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MG MGB Technical - bonnet-pull cable snapped. How do I open bonnet?

the bonnet-pull cable on my mgb has snapped. How can I get the bonnet open??
J E Turner

There have been a number of discussions on this problem, so an archive search should bring some suggestions.

AFTER you get it open order an emergency release cable from Gerry Masterman at GEM Enterprises. Just search the archives and you'll find his contact info.

BH
BH Davis

Contact gerry at: gerry@gem-enterprises.net

I highly recommend his e-cable!
rick ingram

You don't say what year car you have. If it's a chrome bumper car you should be able to use a long thin bar/screwdriver through the grill and lever the catch open. On UK cars I assume you would lever the catch to the left from the right center of the grill. As said get Gerry's release or make an emergerncy release.

Clifton
Clifton Gordon

A new cable should last another 40 years. It hardly seems necessary to rig up a secondary cable. Maybe I'm just a stickler! :o

Then again, if you're still using a bonnet pull from the 1960's, then I suppose you have to expect it might give out at some point. Replacing the bonnet pull at the same interval as the choke cable, meaning every ten years or so, should prevent the problem from ever happening again.
Steve Simmons

thanks for your comments. I'm actually posting this for my Dad who is stuck in Wales with his bonnet stuck shut! I've looked through the archives but can't find a solution for a rubber bumper model which is what my Dad has. It's a 1981 MGB GT if that makes any difference. Thanks again.
J E Turner

Paul has some photos of where to poke a long rod/screwdriver on a rubber bumper car at http://www.mgb-stuff.org.uk/ follow the links for "hammer and spanners" then "body".

Where do the cables break? I keep an eye on the lock end of mine, but if the handle end breaks I'm wasting my time.
Martin Layton

As Martin says then 'Bonnet'Hood Release'. He should be OK with an RB. I haven't looked at a chrome or recessed grille car, but I think the honeycomb is pretty difficult.

In theory the latch end should be most suspect as it is exposed to the worst of the weather and probably not lubricated. But water and hence corrosion could probably run the length of the cable as mine have unsheathed spiral-wound outers.
Paul Hunt 2

You know? I was going to have the owner of the 70 B I care for order the emergency pull. But Steve's suggestion makes a lot of sense. I think this winter we will go to the bike shop and get some proper diameter cables and replace the bonnet, choke and throttle cables. And while we are at it, we should inspect the boot latch for proper fit and function.

Good concept Steve!

dave
Dave Braun

Look at Gerry's cable as an "insurance policy".

Yes, Gawd forbid, it's not original...but "just because it's new doesn't mean it's good".

:-)
rick ingram

I have one of Gerry's release cables on my 66 B and wouldn't be without one. I do not want to go through the trouble or frustration of trying to get the hood open by some alternate means. As to the originality of the auxiliary cable, I really don't give that a thought. AND my car is as original as I can keep it but there is a time when common sense prevailed and I installed Gerry's cable. I find I use it all the time now and do not even bother using the original release anymore. The judges or critics see my car one or two days a year (possibly) but I see it and drive it every day. I'm more concerned with the car pleasing me than them.

George Herschell
George R Herschell

I've got a length of braided nylon cord (curtain pull cord) on my latch with the other end sticking through the headlight cable grommet and ending in a finger loop. What I haven't done yet is rigged something up for the boot, when that fails usually something destructive has to be done to open it.
Paul Hunt 2

How would the boot latch fail? I can see misadjusting it, but have you actually had one fail? And if it did fail, I don't think a string or wire would help any because it would be the latch mechanism itself that would break somehow.
Steve Simmons

There have been a dozen or more reports of this over the last few years. The most common problem is the arc that pulls the hook back (that is twisted clear of the hook when the lock is in the locked position) falling off the bottom of the release button because the bolt has come unscrewed. It's the sort of thing that works fine one minute, then won't release the next. A job for thread-lock.

It depends where you put the string or wire. The only sensible place is in the hook iself, to pull it back, as that is the only thing that holds the lid closed. If it's the *hook* that has come off for any reason, then the lid won't be latched and will just lift up. The only remaining possibility is that the hook siezes, but that would normally be preceeded by stiffness, I feel, and I've never heard that as a cause.
Paul Hunt 2

I've seen two failure modes on release cables. One is the cable rusts to the point of no longer being operable within it's sheath. The second is when the handle separates from the cable. In this case you MAY be able to grab what's left with a pair of pliers but chances are the cable is rusty enough that you won't be able to move it anyway. My kits take care of both of these situations without the need of poking a screwdriver through your grill trying to move the latch by pushing. Most of the people that use my kits no longer use the under dash cable because they find my kit is easier to use. FWIW
gerry masterman

I had the boot lock shut on me. I was adjusting the hinges and shut it and the release button would not go down far enough to unlock.
The only way I opened it was pulling off the fuel filler pipe. I then managed to look at the back of the lock with a torch and mirror and get a bar to push the release arm. It did hurt though!!
Dave
D M Tetlow

I did that once, Dave! Luckily I was able to bounce on the boot lid and get it to release. Never made that mistake again!
Steve Simmons

Boot latches: I've had exactly the problem Paul describes. There is one little 10-32 screw that separates you from oblivion, and even if you've never had trouble with this (ESPECIALLY if you've never had trouble with this!), run, don't walk, out to your car with some Loktite in hand. Apply it and torque that little baby up as tight as you can/dare.

The other boot latch failure I've had was always resolved by gentle but firm pressure from the knee on the number plate while opening.

FWIW,
Allen
Allen Bachelder

I would just like to tell you all how lucky I was when this happened. First the car was on Jacks, and the radiator was removed. First I tried with a long screw driver and really didnt know what I was trying to do, then it hit me, no radiator, went under the car and it was about the most painless thing I ever had to do, straight shot right to the lever. Next time someone has their radiator out, they should snap a pic as you can cleary see how to access it if you had to go at it with a screw driver and a prayer. Just wish I had my camera at that time.
James

Just to let you all know how it finished, I took the coward's way out and called the RAC,even he took nearly 2 hours to get it open.Many thanks to all of you that came up with ideas. John Turner.
J E Turner

On my rubber bumpered B i can just reach my hand in through the large air intake in the bumper's non-existant grill and pull the release lever manually. The hole just above the bumper. Actually I prefer to do it that way for some reason and rarely use the release cable. It is very easy.

Ronald
Ronald

Ronald, you should have a metal mesh grille behind that hole, to stop small animals and stones puncturing the radiator when you are going along.
With the grille fitted you have to do the trick with a long rod as discussed before.
Martin Layton

This thread was discussed between 11/08/2007 and 16/08/2007

MG MGB Technical index

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