Morris Minor Owners Club

does anyone have a picture of a bonnet/innerwing alignment, im rebuilding this up as we speak but at the mo its doesnt look quite right! i dont know if bonnet is out or wings are out, drivers side edge of bonnet runs parallel to the inner wing, about 10mm in from the wing, but on passenger side by the door pillar, bonnet is about 10mm inside the inner wing, and at the front it overlaps the innerwing by about 10mm meaning this side runs 20mm out of parallel. i have put the front panel on which gives me the correct width at the front.and the hinges are on the bonnet but i havnt moved them around at all. [frame][/frame][frame][/frame]

It is really just a case of fitting everything (wings included) without nipping the nuts/bolts up and adjusting each in turn to give the best fit. I spent ages on mine trying to get acceptable and even gaps which I don't think they ever left the factory with (not on every car at least). Your problems could be worse if you are using any replacement parts or panels as I believe in particular doors, wings, boot lids and bonnets were selected for each car as it was assembled so the "same" part off another car may not fit like the original did. New panels are also a terrible fit (esp bonnets and front wings). Have the inner wings been replaced at all and are they correct? One last thing I had to do was to slot the holes in the front panel (the two upper ones either side) to alow me to move the inner wings in and out at the leading edge.
The next question you ask will probably be how to get the front wings to line up to the bumper correctly but I have a fix for that too
Good luck - it took me about 2 weeks of fiddling and tweaking to get it spot on

Thanks psl i have nos wings, and a different but original bonnet and i had the inner wings replaced by a specialist, i assumed they were correct but i have my doubts which is why i was after a pic, when i tried to tease out the inner wing a little (by hand to make it fit) several of the spot welds popped off so i will have to drill and mig to make it a proper job! makes me slightly worried about the rest of the the other bits that were done! i think if i slot the front panel as you suggest and also do this on the inner wing it will help.

Well the welding does sound a little dubious to say the least

The N/S is correct the o/s is incorrect. Did the 'specialist have the bonnet you currently have , in order to set the inner wings.
If they did then simply return the car and have them re do the inner wing gap at their cost. If they had the old bonnet to go by then re fit that one and check the gap again. If still wron take it back.
You should be able to ease the flitch inwards on the o/s without the welds popping.
Looking at the pics again it seems that the n/s one is tapered inwards to the front end, whilst the o/s goes outwards. Check also the bonnet itself and if need be loosen all nuts on the hinges and bonnet catches to allow full movement of the bonnet.

specialist had the old bonnet but that was a saloon bonnet and i have a pick up,so i changed it. ill try it with the other bonnet.
so your saying the ns is correct? to me that looks like the wrong one as it doesnt run parallel to the bonnet, by the time it gets to the front the inner wing is under the bonnet??? should the inner wings run parallel to the bonnet?
the os does run parallel to the bonnet, i know its not a great photo though.
i see the logic behind undoing all the nuts and bolts but if the wings dont run parallel to both sides of the the bonnet then no matter how much i adjust it, one side will always be out?

My initial thought was that the n/s was okay, but on looking further I did say that it looks tapered.............

'Looking at the pics again it seems that the n/s one is tapered inwards to the front end, whilst the o/s goes outwards. Check also the bonnet itself and if need be loosen all nuts on the hinges and bonnet catches to allow full movement of the bonnet.'

Ideally the 'specialist' should have been given the bonnet and all of the other panels to be used, to give them a chance of setting the inner flitch and bonnet correctly.
I'd say that if reasonable force has been used to move the inner flitches to achieve alignment, then the welding is of a poor standard and should not have 'popped'.
In short to deal with what you have presented us with, you seem to need the o/s flitch to move inwards and the n/s front end of the flitch to move outwards. The latter is easily achieved., but I cannot see how the full flitch on the o/s can all be moved inwards.How does the wing and door line up ? on this side.
As I say loosen off all bonnet fixings and try and achieve a happy medium. It will be interesting to see what the old bonnet looks like when offered up.

I'll add that to my knowledge the front end of my car is original, apart from the front wings. When I had my wings off and tried to replace the bonnet after spraying, it took me and my dad a couple of days to get the damn thing looking ok.... and I mean just ok. We still aren't 100% happy with it now, it took ages to stop the back end of the bonnet catching the wing on closing and the gaps kind of looking central, fiddling with the hinges, pushing the bonnet one way... then the next. Frustrating.. so I guess after a repair and swap of panels it would be harder still.

I think that if one is replacing both flitches then there is no excuse for a professional bodyshop to allow any misalignment, given that they have all of the relevant body panels at their disposal.
We have replaced the inner flitches of Kates 4dr plus all four doors and wings. It was imperative that shuts were perfect.
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thannks for the pics they will help with things.it has been a complete front end rebuild, new tie plates new domed inner wings and new flat innerwings and flitches both sides. i have not tried the drivers side wing or door yet so cant say what they will look like. should the bonnet edge finish flush with the inner wing (outer) edge or slightly in from it? the bonnet you have shown in that pic j looks like it must finish pretty flush with the edges?

The bonnet will be forward of the inner wings but in line with the outers.
I'm at a loss to think how this 'specialist' could align the 'whole 'front end without the parts , as it would have been total guess work.
Had a quick trawl of my pic library to find a better pic of the wing alignment. Found these few but I have a better one lurking somewhere.
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ok ill take another peek today and try the old bonnet see what that looks like and get some more pics. thanks for the help.

well i tried the old bonnet and things look better, i then measured the old bonnet and compared to the new bonnet the old bonnet is 10mm wider over the strengthening bar (folded metal strip from one side to the other) in the middle and 20mm wider right at the back! no wonder the new one looked like it didnt fit. to rectify im thinking of cutting the strenghening bar , making bonnet fit then re welding the bar, unless this is a bad idea? then once bonnet is right width i can do the allignment on the hinges. i havnt tightened the front panel up yet so by the time i do this i think i can pull the inner wings in or out abit to suit.
thanks for all the help recieved so far!

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Ahh !! that looks a lot better. just weld up the holes for the mouldings and keep this one unless its bad elsewhere

I had to re-use my original bonnet after I couldn't get a replacement to fit properly - there was a difference when I measured them both, but can't remember what it was.

Pete

it would be ok to try and adjust the painted bonnet wouldnt it?
as it would be less work for me to widen the newly painted one than take off the mouldings and respray etc

things are looking better now thanks for the help