I'm about to commence replacement of my bonnet hinge and have one of these to fit

Before I cut the old one out and get to welding, is there anything worth considering doing while I'm at it? The panel inside looks to be in good shape. Is it worth taking the windscreen out or just mask and cover it?

Any pitfalls I should be aware of?

Your advice is much appreciated.

yes the curve is slightly wrong and needs adjusting at the ends , the outside edges of the panel where they meet the top of the Apanel are usually filled with braize which can make welding tricky

pop holes in the lower flange to "Spot" weld it. The top bit needs careful welding to the panel below the screen as the original is thin and wax soaked so tends to blow holes

both the back and the front of the new panel needs the zinc buffed off or its a horrible sparkey blowey weld


bonnet hinge repair by Sean602, on Flickr


bonnet hinge repair by Sean602, on Flickr


bonnet hinge repair by Sean602, on Flickr


bonnet hinge repair by Sean602, on Flickr

"spot" welding lower flange

bonnet hinge repair by Sean602, on Flickr


bonnet hinge repair by Sean602, on Flickr

copper spoons help when you get the odd burn through

tack and buff the top edge only do about 10mm max at a time dont weld again untill you can touch the metal with a bare hand

bonnet hinge by Sean602, on Flickr

or you can just tack and bodge with filler which isnt any quicker or easier and just means youll be back to it in a couple of years

Thanks, a picture is worth a thousand words. I know what to look out for now.

Just a thought but would it be a bad idea to either run a fillet of braze or lead load the hinge seam? Better than mastic surely?

The "copper spoons" look interesting. Can you explain how you use them?

"Some times the repair panel can be slightly bowed as well check before you fit it (bend it straight)cos a bowed one can still be fitted. But you will find the bonnet is then difficult to slide on.

take the screen and rubber out otherwise you will get lumps of grinding dust and metal splatter all over it.

"chill bars" takes some of the heat out the weld and stops the weld burning through - various shapes to fit the spaces behind the repair., press them on to the back where you are about to weld.Helps keep the repair and the original panel aligned. You can also get a hotter weld going that "wets" in to the metal so you don't get a cold bead sitting on top of the panel

You can even bridge large gaps start the weld on one side run it over the copper on to the next helps if the copper is nice and shiny stops it sticking.