TR4/4A Macy's Garage TR4-6 bonnet release kit mini-review

[Darrell_Walker]

One of the cool things about the TR4-6 is the front-tipping bonnet. But every owner has probably heard horror stories about the release cable breaking, and the recommendation is to install a back-up cable. I've never had my cable fail, and never installed a back-up because I couldn't find a neat way to do it.

Then I found this kit from Macy's Garage:

https://macysgarage.com/myweb6/Parts/triumph_accessories.htm

It literally took less than 10 minutes to install, and that was with having to swap out the battery packs in my drill twice.

It would be fairly simple to fab up this release yourself, but for less than $15, getting it all packaged up, with a nice lever, is a good deal to me.

Here it is installed:

 

[justin_mercier]

You may want to get yourself a stop-nut so that you can pull down the release, but not so far that the arm moves past the release point and lets it re-latch.

 

[Darrell_Walker]

You may want to get yourself a stop-nut so that you can pull down the release, but not so far that the arm moves past the release point and lets it re-latch.

Hi Justin,

It came with one, but it has to go so far past the amount it take to open, that I just don't see that happening. But I'll think about installing it.

-Darrell

 

[Gliderman8]

Macy's bonnet release kit was the FIRST thing I installed on my TR6 when I got the body back on to the frame. It's a small price to pay for peace of mind

 

[Musicman]

I installed one of these a few years ago. It was very easy to install. Thankfully I haven't had the need to use it yet.

Dave

 

[tdskip]

+1 on this being a must do thing. Nice folks at Macy's as well.

 

[Darrell_Walker]

OK, so I'm a little slow sometimes. Figured out why a stop on the lever is a good idea. Not just from using the back up release, but even pulling the normal release too far will let the lever turn past the little arm on the release.

 

[cheseroo]

My first 6 came with a broken bonnet release so my first task was to try to get it open to see whether or not the car I just bought had more than an oil pan hanging out the bottom. What a pain to do. First thing I bought was one of these emergency releases. They are a little plain though. If you want to upgrade to the blingie version, here it is

 

[Darrell_Walker]

If you want to upgrade to the blingie version, here it is

Very nice!

I have an extra carb linkage rod, maybe I'll rig that up. Not as fancy as the rod end in that kit, but more "period".

 

[cheseroo]

I forgot to mention that the knob on the end of Francois' version is much easier on the hand. The bent "L" handle can be a bit difficult to grab onto and pull.

 

[BobbyD]

To give credit where credit is due...........this product was the brain child of Joe Cannon who shared it with all of his club members via their newsletter. The templates for making your own are in that write up. I installed this on my car about 8 years ago and immediately saw the need for the stop nut which I added. You do have to pull it pretty far down to over-rotate it but if you do..............it could make for an interesting time getting the hood open. Total cost was about $5 and I never use the stock release anymore.

 

[TRDejaVu]

I have had one for a few years and it is my primary means of opening the Bonnet. Excellent piece of kit.

 

[justin_mercier]

I'm actually thinking if I do one of these right, that when I put my car back together, I just wont put the stock cable back in at all, and keep that ugly rotted cable from dangling across the whole engine bay.

 

[Darrell_Walker]

To give credit where credit is due...........this product was the brain child of Joe Cannon who shared it with all of his club members via their newsletter. The templates for making your own are in that write up. I installed this on my car about 8 years ago and immediately saw the need for the stop nut which I added. You do have to pull it pretty far down to over-rotate it but if you do..............it could make for an interesting time getting the hood open. Total cost was about $5 and I never use the stock release anymore.

Hi Bob,

Thanks for filling in the background!

-Darrell

 

[mrv8q]

OK, so I'm a little slow sometimes. Figured out why a stop on the lever is a good idea. Not just from using the back up release, but even pulling the normal release too far will let the lever turn past the little arm on the release.

That's why you want the top of the lever to just touch to bottom of the little arm of the release, yours looks a touch low...

 

[Darrell_Walker]

That's why you want the top of the lever to just touch to bottom of the little arm of the release, yours looks a touch low...

Yes, I had to mount it a bit low due to another hole that was there previously (from a hood lock).

 

[mgedit]

Not as elegant a solution, but I made one up a few years ago using a slightly different approach:

https://ovtc.net/techarea/hood_release/index.html

Cheers, Mike

 

[DNK]

Mike. Dan Masters was working on a similar location for his. The difference was his would operate by an electric solenoid.

 

[MadRiver]

Two enthusiastic thumbs up on this product and the concept. I've installed one on my TR-250 and on my wife's TR-6. I've never had to use it in an emergency (thankfully), but it's super-convenient, and works better than yanking on the hood release cable.

It's also super convenient to be able to open the bonnet from the right side of the car. The secondary bonnet latch and prop are, of course, on the right side of the car. It's great to be able to lean under the passenger seat and yank the emergency release and then release the secondary latch and raise the bonnet, rather than walking around from the driver side to the passenger side.

Ok, I now realize that this makes me seem super-lazy. Anyway, great product.

 

[Darrell_Walker]

It's also super convenient to be able to open the bonnet from the right side of the car. The secondary bonnet latch and prop are, of course, on the right side of the car. It's great to be able to lean under the passenger seat and yank the emergency release and then release the secondary latch and raise the bonnet, rather than walking around from the driver side to the passenger side.

I didn't realize that the bonnet release on the 250 and 6 were on the left side. The 4A has it on the right, even for a LHD car.