morning all

I keep changing my mind about bonnet catches and i'm currently considering the black rubber SVA friendly type.

could anyone with a pinto engined Indy whose used these confirm whether you can fit the front catch in front of the exhaust manifold without it melting?

There appears to be enough room as the catches are only 30mm wide it's the heat I'm concerned about.

Thanks for the time.

Cheers
Nigel

i'm using the same rubber SVA catches and they are ok

i have put 6mm rubber strips at the front and back of the bonnet to ensure pressure is maintained on the catch.

my manifold is lagged up to where it exits the bonnet and there is a thin rubber strip around the exhaust exit which is much closer to the exhaust and is also Ok

Ditch

Thanks for that Ditch

I've now ordered 4, could you clarify what you mean about the rubber at the front an rear to keep tension on the catches?

do you mean between the bonnet and the upper chassis rail?

Cheers
Nigel

I have placed the rubber allong the nose cone and the skuttle. with a thinner strip along the chassis rail. the reason was i heard that these catch's can expand when warm and thus potentially become loose with the obious consiquence bonnet flies over your head

so to ensure that the tension is maintained i have put a compressable strip along the top of the main body to pull the bonnet tight against.

i may have over reacted with the 6mm strip and it does slightly raise the front lip of the bonnet but i feel better safe than sorry.

see the pic below. (forgive the art work not my best)

ditch

[Edited on 29/1/08 by ditchlewis]
Rescued attachment bonnet rubber.JPG

Just putting in my penny's worth, this is my version of using them. One point is I added a small bit of ali under the bottom and the whole thing is secured by 3 rivets instead of two. Also don't make them to tight to close as I have been informed that the top bar bends and then the rubber tears.....I have also added a thick piece of rubber/foam that the bonnet sits on.


Bonnet catches

thanks for the heads up on over tightening the catches.

i still feel that the catches could be tighter but up to now i have had no problems. i was previously using a 3mm strip all round the bonnet but it was becoming ropey and this now stuff is an extrusion and hollow to allow compression.

i also used a al strip but this was on the inside of the engine bay to prevent pull through.

ditch

[Edited on 29/1/08 by ditchlewis]

Yes, I used ali inside to avoid pull thru where I could and also I found mine coming undone when going over a big bump in the road....So I put some locks on top and this serves two purposes. The locks I got from maplins and cost 2.50 each (I think)....


locks on bonnet

cheers fellas most informative, armed this this info I should be able to make a better job of it than I was originally planning

Thanks again
Nigel

Hi Nigel,

Same rubber catches used on mine, and I have had no broblem with them.

Slightly different to the others I have not used anything to pack them to make sure they keep the tension. If they do start to seem to be going slack then I can always add something later.

One thing extra I have done is put in a peg in the top chassis rail (hex head cap screw really) behind the exhaust cut out, this locates in a suitably placed hole on the bonnet and gives a bit more support and stops the side of the bonnet flapping around because the bonnet catches are at the fron and the back of the bonnet.

Hope this helps,

John.