Bonnet locking MGB

[Barrie Robinson <barrie@look.ca>]

Some while ago I asked the list for advice on my problem which was my MGB 
GT bonnet catch that behaved badly and consumed release cables.  For those 
interested the following is what I have found by continuos mucking about.

All through this fiasco I missed one important point - The safety catch was 
not set correctly.  I missed this because it is off to one side and is so 
simple nothing can go wrong with it !!   While pulling down on the bonnet 
and watching the male entering the female bit (alright chaps, settle down) 
I heard this 'boing' .  I could not see where anything was catching to make 
the noise.  The solution eluded me for days.  Then I noticed the hook of 
the safety catch was "boinging" on the wrong side of the adjustable holding 
U shaped catch.  The mechanism is so simple and missed when you are so 
intense on looking at another part.   I had to put several washers under 
the leading screw hole to get the hook to go back to engage properly even 
after adjusting the U thing.  Strange but true, so one has to assume that 
my catch has been bent out of shape at some time.  That done I tried 
several adjustments of the prong and when I found the right length by 
watching it snagging in the hole, I tried the release cable.  It was great, 
I tried about a dozen times and it worked as smooth as silk.  But then I 
noticed that the bonnet was proud at the back so I adjusted the hinges and 
lowered the back of the bonnet about 1/4 inch.  (I had 'adjusted' the 
bonnet a while back as one side half way down the wing looked too 
high).  Looked great.........but the latch did not work.  The cable worked 
but the bonnet stayed still.

So then the little bulb lit up !!  The whole problem has been that the 
bonnet hinges were not set correctly allowing the bonnet to twist as the 
prong went in the whole.  This twist made the prong go hard against the 
hole latch and hold it there.  Obviously I could not see that the prong was 
doing this.  My big problem now is adjusting the bonnet which is really a 
two man job for amateurs.

Thank you to those who have given me advise on this subject in the past.


Regards

Barrie Robinson
705-721-9060
MGB GT V8 in the making
Aston Martin DB 2/4 MkII in the wings

Purveyor of O-ring kits for Smith and Jaeger gauges
---- and of stainless steel mesh grilles for MGBs 
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