Morris Minor Owners Club

Can someone tell me the best way to release the bonnet catch on my Series II. I pulled the ring pull the other day and it came adrift somewhere at the front of the engine compartment. The car has a cheesegrater grill fitted, which makes it difficult to see the catch mechanism.

Regards, Clive.

Not sure about the cheesegrater grill type but with later one you need a long screwdriver at an angle through the grill to reach the mechanism and then give it a thump to release it, and it can be easier to look underneath 1st as this can help with where to put the screwdriver, but I dont know if this will help in your case.

its a long arm from under the sump area.
reach up and pull the lever on the right side of the radiator.
going to have to get comfortable laying under the car and locate the lever and keep calm. its happened to me it is possible to reach the lever.but your arm is going in up to you shoulder. a large screwdrive can help with leverage. the split pin has failed and the that has become disconected

its a long arm from under the sump area.
reach up and pull the lever on the right side of the radiator.
going to have to get comfortable laying under the car and locate the lever and keep calm.

It also needs a thin arm - I couldn't reach when I tried as my arm didn't fit, but maybe removing the oil filter housing would give a bit more room.

It sounds like you need a country vet to help you - they're used to having their arms in up to the shoulder

Maybe this is a silly suggestion but could you unbend a coat hanger with a small hook made on the end to reach and pull the lever?

simmitc wrote:It sounds like you need a country vet to help you - they're used to having their arms in up to the shoulder

those were my thoughts when i was in the same situation.

could you unbend a coat hanger with a small hook made on the end to reach and pull the lever?

I think there would be a problem with that as room is very tight in that area and if you managed to hook it on the would not be room to pull it in the right direction, but it sounds a good idea Chief all the same and go on now tell me you have managed to do it this way.

Try this it may work.
If you have the fresh air pipe supply fitted to your heater, remove it at the heater end and push in into the engine bay. With a torch you should be able to look through the hole and see what has happened to the release arm. You should be able to re hook it into the hole on the bonnet pull mechanism, on the front panel, and hey presto.

A series II with a cheesegrater grille (pre-54) should not have the fresh air pipe aperture on the bulkhead.

Good idea for the later cars though.

Try this it may work.
If you have the fresh air pipe supply fitted to your heater, remove it at the heater end and push in into the engine bay. With a torch you should be able to look through the hole and see what has happened to the release arm. You should be able to re hook it into the hole on the bonnet pull mechanism, on the front panel, and hey presto.

Without the pipe, there is a variation on this which might work but would take 2 people who work well together. If you can get the front wheels up on ramps, one person can lie under the car with a long stick and a torch to help guide the pull rod back into the hole (or at least around the back of the lever) whist the other person pushes/pulls the ring on the end of the rod.
(obviously any variation of the chuckle brothers 'to you / to me' isn't going to work so it would need 2 people who are not related )

i like the coat hanger idea - i'll booger about with the idea and see if i can make a tool ... just in case. be prepared - ex-dibber me mate...


mind you knowing my luck probably the day before i need it i'll forget and convert it to a standard coat hanger aerial...




british engineering at its finest

Well I managed to free the bonnet catch. Thanks for all your suggestions. I thought Ray's idead worth a go and I managed to relocate the rod in the lever, by cutting a slot in a piece of pipe and using it to guide the rod back into place. But when I pulled the ring, it would not hold in.

Finally, once I could see what I was trying to do, I used a flat steel bar about 2 ft long and worked through the front hole, of the four holes in the flat section between the inner wing and chassis, and moved the lever quite easily. It was one situation where being in a dark garage was better than working outside, as I could shine a torch up through the hole and see what I was doing. The last time I was outside in the sun and it was impossible to see what was going on.

I have had the car for just over a week and I took the oportunity to grease the catch mechanism and the new split pin!!. The catch was very stiff before, but it's fine now. I think there is a lesson for all of us, in that it pays to replace the spit pin every year or so, as the cost of a new pin is nothing.

Oh and by the way, can someone confirm that this car, which is May 1955, would not have had a cheesegrater fitted originally and it must have been added.

Regards, Clive.

Mine is november 1955 and doesn't have the cheesegrater grill, but the horizontal thingies. Thanks to Cam, its called slated, Never knew... but then I am only a wee foreigner

The last cheesgrater grille cars were produced in October 1954. Yours should have the later 'slatted' grille.

those split pins needed are tiny ones.

Oh and by the way, can someone confirm that this car, which is May 1955, would not have had a cheesegrater fitted originally and it must have been added.

Was it registered in May 55 or produced then (it depends on the VIN number). If it was registered in 55 it may still have been poroduced in 54.

Well, it was usually less than a month from production to registration at that time. My '52 was a week. I would say that if the registration was May 55 then it was probably manufactured no earlier than April 55 (unless it was a special 'one-off' case). It's VERY likely that it had a slatted grille from the factory. Of course we can tell for certain from the chassis number.

Onne wrote:Mine is november 1955 and doesn't have the cheesegrater grill, but the horizontal thingies. Thanks to Cam, its called slated, Never knew... but then I am only a wee foreigner

It's difficult to tell now that you ARE a foreigner! Your English is becoming VERY good! (especially with your use of slang terms). In fact it's much better than a lot of the native English posters on here!!

WOT DO EWE MEEN?

lik wot RAY sed abowt spelin an gramer an punkchooayshun u dont lern wen tha comupter spels it an dus tha gramer 4 ya truble iz skools dont teech em proper wiv a pensil an payper

(I think I'll leave it there as that too FAR too long to type! ).