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My '67 Midget is in the body shop getting worked on and they can't figure out how to take off the bonnet hinges. They say there's not enough room to reach behind the dashboard(barely enough room to get a wrench in there) Is there some kind of a trick to it? Please help. I have the Porter book, but I can't find anything in there.
For 99 percent of jobs you take the hood off the hinges and leave the hinges attached to the car. To get at the 2 bolts that act as hinge pins you need to drop the whole dashboard out of the way....
Not sue about overseas-spec cars which had different dashes due to crash rules etc. With great care it may be possible to drop the steering column and the dash without discobbecting he gauges and instruments. Someone with tiny hands wil be able to get a spanner up there. That's why females make great mechanics for small LBCs!
Another point about the hinges, there is both a nut welded to the body and a locknut which gets tightened against the welded on nut, sort of like wheel bearing nuts. Make sure that they remove the locknut before trying to loosen the bolt, very important, and to someone unfamiliar with the car they might not know that the locknut is there.
At least that is the way it is on our MK 1 Midget, but I don't think that they changed that part of the car. The locknut was probably to keep the bolt turning in the nut, so that the hinge pivoted on the bolt, rather than the bolt pivoting in its threads.
For several years my bonnet just sat on the hinges and I just lifted it off whenever I had to service anything. Of course, the paint job wasn't that hot, so I didn't mind the occasional scratch, but it sure made access to the battery much easier. No ideas on removing the dash, it is possible to reach the hinge bolts on a MK 1 without removing the dash, and even removing the dash is quite simple. They only got more complicated, that's all I know.
Good luck!
Whilst on the subject of bonnets can we discuss the best way of removing / replacing the adjusting rubbers at the front end of the bonnet. I have previously talked on this BBS about replacing the bonnet - mine is a reskinned and not very good but presently neither rusty nor unserviceable hence I am stalling on outright replacement.
However I have an annoying problem - a rattling which I think is due to poor adjustment of the said adjusters. They are completely seized and no amount of penetrating oil has enabled me to get a good adjustment. I have managed to get some new ones which I should like to fit but cannot remove the old ones. Has anyone encountered this problem and have anu idea how to remove them without damage?
Remind me if they screw into captive nuts, or just have loose nuts fitted from
the underside of the slam panel ?
If the latter, then just get vicious with the spanners and mole grips and you will shear the threaded bit nnd it will all fall out. However if into captive nuts you will just have to keep applying the WD40, from both above and below.
They are into captive bolts if my memory serves me right. I remember these being a real problem after only 10 years on my Sprite. I resorted to destroying the originals and using, heat and penetrating fluid, mole gripe etc. an lots and lots of swearing before they would budge.
Careful you don't loosen the captive nuts though as you wont get in behind them very easily to use a regular nut. Final option of course is to cut them off flush, drill out and re-tap.
The only way that I have found is to use a little heat on it remove the rubber as much as you can and with a piece of sheet metal drill a hole through it so the stud will fit. What your trying to do is make a little heat sink so you don't peel your paint off your hood. With all of that oil and the heat it should come out.
P.S. have a litte air gap between the sheet metal and the hood and center the heat on the stud.