Kent -
The latch's locking part is located on a sheetmetal tab that sticks
out from the firewall. A rod is mounted to the bonnet (hood) which is
about 3 inches long that goes through a hole in this sheetmetal tab
(on the firewall).
At the end of the bonnet's rod is a bit of metal that looks basically
like a cross between a spear head and a penis head. It's this
enlarged head that goes through the sheetmetal tab and the locking
mechanism holds against this enlarged head to keep the bonnet closed.
The locking mechanism itself is a sliding flat sheetmetal piece about
one and a half inches wide by about three inches long, and it is
mounted longitudinally parallel to the firewall and it has a hole in
the center of it. This sliding plate is held in the locking position
by a spring on one side, and "pulled" to the unlocking position by a
small metal rod & pivot on the other side (which is connected to the
handle under the dash). If you pull the rod-mounted side of the
sliding plate outwards towards the fender of the car (I think the rod
is on the right hand side of the plate, thus pull it towards the right
side), it will slide and the hole will center itself on the enlarged
head of the rod, releasing it and allowing the hood to pop open.
There is a spring located around the rod itself, it is this spring
which pops the hood open when the rod is released from the lock... if
this spring is broken it won't release... but you can probably pop it
open with a sharp slap on the bonnet with your hand.
Hope that description helps.
Regards,
Alan
'53 BN1 '64 BJ8
On Tue, 29 Mar 2005 16:42:40 -0500, Kent McLean
<kentmclean@mindspring.com> wrote:
> I'm trying to open the hood (bonnet) on my '56 100 BN2,
> which has been in storage for 30 years. The hood release
> in the cockpit won't budge. Fortunately the fenders are
> off, so I can reach in from either side to get to the
> latch. The problem is that I can't see much. The left
> (port) side looks most promising. I can see what looks
> like a short rod, coming out from the firewall, that is
> attached to the sheet metal frame of the latch. Using a
> vice grips, I can't get it to move.
>
> Q. What do I have to push, pull, pry, or break to get the
> hood to pop? And from which side do I get to it?
>
> A close-up photo of the latch would be invaluable.
>
> FWIW, I sprayed the area with rust penetrant last week
> to help the effort.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Kent McLean
> '56 100 BN2
|