Centre bonnet section

[alunwill]

Has anyone replaced the centre panel of the bonnet and if so, what issues can be expected when rebuilding.

Also, which of the normal panel makers provide the best fit. I note on the robey site that they give a catch all disclaimer that the panel may need cutting / welding to get a good fit.

Al

[DWW]

There are so many inter-twining panels to the entire bonnet that all have to fit perfectly that it makes it difficult to even tell you where to start, you probably need to search for some YouTube videos covering the subject. When I restored mine the Bonnet was so far gone I had to completely replace it for one I bought from Jaguar Classic, they took six months to deliver.

In any event on classic cars buying aftermarket panels will inevitably be a hit or miss thing.

[paydase]

Be prepared for very serious panels work.
If not done by yourself, very costly.
Better start looking at Chuck videos (Monocoque Metalworks) to understand what is at stake before considering doing it.

[mgcjag]

Have a chat with Andy at Hutsons..in Bradford.....Steve

[MarekH]

The problem here is akin to trying to replace the middle section of an onion.

I can give you two examples of how not to do it.

A chap from east Anglia who wanted to fit one of my covered headlight kits found etype restoration expensive, so whilst his tub was being prepped for painting in Kent, he decided reassemble the bonnet, himself, upside down on a workbench and being a builder, he used a product called "No more nails" in place of Sikaflex 221. His bonnet was crash damaged to boot. I offered him his money back even though he'd drilled holes in my kit to make it fit his bonnet because I knew this would all be "my fault" once he found he'd failed.

The second was the dealer who recommended this client to me. Being relatively new to the business and employing relatively inexperienced staff, he similarly wanted to save money by reassembling the front of a car from three different bonnets. The panels were all shot blasted and reassembled, but mysteriously they didn't fit in a straight line against the scuttle, nor at the headlight opening, where he'd welded in new sheet metal to them. Once again, not understanding what your starting point is or not recognising the limitations of your skills base will be an expensive tale of woe for which you will naturally blame someone else.

The panels you have are fifty years old and have taken on a set. They aren't all equal thickness any more and they twist and bend based on this. The panel you are adding is going to be relatively thick metalled and inflexible and almost certainly need some custom trimming to fit your car.

Before you even start, you need to review how good your current wheelarch to tub curvature is at the back of the front wheels and how the three panels at the back are gapped against the scuttle.

To get a good panel fit, you'll have to "peel the onion back" to the starting base of just the underpan and match the new centre section to fit and only then add the fenders back in. Then you have to decide what lengths these panels are going to be as shimming the underpan moves all three forward or back, they all have to have an even gap to the scuttle at the back and the fenders need to pull forward or back for the curve around the wheel well to meet. You now need to realise that moving the fenders forward (or back) relative to the centre panel will alter the geometry of the headlight opening to make it more low fat like a circle (or longer, thinner like a pine cone) so your clunky thick chrome rim (or s1.5 scoop) will have to be offered up to reconcile all of these together with each other. That's because glass doesn't flex and the s1.5 scoop is rigid.

Only then can you worry about the overall curvature around the scuttle and finally the internal panels with their no more nails wonderbonding. (Yes, this guy really was a builder.)

It's all doable, but every layer of onion skin put on is going to be a custom fit onto a previous layer and not the shoehorn a centre panel into a current bonnet, so the real question you need to ask is "how do fit all of the other panels onto a centre panel?"and not "how do I let in a new centre panel?"

Good luck.

kind regards
Marek

[Iansparky]

Definitely take a look at Chucks videos, there is a whole section on bonnet restoration. I think he would recommend repairing your center section rather than replace it, if that is at all possible
Ian

[265bhp]

Wise words from Marek…it is a complex assembly of many parts…and if taken apart will not go back in the same form…are you sure you cannot repair the centre section..?….photos would help
All the best
Jonathan