Morris Minor Owners Club

i have a gap on either side of the bonnet wide enough to drive a bus through, well, a good 20mm anyway. Does anybody have a more refined way of narrowing the gap other than removing the wings and battering the inner wings wiv a big 'ammer.
Alternativley, does anyone have a wider bonnet?
If you look closeley, you will see a plastic trim has been inserted between the inner and outer wing in an attempt to lessing the impact.

Rob. I had the same problem with mine when I bought a new bonnet. The old one fitted perfectly but the new (modern replacement) was a lousy fit. To get round it I removed the front grille panel and pulled the wings up to get acceptable gaps to the bonnet. I then had to re-drill / file out the front panel holes in order to get that to fit. It was a fiddle but I felt worth it in the end.

Hopefully you can see the better gapping in this picture

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aahhaa.. Thats what i was thinking but , what procees did you go through to 'pull the wings up'. Just what i think i need to do

and here

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Rob. With the front panel removed the inner wings flex inwards or outwards and consequently alter the gap to the bonnet. I just tied string through some convienient holes in the inner wings and pulled tight until the gaps were OK. Then tied off the string to hold the wings in place until I refitted the front panel which then held the wings and inners in the correct place... Hope you understand my waffle !!

excellent tip!

There were probably uneven gaps like that when they were built weren't there?

I wouldn't say they were perfect when built but certainaly a lot better than some of the supposedly restored cars I've seen. Problem is with the "new" panels. The dies are either old and worn or remanufactured and the panels that come off them just don't fit. I'm on my 4th rebuild now (different cars, not the same one) and I have all sorts of problems with new panels, not just bonnets. Front wings are probably worse of all..... Sadly

The dies are either old and worn or remanufactured and the panels that come off them just don't fit.

I have prepared the finishing trims that bolt to the cill plates, ready to paint, one was bmc the other repro ( wish I could name them) the difference between the two was astounding;---thinner, bends not as tight, curved along 'flat' areas, narrower bolt slot, 1 side 1/4'' shorter and this is quite a simple piece of metalwork. Has anyone ever seen a lower 'B' post repair section, now that is insulting.

Don't even start me off on rear spring hanger repair panels.....!!!!

Ive just spent nearly 6 hours fitting so called rear wheel arch repair panels. god bless 0xy/acetylene bottles. Not for welding, the mig was the tool for that job, but to heat up and bend the panels. These panels were shockingly far off the mark . And dont get me started on the Boot Aperture Panel and Bootwell Panel !!!!!!!! These have been fitted but i recon they'll be tweaked a bit before im happy with them.

Back to the garage at the bottom of the garden in the morning for more of the same...........................

I need a repair flange, lucky i got one that was about 20 years old so it fitted ok

i bought some old stock rear wings, dated 1985 and the fit was very good

again the same with a new old stock bootlid

new old stock front wings needed just a small amount of tweaking nothing major
admittingly nothing to serious in the way of rot

best to take out as little original metal as possible

can not understand why cill finishers and kick plates should be that bad

i did have some very good used original ones

I think it might be time to make a definitive guide to the purchase/selection of panels. The situation is quite dire in my opinion and is confused by the fact that both of the major manufacturers produce both good and bad panels and are sometimes inconsistant in the same panel but different batches. If you are thinking of performing a resto then I'm more than happy to advise on which ones we find to be the best.
Sill finishers can be bought as bespoke items in both galvanised ,mild or stainless steel. Usefull if you are faced with a sill set either to far in or out. Prices are very similar to the off the shelf items.

Rob, Sorry for stating the obvious, but I presume the gap between back of bonnet and scuttle panel is equal at both ends. I had the same with mineI finished up doing the same as PSL.

Whilst i had the engine out and the front off released the wings and ratchet strapped the inner panel a bit, hit it a bit and heated it a bit and then when it was all back together the gap was better ....a bit.

In this case - the 'hockey sticks' look to be quite well lined up, and it does look as if some (at least) of the problem lies with the bonnet. Why not loosen the hinge mounting bolts and 'ease' the bonnet over slightly - probably ned to adjust the front catch too, both sideways and for good tight closure. The bonnet may need a wee 'twist' too to line up better with the front panel - just be careful not to break the hinges.