#1 Aligning OTS boot lid
Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2022 5:01 pm
Is it conventional to put a small child with spanners, sockets, etc. in an OTS boot then push down on the various corners of the lid and shout at the child when and where to tighten up the nuts and bolts?
I certainly could have done with one, or a short in stature apprentice, as every time I adjusted one corner another went out of alignment.
Then when it still wouldn't go fully down far enough at the forward corners realising that shims would be needed under the hinges where attached to the body. Fortunately Simon (288gto) had sent me some spare stainless ones from when he was working on his car. (Though I also found that the bonnet fork-like shims do the job as well.)
Well after three days I’ve got it looking quite decent. And a much better fit than a PO had done, for he had relied on a thick skim, no call it a thick layer of filler all over the lid. And where people had hit the lid to get it to latch there were the expected dents, filler was used instead of gentle pressure from inside which has done the job!
A hot air gun was used to help remove the filler, not just on the boot but rear wings as well. And it’s surprising how many dents popped back into shape with the use of heat. The filler measured over 6mm deep in places
Restoring an E Type is an education, not simply on how to do new tasks but how not to do what a PO has done in the past. And in wishing that PO had known better and saved you many hours of unnecessary work!
Ah well, onwards and upwards.
Geoff
I certainly could have done with one, or a short in stature apprentice, as every time I adjusted one corner another went out of alignment.
Then when it still wouldn't go fully down far enough at the forward corners realising that shims would be needed under the hinges where attached to the body. Fortunately Simon (288gto) had sent me some spare stainless ones from when he was working on his car. (Though I also found that the bonnet fork-like shims do the job as well.)
Well after three days I’ve got it looking quite decent. And a much better fit than a PO had done, for he had relied on a thick skim, no call it a thick layer of filler all over the lid. And where people had hit the lid to get it to latch there were the expected dents, filler was used instead of gentle pressure from inside which has done the job!
A hot air gun was used to help remove the filler, not just on the boot but rear wings as well. And it’s surprising how many dents popped back into shape with the use of heat. The filler measured over 6mm deep in places
Restoring an E Type is an education, not simply on how to do new tasks but how not to do what a PO has done in the past. And in wishing that PO had known better and saved you many hours of unnecessary work!
Ah well, onwards and upwards.
Geoff
...will you be putting all your old filler in the for sale section.....im sure someone may be interested...especially if old 70s filler 