I seem to have locked my bonnet permanently ! the release lever in the glovebox functions but it is not opening the slider enough to release the pin.
Is there a way to release this without destroying the bonnet ?
Any advice welcome .
Thanks,
Scott (1500 beetle - yarraville )
ian.mezz ·
pull the lever harder and get someone to pull up and down on the bonnet.
scotlander ·
I have tried that one, i am pushing the lever into the cardboard of the glovebox. I was hoping that there is a way to get a hold of the cable and pull it away from the lever and yank it with a pair of pliers or something .
Flintstones ·
Get someone to push the bonnet down firmly onto the body whilst your pulling the release.
Cheers
D
ian.mezz ·
pull the lever more past its stop .
vw54 ·
you will have to smash the cardboard glove box then grab the cable with some vice grips and pull it open
if the cable snaps then you have to cut the bonnet handle in half and wind it off the bonnet untill the holding screws let go
either way your up for a bonnnet handle or a new glove box
when you have it open go along to your loacl auto store and purchase and fit a after market bonnet pull you will have to drill and fit it up
That the first thing i replace when i get a new car
they should have stuck with the pre 67 bonnet release works every time
scotlander ·
So its not going to be an easy fix then. The bonnet has not shut properly since i had a new panel welded onto the front of the car. I believe that it is out of line with the pin on the handle and it pushes the front of the bonnet in towards the panel bowing the bonnet in the middle, i think once i get the bonnet open i will have to do something about this.
Time to get the hacksaw out....
Thanks for the replies.
Scott
Camo ·
I know with my 61 Beetle if the cable breaks the bonnet latch automatically goes into the release position. Not sure if the later glove box styles are meant to do the same, but I would have thought it was a safety on all Beetles. If this is the case, can you disconnect the cable at the glove box so it releases and unlatches the bonnet.
Kev
1303Steve ·
Hi
If you move the lever towards the left it will go past its normal stop rest.
Other than that you can cut the bonnet handle to release the lock.
I always fit a secondary cable under the mudguard.
Steve
68AutoBug ·
scotlander wrote:So its not going to be an easy fix then. The bonnet has not shut properly since i had a new panel welded onto the front of the car. I believe that it is out of line with the pin on the handle and it pushes the front of the bonnet in towards the panel bowing the bonnet in the middle, i think once i get the bonnet open i will have to do something about this.
Time to get the hacksaw out....
Thanks for the replies.
Scott
YIKES...
sounds like the lock may be in the wrong spot...
You could try putting a towel thru the handle and pulling to the left or right...[sorry can't remember which side]
while holding the lever down in the glovebox...
or cutting the handle off....
best of luck
LEE
68AutoBug ·
Camo wrote:I know with my 61 Beetle if the cable breaks the bonnet latch automatically goes into the release position. Not sure if the later glove box styles are meant to do the same, but I would have thought it was a safety on all Beetles. If this is the case, can you disconnect the cable at the glove box so it releases and unlatches the bonnet.
Kev
Hi Kev
the later models with the catch in the glovebox rely on the cable OUTER jacket... the inner cable is pulled against the outer jacket.. so when the out jacket isn't attached properly the inner cable cannot open the catch....
I know of beetle owners who use a choke cable with knob
and put the inner wire into where the original wire goes in the lock.... then they drill a small hole and put cable thru the hole and put the knob under the front of the car....
just a pull of the choke knob and the lock is undone...
My 68 beetle has a knob under the LHS of the dash to pull
so no problems with glovebox latches...
LEE
hulbyw ·
I tried the towell trick years ago and it worked. From memory you need to jerk the bonnet down whilst pushing the button in. Sounds brutal but it can work. Worth a try before you start cutting.
Cheers
68AutoBug ·
hulbyw wrote:I tried the towell trick years ago and it worked. From memory you need to jerk the bonnet down whilst pushing the button in. Sounds brutal but it can work. Worth a try before you start cutting.
Cheers
Yes,
You need to trick the lock into thinking its supposed to OPEN..
by pushing DOWN then UP in quick succession
lol
LEE
waveman1500 ·
What I do with my bug is to wrap my fingers under the front lip of the bonnet and pull it away from the body (forwards) whilst pressing the button and pulling up on the handle. Works every time, even without pulling the cable release! Yours may not be misaligned in the same way, but try fiddling around with the bonnet to release it, as they're quite a flexible panel and you don't need much movement to get it unstuck.
68AutoBug ·
Hi
here is a pic of where you need to cut the handle off..
two cuts.... one in the middle and one between the screw and the push button....
spray some WD40 or anything around the handle so when you turn it to unscrew the screws... it won;t scratch the paintwork...
LEE
scotlander ·
Wow, Thanks for all the advice. I will get onto this when i get back from the historics at Phillip Island this weekend. I am considering cutting off the lock and then using leather straps to keep the bonnet shut - it works on old racecars what can possibly go wrong....
68AutoBug ·
Don't You need two bonnet locks or straps on the bonnet..?
I did some club rallying back in the 80s and You had to have extra straps or pins etc to hold the bonnet down....
I had the two pins with r clips at the top wired to the car...
it seems that this is NOT the case in the World Rally championship as I have seen top rally drivers driving with the bonnet over the windscreen/roof in the past few years...
I have seen pics from the UK where leather straps are used to hold the bonnet down on beetles...
or two rubber pieces that fit into metal holders...
see them about a lot...
have a look at the lock where the cable goes, should be a grub screw there.... cut the wire off and put thru a small hole under the front.... then attach a knob with a grub screw
or cut up a long choke cable....
cheers
Lee in Scone
vwsteve ·
dont know about the later style but on my 60,s bug i took the lock off many many years ago and left it off, the wind keeps pressure on it and it never blew up, even at 100mph, never a problem, later madels prob not as good as the front of the bonnet is shorter
i did have a baja i forgot to hook the rubbers up on once, that bonnet blew up and snapped off and ended up on the road behind me😂
1303Steve ·
Hi
This is what you need to do with lever to get just a bit more travel that can sometimes pull the cable enough open the bonnet. You pull the lever over so that it can go past its normal stop.
Steve
HappyDaze ·
You mentioned having a repair on the apron. Are the rubber seals in place? The bonnet 'lip' can get caught under the seal retainer, if the seal is missing - even with the lock released.
A thin, wide, lever under the bottom edge of the bonnet [use some rags to protect the paint], and some hard whacks with the palm of the hand - on each side of the bonnet - usually does the trick...........Good luck.
grumble ·
HappyDaze wrote:You mentioned having a repair on the apron. Are the rubber seals in place? The bonnet 'lip' can get caught under the seal retainer, if the seal is missing - even with the lock released.
A thin, wide, lever under the bottom edge of the bonnet [use some rags to protect the paint], and some hard whacks with the palm of the hand - on each side of the bonnet - usually does the trick...........Good luck.
The whacks on the bonnet often work after trying all else.Good luck les