At 06:41 PM 12/15/97 EST, Wildbil923 wrote:
>I'm now doing a test fitting of the sheet metal. I notice, when the
>bonnet halves are down and latched that each half makes metal to metal
>contact with the wings (fenders) sort of mid-way along the length of
>the bonnets. The Mog I'm restoring has a new chassis frame and valances
>so it's certainly possible that the combination of old and new parts has
>affected the fit of things. My question: Is metal to metal contact
>between the bonnet halves and wings normal? If so, has anyone come up
>with a clever way to protect the paint on these two parts?
Bill,
Welcome to the fun world of restoring a Morgan. Unlike anything else.
No, the bonnet halves should NOT touch the top of the fenders. In fact
there should be a "uniform" gap of 1/4 to 1/2" or so. I don't have my
car here so I can't measure it.
If your valances are "too tall" that might account for the problem. If
you have the old valances, measure the height at several places along the
lenght and measure the height of the new ones at the same locations. If
they are the same height, then possibly you bonnett is too tall/wide.
Again, measure the old hood against the new one.
It is NOT uncommon for replacement parts not to fit. On my car, when I
ordered a new 1/4 panel from the Factory, it turned out to be about 1" to
short. So I have a 1" strip from an old beer can about 1/2 way across
the door where the rear 1/4 and the cowl meet.
Another problem of bonnet fit, is how does it fit between the nose and
the cowel? On my car, one side sits too far aft, the other side sits
too far forward. The result is that on the rear of one side, the hood
lacing shows on the cowl and the bonnet sits on top of the nose. The
other side is the opposite.
I've tried to find someone to write a good article about the fitting of
both the bonnet and one on fitting the doors. Both of these areas are
usually a problem in a restoration.
I've written several of the restorers looking for pointers and got no
responce. If memory serves me correctly, Fred Sissons was the only one
to respond to the problem of the hood. He told me that he welds a
additional piece on the front of the hood to get the fit correct and
then trims it to fit.
Hope this is of some help.
John
John T. Blair WA4OHZ email: jblair@exis.net
Va. Beach, Va Phone: (757) 495-8229
48 TR1800 48 #4 Midget 65 Morgan 4/4 Series V
75 Bricklin SV1 77 Spitfire
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