Before I started restoring my beetle i bought a second hand bonnet (hood) from a VW specialist as mine was full of bog, now that the car is painted and back on the road, i have found that the hood that i bought is out of shape and needs the area from the handle to just in line with the turn indicator on the fender to be bent upwards ( the bonnet is too short and sits high and on top the new seal. The metal seems to be able to flex would you recommend trying or just bite the bullet and get another hood and respray it ?
Cheers,
Scott
1970 - 1500 single port typ 1
Yarraville
Are you sure you got the right model hood?
all panels should be test fitted to the body prior to painting
Is the beetle an oval or pre 60 car? If it is, most likely someone has tried to close it without unhooking the bonnet stay, This usually creases the bonnet or puts it out of shape. I'm not sure if you can bend it back into shape.
Cheers
Steve
I was assured that the bonnet was from the same vintage of vehicle, I did paint the car with the bonnet in place but there was obviously no seal on the car when i painted it so the bonnet did not stick up noticeably otherwise i would have have had a go at reshaping it or sourced another one.
Any recommendations as to who to try for another bonnet ?
Cheers,
Scott
1970 - 1500 single port typ 1
Yarraville
Show us a pic
Matt Berry Motorsports...air cooled advice, repairs and mods Ph 0408 704 662
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this was before i put the new seal on, the bonnet appeared to fit well.
This is after i fitted the new seal, the bonnet sits on top of it and is raised, so i need to bend the leading edge outwards to extend the curve of the bonnet and cover the seal and sit properly.
So now the car looks like the bonnet is open , which it is as it wont lock due to the seal getting in the way.
Bugger !
1970 - 1500 single port typ 1
Yarraville
looks like there might be some problem with the inner guards as well as the bonnet
prob find that both need a shove
Inner Guards ? Do you mean the front side panels ? that the fenders bolt on to ? in other words pull the front of the car forward a bit to fit the bonnet ? That sounds easy.
I know that the old bonnet fitted okay when i bought the car and it hasn't had a shunt at the front in my tenure . The only reason i changed the bonnet was because the original one was full of bog around the handle, I should have kept it and re used it.
1970 - 1500 single port typ 1
Yarraville
Are the guards are pinched tight looking?
If it's short you'll find evidence of the front inner panels being repaired but essentially not well enough. Pull the spare tyre and look at the side panels in there. A bad one can also go back to the sides of the fuel tank areas, look from under the guard with the wheel off, on stands of course, take pics even.
Matt Berry Motorsports...air cooled advice, repairs and mods Ph 0408 704 662
OFF-ROAD,CIRCUIT,DRAG,STREET,ENDURANCE
Never noticed any suspect repairs when I had her back to bare metal, and the curve of the fender is constant, it could have been when the new panel under the bonnet was welded in, but this was okay as you can see in the image.
I am a car designer and have built many cars and consider myself to have a pretty good eye for a curve , I am sure that i would have noticed if both sides of the car were foreshortened, I think that it is the hood that is the problem not the front of the car being too short by the same few mm's each side. What are the chances.
But hey I have been wrong in the past .........often.
1970 - 1500 single port typ 1
Yarraville
Yeah, gotta admit that primer shot, all looks ok.
The Brazilian bonnets sometimes have the lip that the seal lands on sitting too proud, not folded over enough.
Maybe you can persuade that a little further over (mainly on the lower 1/2 a metre or so) so the bonnet closes further down.
How's the adjustment of the bonnet catch, can you bring it down there? ie. It's holding the bonnet up. Clutching😉
Matt Berry Motorsports...air cooled advice, repairs and mods Ph 0408 704 662
OFF-ROAD,CIRCUIT,DRAG,STREET,ENDURANCE
MIne looks the same, it locks tohugh, maybe you just gotta pull or push in two directions, like forwards and down not just down?
I have adjusted the latch so that it is as short as possible, but the clinch on the bonnet is biting into the seal. I guess i should just whip the bonnet off and try and straighten it out a little, how hard can it be .............
The once i have cocked it up and split the paint i will get myself another bonnet and respray it and spend a day or so cutting and polishing again.
Ho hum .
1970 - 1500 single port typ 1
Yarraville
take the latch off completely and see how it sits
wots the gap like at the back near screen
vw54 wrote:wots the gap like at the back near screen
thats what i was thinking too ,looks like its closing hard down at the back and not letting the front go down enough
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https://www.facebook.com/FlatFourI messed around with the lock this evening as well as, the adjustment of the latch and moved the bonnet around on the retaining bolts, but the simple fact of the matter is that the bonnet is too short, its been bashed at the front and is foreshortened.
I will remove it this weekend and apply pressure to it when it is on the ground, hopefully this will do the trick.
after this trick i will attempt to replace the metal footrest thingy that sits over the pedal box, 'coz my carpet keeps moving around underfoot.
Always something....
1970 - 1500 single port typ 1
Yarraville
best thing i did for carpet moving around near my feet was add a piece of chekplate aluminum.
Like where there is a plastic bit on floor mats, pop riveted to the floor. Easy to clean and it holds the carpet still as, only issue is its cold at night but wear shoes and woud neve know and that cant just remove it that easy.
Cheers
