't help of course.
The fender gap is about 1/2in, possibly bigger than it needs to be but, like I said earlier, the line of the fender to running board flows beautifully and I didn't want to spoil it.
I've now extended the brackets by 1/4in and the bonnet is shutting nicely so thank you to everybody for your valued ideas.
Yesterday was a red-letter day for me, I finished the bodywork by re-hanging the doors and went for a shake-down run, it felt real good with no issues worth mentioning ... nearly 49 years since she was last on the road.
CJ Harvey

Chris - interesting thread for many of us, but more than that, I just wanted to say congratulations mate, for getting another special car on the road after so long.Great feeling, isn't it! John.
J.P. Hall

I had the same problem but was able to loosen and finagle things to get it all back together ok. Did take some time though as I did not want to cut and drill anything new. It all fit before so it should fit again.
L Rutt

Cliff,

I had the same problem. I took a file to the square hole at the top and made the top about 1/8 of an inch higher and that fixed the problem.

Dave
Dave Runnings

This thread was discussed between 07/03/2014 and 13/03/2014

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