1960 BT7 top mounting brackets

[red57]

I need some assistance. Long story, I will make as short as possible. I wrecked my 100-6 at a race in 2013, took it home and stripped it to restore but found the frame a lot worse than I thought so I set it aside and shifted to a different project.
I have been working on restoring a 1960 BT7 that I hit a deer with back in 1987. 4 1/2 years in so far. Straightened the frame, replaced sills, right shut pillar, floors, bottoms of hinge pillars and left shut pillar, several frame sections repaired/replaced.The outer body needed a complete new nose on the front shroud, new door skin bottoms, fender bottoms, boot lid bottom, etc. Metalwork on the body is now almost completed and then I will be able to final blast, prime, seal,& paint the chassis and start to actually build a car.


Then, last summer I had a hard drive failure and lost all my pictures - about 500 from disassembly and I don't know how many of each component - I took lots of shots as I disassembled/cut-out rotted metal, then shots of the fit-up, then shots of the welding, then shots if the finished piece - all gone. Many of the pics I took while disassembling were with a tape measure in the picture so critical dimensions would be recorded - theory "a picture is worth a thousand words" .....but only if you still have the picture.
So, this leads me to my current dilemma. I still need to weld in the top/hood mounting hardware and I don't have any pictures/measurements so I am wondering if anyone has a car partially apart that can help me determine the correct location. Measuring vertically from the top of the sill I have approximately 16 3/4". (yes the sills are 3" above the frame)

When I compare with a picture of the shut pillar I cut out it looks like I will be too high - there is a fender mount bold hole that will be covered if I leave it like it is - hard to see but this last picture is of the shut pillar I removed (unfortunately I cant measure since it was cut off above the sill but I don't know how much above the sill) and you can see the hole that will be covered and the fact that the horizontal plate looks lower than what I have now. I'm fine with massaging to fit, but don't have a good way to determine what I need for a target.

Anybody done this? Anybody with ideas?

Thanks, in advance.
Dave

 

[Brinkerhoff]

I can help in a day or two if you still need. I've got the same car without an interior. Original placement of the pieces you are working on. I've got to spend tomorrow moving my Son home from college.

 

[red57]

Brinkerhoff, that will be great and there is no rush - I probably won't even get a chance to work on it until the weekend anyway, besides after over 4 years, what's a few days one way or another.

 

[blue62]

I just measured my 1960 BT7 and i get exactly 16 3/4 inches.
So you are spot on with your measurement.

 

[red57]

Thanks blue62, I thought I was close but I'm glad to hear it confirmed. Of course, like several other points on the car, they are not exactly the same on both sides of the car.... I just have to figure out why the one set of fender mounting holes are covered by this piece in it's current position and what to do about it. And the brackets seem to sit at a slight angle sloping downwards towards the front. Although I'm not certain, I think the only really critical element is the height so the top bows are at the right height to keep the top tight.

But, like all of these fit-ups, I welcome any and all input because I haven't been this deep into a Healey before....part of the reason this has taken so long is the huge amount of time I have spent mocking-up or otherwise testing locations of things before welding - most of the body has been mounted and removed dozens of times, to the point that I bought a set of fasteners as consumables and will buy a fresh set for final assembly.
Dave