My next milestone is to run the engine, which in turn needs the exhaust manifold in place; which in turn means I need to do the first fit on the bonnet; i.e. get the bonnet catches in the right place so later I have some fixed points to work from when cutting the exhaust opening.
Nose & Bonnet
The nose is back in position so I can locate the bonnet;
Ratchet straps to hold everything in place; pretty good fit all around, slightly higher (2-3mm) at the front - I wonder if I should adjust the nose height to let it sit flush?
Bonnet catch template
I read on some other builds its a good idea to create a template for the catches, get completely comfortable with the mounting hole spacing and tension on the catch before transferring to the car.
First blue tack to show me where the top catch sits:
Then a couple of goes before I was completely happy, & appropriately marked the template 'belt & braces' style so I don't use the wrong holes:
4mm Rivets
I used a scrap of wood for the distance away from the end of the bonnet - double checking appropriate clearance from where the exhaust will emerge on the nearside; then spirit level for a vertical and drew through my template for the 4x rivet fixing points:
The rivets for the bonnet catches are stainless 4mm - incredibly tough to pull & the catches don't make things any easier by not letting the rivet gun get 'in' far enough. I ended up using 2-3 spare nuts on some rivets & my lazy tongs riveter to get these in:
One down:
The front ones needed the front wheel off to get enough room for the lazy tongs riveter; got there in the end though:
I am also planning some pins inside the bonnet to locate its bottom edge; to make doubly sure it cannot move inwards/outwards and dislodge the catches - they can wait a while yet though.
