Square body Spridget owners
For your own safety and piece of mind, grab the front lip of
your bonnet,
wiggle it vigorously from side to side and up and down, see if
it unlatches.
The 67 Sprite I am working on showed signs of a creased cowl.
I know from experience that when a bonnet pops open and flys
up, it will crease the cowl, smash the widscreen, and fold
over the top. (My own 67 Sprite did just that back in 1972)
When the bonnet flys open, not only does it do damage to the
car but you can not see. Picture 50 mph and all of a sudden
you are blinded by a bonnet covering your windscreen. Aim for
the shoulder and hope for the best.
The 67 I am working on recently popped it's bonnet on a short
drive.
I know it was latched and I always give them a tug after I had
one pop.
So I grabbed it, wiggled it and it popped open fairly easily.
The catch was worn out just a bit and this was the cause.
Maybe this problem is unique to 67 Sprites, I doubt it. Check
those bonnet catches. I fixed this one before anything
happened to me. And sure there is a safety catch on Spridgets
too but back in 72, my safety catch didn't help.
Frank
|