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Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 11:39 am
by Boomlander
Just bought a pair of bonnet side trims and at the moment I am trying to pluck up the courage to wield the drill on Jethro's lovely van bonnet to put in the securing holes.
The end result will be worth it I think as the car does look a little weird with the side stripes ending abruptly at the front of the door edge instead of continuing onto the nose.
Maybe tomorrow after the Clacton Car Show :wink:

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 12:42 pm
by charlie_morris_minor
can you not find a bonnet with the holes already in? i feel sure the van guys would love to buy a split screen bonnet without the holes? or is it for another moggy?

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 3:04 pm
by bmcecosse
Measure twice - drill once....

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 3:50 pm
by Boomlander
charlie_morris_minor wrote:can you not find a bonnet with the holes already in? i feel sure the van guys would love to buy a split screen bonnet without the holes? or is it for another moggy?
Looked for a holey bonnet but without success, I would need to have it prepped and resprayed so the cost would be prohibitive. Also the only decent ones I saw were way up North and would cost a fortune to ship down to Essex :(

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 3:53 pm
by Boomlander
bmcecosse wrote:Measure twice - drill once....
In my case I think it will be a matter of measuring ten times!
I plan to lay out the position with thick masking tape then press the fixing studs into the tape to mark the drill points.
What could possibly go wrong! :wink: :D

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 3:55 pm
by Boomlander
charlie_morris_minor wrote:can you not find a bonnet with the holes already in? i feel sure the van guys would love to buy a split screen bonnet without the holes? or is it for another moggy?
Maybe I would consider selling the bonnet if I received a suitable offer in the next 24 hours.....Any Takers? :D

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Sun Aug 26, 2012 5:49 pm
by charlie_morris_minor
have you contacted lcvruss? as he is heavily involved with lcv minors so might know of someone looking for an early bonnet.

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:27 pm
by les
It would be nice for anyone searching for one but seeing the owner says the cost of obtaining and respraying etc would be prohibitive he can hardly be blamed for converting. I take his recent post of offers a bit confusing considering his original reasons for not parting with it, maybe he was joking!

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2012 7:40 am
by Boomlander
les wrote:It would be nice for anyone searching for one but seeing the owner says the cost of obtaining and respraying etc would be prohibitive he can hardly be blamed for converting. I take his recent post of offers a bit confusing considering his original reasons for not parting with it, maybe he was joking!
I would only consider selling the existing bonnet if I received a high enough price to cover the cost of obtaining and respraying a replacement.
The bonnet on the car is immaculate and the simplest route would be to drill it and fit the side mouldings. :D

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2012 4:01 pm
by Boomlander
Watching a bonnet on Ebay at the moment but may need to courier it down to Clacton if I buy it.
Anyone know how much a bonnet weighs? :-?

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2012 4:29 pm
by LouiseM
Around 12.5kgs with fittings - see here: http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... net+weight

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2012 6:11 pm
by Boomlander
LouiseM wrote:Around 12.5kgs with fittings - see here: http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... net+weight
Great - thanks Louise. :D

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Wed Aug 29, 2012 10:03 am
by Boomlander
Actually I think that I will stick to the original plan and fit the side trims to my LCV bonnet as there are no good condition series two bonnets available for sale......Now which way up do they go??? :wink:

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 12:25 am
by chesney
Taper sweeps UP! ;)

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 7:56 pm
by Boomlander
Thanks - now that I've had a close look I can see what you mean.
There is a definite upward sweep to the trims! :D
I am still working up the courage to drill holes in Jethro's nose though!

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 8:09 pm
by les
If you're a person who likes things spot on, one suggestion would be to make a template from another bonnet. You may, of course, have to wait for an appropriate car show to find one but you will know that the trim is in the right place. :D

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2012 11:01 pm
by Alex'n'Ane
If your that stressed or worried about it, just take to a minor specialist to do! They should get it spot on! And if not, they will have to fork out to get it re-done!

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:35 pm
by les
Alex'n'Ane wrote:If your that stressed or worried about it, just take to a minor specialist to do! They should get it spot on! And if not, they will have to fork out to get it re-done!
Like your optimism, especially 'they should get it spot on' ! :D

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 5:41 pm
by Boomlander
I think I will trust my own hand when it comes to fitting the side trims, it's just a bit daunting drilling into that shiny bonnet! :D

Re: Bonnet Conversion

Posted: Sun Sep 09, 2012 2:31 pm
by Boomlander
Holes drilled, trims sprayed and fitted but black paint on trims isn't as black as the paint on the car!
It looks fine in the shade but looks decidedly charcoal coloured in bright sunlight.
I may have to experiment with clear lacquer to obtain a deeper gloss black! :(