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MG TD TF 1500 - Hood/bonnet alignment

The left (drivers-usa) side of my hood doesn't fit right. It's like the radiator shell if to far to the right. Is there a way to move it to the left? Is there another way to fix this???
California Dreamer...
cj schmit

Could you describe the nature of the lack of fit. Is it at the top or bottom of the radiator, or both? Does the bonnet appear to fit well everywhere else? Has the bonnet been remove/replaced recently? A photograph would help us understand the problem. Matt
Matt Davis

The radiator is supported on the bottom by rubber spacers, I would look there for a cause and adjustment possibilities.
Willem vd Veer

Chuck; As noted a pic would help. On my car, bonnet alignment was a genuine pain. I did slot the 4 bolt holes on the radiator mount crossmember to allow some movement of the shell and radiator assy. Small adjustments of the pivot strip can also make big differences in the fitment. Hope this helps. Dan Craig
Dan Craig

Thanks Guys
The right side fits nicely. the left side has an extra 1/4 inch space at the rear and actually overlaps the Radiator shell at the lower half up front.
The car had a frame off restoration by the PO and he said the hood never did fit quite right. It seems that if I could move the radiator to the left I would have equal gaps at the rear joint left and right sides. I could probably live with that or move the bottom left side forward about 1/4 inch.
I just don't know how much stuff I have to take of or loosen to get some movement in this area. I'm assuming I'll have to take off the headlights and the rubber radiator mounts as a minimum. Anythig else holding the shell in place for left right movement?
I'll take a smaller picture tonight and post it. How many pixels can the shot be? The first one I tried was TOO BIG!
Thanks for the help!
chuck
cj schmit

Chuck,
If it is too big, go to one of the free image reducing sites on the internet,,,
STEVE WINCZE

Try removing the back hinge (the outer chrome part, leave the inner support), and with latches unlocked, see if you can slide the center hinge/bonnet over a little- that may close up the back. Or not, but worth a try. You may be able to slightly move the rubber strip a little to close the gap at the rear, just make sure the lip of the rubber is on the outer part of the lip. Peek under the strip and see how much room you have to move it, if any. Front- you may have to slot the radiator mounting hole(s) to slide the one bottom side forward. I had to bend the core to shell mounting tabs on mine a little forward in the same area to align after my rad was re-cored, same problem with overlaping front edge. Of course with correct British terminology, you should call it the bonnet. The "hood" is the cloth or vinyl top thing . Too bad this wasn't addressed when the car was apart before final assembly- much easier to do there. George
George Butz

Hi Chuck. I usually reduce my photos to no more than 1024 x 768. I had my radiator shell off recently, not a difficult job. I similarly had difficulties with the bonnet fit which have not been fully resolved. There is no need to remove the headlights, the procedure I followed was:-
1. Remove the Bonnet (hood) by undoing the screws holding the rear hinge. Requires two people to lift it off without inflicting damage to the paint.
2. Drain the radiator, loosen/remove the bottom hose and loosen the top hose.
3. Remove the temperature sender (if present).
4. Undo the two large bolts attaching the headlights to the lugs projecting from the radiator.
5. Undo the bolts attaching the radiator to the side stays.
6. Undo the nuts securing the radiator underneath (these can be difficult to get at, you may need to ease the radiator up to enable you to get the nuts off.
7. Lift the radiator and shell out as a complete unit.

I can now do this in about 30 minutes or less, having had to do it twice in the last six months.

When you have the radiator out you can check that you have the correct number of rubber mounting buffers (one above and one below the cross member) and that the cross member is fitted the right way round (there was a recent thread on this topic).

Although I have not done this, I understand that the cross member supporting the radiator has slotted holes at its ends permitting a degree of sideways adjustment. The radiator mounting holes are quite large permitting some degree of adjustment without resorting to a file. There is also quite a lot of scope for adjusting the position of the rubber around the firewall to make the fit appear better.

Good luck,
Matt
Matt Davis

Chuck,
Something else to consider. My cay had a frame off restoration in its past also. It was also in a wreck. Probably before the restoration. They only did a fair job of straightening the frame. The two arms that hold the radiator bracket are not at the proper elevation. I noticed it when it became necessary to shim the steering rack housing and shim it differently on each side. Basically those arms are too low and cock-eyed. One result is that the radiator is about and inch ± low. This leaves me with a gap between the bonnet/hood and the cowling at the top rear.
Since my car is a driver not a concours I am going to have to live with it. The alternative is to do another frame off restoration and fix the frame.
This may not apply to you but offered as something to consider.
Mort
Mort TD 1851

This thread was discussed between 19/05/2011 and 21/05/2011

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