Advise on Bonnet removal

[mightymidget]

How heavy is it, can one person handle it.

The hinges look homemade. What do you all think.Really dosen't fit that well now.

And finally to remove: do I unbolt from Bonnet or frame of car, Any hints of easy way to do this would be of great help. It looks to easy to me right now and I am scare to do it with out advise. hOW DO YOU STEADY IT AND KEEP WEIGHT OFF SO IT CAN BE REMOVED?Thanks

 

[twas_brillig]

You'll need two people. The stock Bug-Eye hood hinged from the scuttle (British talk for back of the engine compartment), not from the front frame rails, so yours has been modified. And is it an original Bug-Eye? My rad is vertical.

If you can unbolt the hinges with the bonnet closed, then two of you can lift it off without damage. If you need to have it opened to reach the bolts, then I suggest either having three people (two supporting, one unbolting)or figure out a way to support the bonnet with 2x4s etc. - you really don't want to take a chance on damaging one very expensive piece of curved sheet metal. And soak the heck out of the bolts with some sort of magic penetrating fluid.

Have phun; good phortune.

Doug

(PS: I'll be pulling ours off in a week or so to get to a trans swap. The last time I did this was about 1974)
1960 Bug-Eye
19?? Bug-Eye
1962 BJ7

 

[mightymidget]

1958 Bugeye, highly modified (butchered) un-oringal bucket of rust that I cann't live without.
Thanks for information, your plan makes sense.

 

[bill_young]

Just a hint on any bonnet or boot lid removal, take some standard water pipe insulation, the foam stuff that's split on one side and slip it over the edges near the cowl and tape it on with some masking tape, will prevent any unwanted nicks and scratches if the panel shifts. A Midget bonnet is a one man job using this stuff, you'll still need a couple of friends for the bugeye.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

I've got a BE Bonnet with Front Hinge on Bugsy my '68 Sprite. I'm still in the process of fitting and banging and straightening things out for final fit but I rigged up a block and tackle arrangement, suspended from the a ceiling joint with an Eye Hook or in my case a steel beam in my garage. I used a variety of pulleys, old sailing hardware that was in my garage but nothing that could not be "McGuyvered" from the local hardware store. I ran two eyebolts through the fender mirror mounting holes and use an S hook to connect two ropes tied in a Y to a central line that goes to the block and tackle over head. With this arrangement I can unbolt the two bolts for the front hinge bracket and use the center line to raise the bonnet off of the car by myself. Now at this point I am unpainted and still lots of tweaking to do before final fitment is complete. But I can have the bonnet totally off of the car but myself in just a few minite. Once painted, I'll call upon the services of a neighbor to help and keep from scratching the paint.

PS. A cleat or means to tie off the rope once you've raised the bonnet up in the air is needed. From the mirror mount fender holes the bonnet balances fairly well and you can raise above the car, swing sideways, lower the rear corners and stand upright. I should also point out that the hoist line pulls up from a point directly over the front of the car, not straight up from the mirror mount holes. That way there is room to slide forward and out of the way once bonnet is lifted up. I can supply pics if needed.

 

[bgbassplyr]

Supply pic's whether needed or not.

 

[Jim_Gruber]

Here is a picture of my setup. I've changed this slightly so now the line from the pulleys goes off to one side so I can get better leverage than pulling straight down.

Try googling Hardtop and Pulley and you'll find several descriptions of Hardtop Removal Systems using a variation of this setup. Also I've seen Overhead Garage Storage systems using pulleys and rope and a cleat that could be adapted to do the same thing.

 

[JPSmit]

you don't want a third line to keep it from pivoting forwards or backwards? Or at least a line running front to back also attached to the block so it lifts like a Christmas Present?

 

[Jim_Gruber]

You could do that but notice the hoisting line is positioned ahead of the bonnet. If you are lifting from the mirror holes like I did, the bonnet pulls forward toward you and away from the firewall. It will balance fairly well but still weight is on the rear. A few pounds of pressure on the front of the bonnet will tilt the rear up. With the lifting point coming from in front of the car, you can lift, twist it totally sideways and in front of the car, and set the bottom rear down on a piece of carpet in front of the car. Easy at that point to stand it on end for storage.

It takes a little bit of experimenting and initially until you get the hang of it, have a second set of hands available. Be careful about the wiper motor, it sticks out over the edge and bonnet seem to sometimes hang up on that. A shove sideways allows the bonnet to easily clear that obstruction.

Hope this helps.

PS I added another pulley and moved the cleat to a purchase point about 4' away from the center pulley. This allowed me th control the pulley better as bonnet got in the way of cleating it when cleat and pulleys were all in the same area. Again hope this helps with ideas on doing this by yourself. My "better half" doesn't want anything to do with Bugsy being in the garage. He moved her old car outside and garage is too small for the two other vehicles we now own. Oh for my old 2 1/2-3 car garage to be back. Space in this garage is at a premium.

 

[drooartz]

I bribed a pair of co-workers with lunch when I took Tunebug's bonnet off. Took maybe 10 minutes -- I undid the bolts and they carried it off. It's not particularly heavy for a pair of guys. Low tech but effective.

 

[Gray_Cat]

Call me lucky but I removed mine by myself....it's a matter of balance I guess cause I'm not that strong!
Roy :wink:

 

[chrpark]

So for those who've completely dismantled the car before chemical stripping or media blasting, is the body shell and chassis manageable by 'a couple of guys?' Or will I need a frame of some sort on casters to get the thing on and off a trailer?

 

[bgbassplyr]

2 can do it, 4 would be better and eaiser.

 

[jlaird]

Four is no sweat.

 

[JPSmit]

2 can do it, 4 would be better and eaiser.

 

[Gray_Cat]

You can also assemble a wood (or metal if you have it) "cart" to set the tub on. Easy to roll onto, and off, trailers and very handy to move the car around in general. I built one out of wood (2x6's), with sturdy caster type wheels in a couple of hours.
Roy

 

[mightymidget]

How much is a chemical bath, I heard someone say they had over 2k in the dip....is this right?....I know a portable come to my house media blast is like $500.00.

Thanks for the post, since I was going to temp. hang bonnet from ceiling anyway the pulley system makes sense

 

[JPSmit]

Around here dip is per pound - I want to say around $2 per

 

[Jim_Gruber]

So with enough help you could build yourself a big enough tub and use electrolysis to remove all of the rust. 4 people could set the tub down in the bath and with enough washing soda, sacrificial electrodes and enough current from battery chargers theoretically remove all of the rust without resorting to acids.

 

[mightymidget]

You mean maybe something like a above ground pool, what chemicals would you need and what would you do with waste after dip.