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regularman

regularman

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Long ways to go on the bonnet, but I got the front end pieces of the 77 chiseled off and the extra frame for the rubber bumpers cut back. I got the bride to help me set the BE bonnet on there. Its a close fit and I feel pretty sure I am going with a forward tilt setup.
Anyways, I got the bonnet set on there and it fits. I will probably spend the winter months working on that bonnet and getting it ready to paint.
MVC-565F.jpg

MVC-566F.jpg

MVC-567F.jpg
 
Having worked on one of these "conversions", be very careful of the inlet shroud hitting the radiator. Took a WHOLE LOT of rolling it back to clear. Line the edge with a piece of rubber fuel line or vacuum line slit down one side.
 
a round wheel arch conversion on that car would go nice with the bonnet
 
Kim, That bonnet looks great on your car. The fit looks better than I would have thought. I'm glad you bought it and are going to make it like new. I guess the trip down here was worth the result. Maybe I can get up your way and see some of the transformation. Your timing was very good because the next weekend after you were here Irene would have covered that bonnet with salt water where it was stored.
Charlie
 
Coastalman said:
Kim, That bonnet looks great on your car. The fit looks better than I would have thought. I'm glad you bought it and are going to make it like new. I guess the trip down here was worth the result. Maybe I can get up your way and see some of the transformation. Your timing was very good because the next weekend after you were here Irene would have covered that bonnet with salt water where it was stored.
Charlie
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Yes, Charlie I have been thinking about that since the week after we picked it up. I hope things are going good for you and life has gotten back to normal. Yeah, If that B on the trailer got water in it then this bonnet would have been under water or maybe even washed away. I remember you telling me about the docks and the wooden stairwell. The 77 car body and drive line are in good shape on this 77 now and I just need to do a bit more cleaning and painting on it. The bonnet, however is going to take a lot of time and patience. It won't ever be like new, I am afraid. I am going to make several internal modifications that should not show on the outside, but strength needs to be added in some areas do to rust and damage. When I get done it might not be perfect but it should be strong and last and have things the way I want them.
I am interested in making it forward tilt as well, so I will go ahead and set up for that. I am starting to see why you used the Spitfire latches too.
 
Kim,

When I started work on converting Bugsy to a BE Bonnet I did need to reinforce the area around the front air inlet. It had been previously abused in an accident and there was some rust in there that I needed to clean up / reinforce. At the time I used some aluminum channel L stock to reinforce with some pop rivets. It doesn't show not that it has been painted and significantly strengthed the bonnet in that area. Now that I own a welder I'd do it differently. You will find some clearance issues with the top of the radiator shroud. A little creative work with either a Dremel tool or bending down the tab at the end of the shroud will fix that. Reach in throught the headlight on either side and you will feel the celarance issues I am talking about.

Front tilt is the way to go. Looks like gaps are good all the way around. Thanks for the pics.
 
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