Bonnet Striker Pin Assembly

[Lin]

I mounted my bonnet after a total disassembly and then restoration of my car a little more than ten years ago. I recall that getting things aligned properly was a bit fiddly. I am now installing a different bonnet (long story) and my photos, indexing holes and etc. are only somewhat helpful since the “new” bonnet doesn’t have the indexing holes and the alignment is a little different.

I have the bonnet secured to the hinges and it seems to be fitting pretty well side-to-side and front-to-back. Of course, the front is a little low since the striker assembly is not yet mounted. Can anyone who has been through this offer any tips or suggestions on how to best proceed? Alternatively, pointing me to a reference on this subject would be great. There sure isn’t much of anything in the shop manual about it.

Thanks as always!

Lin

 

[HealeyRick]

Lin,

I've found it helps to get under the car and look up through the latching mechanism and try to center the cone from the striker pin in the hole on the latch. You may have to adjust the striker afterwards, but it should get you in the ballpark.

 

[Lin]

Just a word of thanks to those who responded to my appeal for tips to install the striker pin assembly for the bonnet. I appreciate all responses but especially wanted to thank Roland Wilhelmy for reminding me about Roger Moment's article entitled "trial-fitting Individual Parts." Roger's suggestions about how to install the pin assembly are detailed and offer warnings on what to do to avoid problems.


Kent Lacy suggested "covering the striker hole with tape. Run your finger around the taped hole until it’s visible. Put a drop of paint on the tip of the striker and close the bonnet slowly until the paint drop is in the center of the hole on the tape. Replace tape each time it’s not correct. Trust me you want it to work the first time." I did this and found this to be a great tip. The photo shows my first attempt, but I was then able to easily adjust the position of the pin to get it centered. The unlocking mechanism then worked perfectly on the first attempt. Thank you, Kent!


Healey Rick suggested doing basically the same thing by getting under the car and looking up to see if the tip of the striker pin was in the center of the retaining plate, but while this would certainly work, the tape was very easy and probably more precise.


Thanks to all,


Lin Rose

 

[blueskies]

Installing the hood (bonnet) striker assembly was one of the jobs undertaken today on the 100-6 reassembly project. I recalled reading the tip above about putting masking tape on the lower part and paint on the tip of the striker. That method didn't work well for me, possibly because the paint used was too thin and ran off. A minor modification to the method solved the problem. It occurred to me that a dark colored grease would work in place of a heavier paint. A bit of grease on the fingertip, deposited on the outer circle of the upper striker, did the job well. It left a nice circle on the masking tape, showing exactly the direction and amount of adjustment required for an accurate meshing of the upper and lower parts. Locked and released well the first time the hood was pushed down all the way.

 

[Lin]

Blue skies,
I am sure grease will work, but rather than paint I used some of my wife’s nail polish. I used “That’s Berry Daring,” but I almost used “Blue My Mind.” It is just a matter of personal preference. Nice applicator and the polish is pretty thick, staying where you put it. Hah ha, chuckle, chuckle.
Lin

 

[SimsBJ8]

Red lipstick from your girlfriend or mistress also works very well!