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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Bonnet and wing alignment

Hi,

Having got my midget last weekend (74 RWA), I have had chance to have a good look around it and have a question on the bonnet and wing alignment.

The leading edge of the bonnet protrudes past the nearside front wing by about 15mm and the offside front wing by about 10 mm, the panel gaps where the bonnet and wings meet the bulkhead are all even.

Anyone any ideas if there is much adjustment I can make to line them all up?

Thanks in advance.

Richard
R Fieldhouse

Richard, welcome,

a photo taken standing at the front looking down so that the grill and front wings are shown might help as that sounds a lot

also have you seen 'my usual advice to new owners' or do you want me to post it for you?

cheers, Nigel
N Atkins

what are the corresponding gaps between the vertical rear edge of the wing and the A pillar?
David Smith

I will take a photo and upload it.

Nigel - I have seen your advice (you posted it on the thread I started on front suspension). I will be doing the 36k service this weekend.

Thanks

Richard
R Fieldhouse

sorry Richard I've a very bad memory

allow yourself plenty of time for the servicing and check you have all the correct parts and tools and they all work and will fir before removing existing

releasing fluid rather than WD40 for seized nuts and bolts, spray leave to soak in at least for one mug of tea before trying to undo (slightly tighten first to crack the crud seal)

if you get the full 36,000 mile service done in a weekend you will have done very well as something usually crops up on such an extensive service

lubricate everything like cables, locks, seat runners, etc. and change rusty old nuts and bolts for new and thing will be so much easier during use of the car and the next load of servicing

good luck, not every item of servicing has to be done in relation to another so you can stagger the work a bit if necessary
N Atkins

Picture of the front bonnet and wing alignment.

I have measured the length of the front wings and they are both the same, however the bonnet is slightly longer on the nearside edge (by about 7mm) than the offside.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Richard


R Fieldhouse

Richard,
They are never particularly accurate or close fitting - there seems to be a variation anyway. But that does look excessive!

Perhaps if your car has received a "donor bonnet" this could be the explanation. Or some bonnets will have been repaired with a patch panel that forms the front 10" or so of the bonnet. If this hasn't been done accurately that would have the same effect. Or the wings are set too far back, but there isn't much scope for that much error on those.

From the look of yours, your best bet would be to source an e-bay replacement bonnet anyway!

Guy
Guy

This is possibly my first post ... at least in a long while.
Nevertheless I thought I should give my 2 p worth.
In the picture there seem to be issues with the wings rather than the bonnet, more so on the right wing (right side of the picture) where the wing meets the front corner of the bonnet, the wing should a curve to align with the front corner of the bonnet.
The area of the wing that makes the top corner of the grille seems to lack this 'forward thrusting' curve, this to a grater degree on the right side in the picture, but on the left as well.
Seems the wings have been bodged, so maybe a bit of fresh bodging of the wings ( read 'Bondo' or some proper welding )is called for.
Carl Naesenius

It's not an MGB bonnet by any chance?

Graeme (who has a 1275 bonnet on ebay right now) ;-)
graeme jackson

Maybe a patch panel was improperly installed?
Trevor Jessie

sorry it looks like a side shot of each front wing might also be required -one photo per post here

the bonnet front looks it might bend down but difficult to tell
N Atkins

This thread was discussed between 30/06/2011 and 05/07/2011

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