• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

TR6 Underside of TR6 Hood

Share this page

blacksummerrain

blacksummerrain

Freshman Member
Offline
I've noticed on the underside of the hood on the TR6 I'm working on, the right-side, fore-to-aft, narrow, metal support brace (there are two of them and are to either side of the middle (front to back) of the hood)has popped free of the bottom of the hood sheet metal and hangs down a bit.

My first thought was that a spot-weld or two might have broken free. However, when looking at the one on the left that is still in tact, there doesn't appear to be any location where the support/brace comes into contact with the hood sheet metal. Rather, there appears to be some sort of sealant or gasket running the length of this support about a sixteenth of an inch thick.

Is this brace,in fact spot welded to the hood sheet metal or is it attached by some sort of adhesive. Again, some broken spot welds seem to be the most likely answer but I can't find the locations where these welds once were.

Any ideas?

Thanks, Scott
 
Scott,

I'm not sure what holds it on, but be VERY careful in what you choose to do. I know of several guys who have sand blasted the underside of the hood, to find, much to their horror, that the top side had lines all through it from the high pressure blasting process. What I'm saying is that the sheet metal is very thin and vulnerable, so be careful in what you do so that you don't end up with a mess topside.
 
Agreed. Trying to tack that support brace back would likely have repurcussions on the topside either from the heat of the weld, or by pulling the sheet metal too taught/downward because the small spacing no longer exists between the brace and the top.

I had thought of just buying one of those heat shields that are being sold that fit into the areas under the hood between the bracing. The thickness of the shield might hide the fact that the brace has let loose.
 
I took a look at mine. The braces are spot welded to the front and rear inner hood pieces. A sealer/adhesive was used to bond the longitudinal supports to the outer hood.

As stated in the earlier post, do not weld or braze to the outside hood metal.
 
You might want check with Dale (Tinster) on this forum who is big into metal bonding agents.
 
Thanks. I'll give him a shot. I am aware of some "welding" agents that can be used in place of actual welding for non-structural/support applications.

-Scott
 
How much space do you have between the two surfaces? If the gap is more than a 1/4" or so, the metal could be stretched and might need more than a bonding agent.
Take an old t-shirt, placing one layer between your hand and the sheet metal, feel the entire outer surface of the hood. The t-shirt will help you feel things you may not feel with your bare hand. You are looking for irregularities in the sheet metal that would cause the separation.
 
I haven't actually measured the gap, however, I would guess without looking that, at it's widest, it is no more than 1/4". This worst gap is midway between the front and back and narrows as it approaches either end of the brace.

The hood itself is fairly straight and especially so out over the center portions of the hood. I had to do some minor filling of some depressions on the front and rear of the hood where someone through the years pushed down or sat down on it. However, most of those areas were on the side of the hood where the brace is still intact.

Someone may have pushed too hard on the side that released at some point in time but the sheet metal did not dent or otherwise get distorted. The car sat out behind a farm house in southern Texas for 10 or so years before I got it so the heat, over time, may have caused the adhesive to release.
 
Actually, the brace usually just rests against the bonnet skin. I moved the right side brace on my bonnet inboard about 4" to make room for my 13 louvers. We separated the spot weld and TIGed the brace in the new location. The guy that did the welding for me was good enough that he didn't even disturb the paint on the top of the bonnet. Of course, after punching the lourvers, we resprayed the whole thing.
 
Back
Top