Beast Hood Part 2

Bonding the Hinge to the Bonnet.

The hinge has finally been bonded to the bonnet after sanding away the paint in the underside of the bonnet. The process of aligning and positioning the hinge to the bonnet requires a leap of faith as most of the process is done without the benefit of line of sight. At least using powerful clamps allows several attempts before finally bonding the hinge into place.


Before the hinge brackets can be fixed to the front splitter the bottom brackets mounting points will need to be counter sunk so the there is no chance now or in the future that the sliding mechanism can foul the fixing bolts. A bigger counter sink bit is on order to complete this task.


Even with the hinge in place the centre nose cone will not seat correctly, this may be due to warping or manufacture errors, but either way the nose is a real pain to get seated. So in order to solve the problem once and for all a nose cone clip has been manufactured.

Nose Clip Drawing.


Nose Clip Manufactured (bottom & top view).


As the sliding hinge is pushed back and the bonnet slides into place the nose clip forces the centre nose cone down as well as centralising it. The clip was manufactured on a mill using a 12mm thick 70mm wide by 56mm long billet of aluminium. Slots were cut to allow the clip to be positioned and the bottom side of the clip has a radius cut so the the nose cone slides into place comfortably. As the splitter central mounting point, being made of GRP, is not exactly square or straight the slots in the clip allow the step in the clip to be mounted flush to the front of the splitter.


Nose Clip Before Bonnet Push Back.


The Radius on the under side of the clip guides the centre nose section downward into the correct location on the splitter.


Nose Cone Fitted on Clip.


Once the clip has done its job the nose sits firmly down on the splitter and central to the splitter locating point.


The Bonnet Woes get worse!!! Up to now the bonnet had been part of the general build but......


At this point a whole new page about the bonnet issues was created.


After some VERY rigorous testing using a hoist to lift and twist the bonnet the bonding was found to be weak. So it has been removed and the bonnet has been drilled and counter sunk to allow M6 x 16mm hex csk screws to be set into the top part of the hinge. The hinge has been drilled and tapped to allow the M6 screws to pull up the hinge firmly onto the hood. Glass fibre castings have been made of that will be pre bonded to the hinge and again M6 x 6mm with mud washers will be used to secure the casting to the hinge. Finally the castings will be bonded to the underside of the hood. This should provide a much more substantial method of securing the sliding bonnet mechanism to the bonnet.

 

While the hinge was removed from the hood the slide brackets were counter sunk and M8 bolts, washers and lock nuts were used to secure them to the splitter. Then the nose clip was fitted so the hole assembly could be tested for free and easy movement. The last thing wanted after all this hassle was to find there was a still hinge or some seizure. Thankfully all was well here.


Full Bonnet Gear.


So far the bonnet and hinge have been drilled counter sunk and tapped. The glass fibre castings have been made and drilled. The top side of the hinge has been drilled and the hinge is presently screwed and bonding to the casting.


After testing the hinge the nose clip width was reduced so that the hinge uprights can pass either side of the clip. This allows the bonnet to open more fully. The above pictures show the original full width clip. To allow the nose to be fully pulled down a small Wing Bolt will be used, after the nose clip has been drilled and tapped. This is purely a final detailed touch and is not absolutely necessary. What is necessary is another wet lay for Glass mat over the top hinge bar and bonnet bond point.


The hinge bracket is now secured and the top hinge bar has now been bolted to the hood, bonded to the hood and is just awaiting the final matting to complete the job.


Father hood of the Beast continues Click Here

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