September 2007 Hood
The braking and steering problems of last month are fixed. Adjusting the servo improved the brakes considerably; although it doesn't provide a lot of assistance it is certainly noticeable when it's not working. The steering was more difficult, being a combination of small faults: The upper steering column bushes were too tight and were eased by sanding, a faulty repro track rod end was replaced and the steering rack mounts were replaced by Polybush ones which gave a much more positive feel. So onto the hood.....
I fitted the hood fabric in a rush one evening as I had an appointment the next day for a further Ministry inspection, this time 60 miles away and with rain forecast! Working to a tight schedule and with no previous experience of fitting hoods was not ideal but I got it finished and thoroughly enjoyed the first real drive.
Fitting the fabric, mohair in this case, is the least time consuming part of the job. Getting this new wooden section to fit the hood frame and the car took a long time and a lot of work with a Dremel sanding drum.
It's vital that the hood frame is adjusted and aligned correctly first. The special shouldered bolts that are used at the frame pivots are available in polished stainless steel and these were used in preference to re-chroming the originals
The rear tacking strip was supplied as 3 sections, again it needed re-working with the Dremel to get it to fit. At this point it is important to check the rebates for the hood envelope hooks against the envelope and move them as necessary. The tacking strip was wrapped with vinyl prior to fitting leaving a flap which is glued to the inside of the bulkhead.
Tacking strip screwed from the inside and screws covered by vinyl.
The position of the rear bow is determined by the hood, then the webbing can be fitted. Perhaps my hood has a wider window than originally fitted but I had to move the tack strip ends towards the outside of the car causing some kinks.
Contact adhesive used to glue these flaps.
The principle reference point is the rear corner of the windows, the hood must align correctly here.
With the hood clipped down at the front drawing pins (thumb tacks?) were used to keep it in position while marking it out with a sharpened piece of chalk.
The clips which hold the fabric to the front of the frame and retain the chrome finisher. I had great difficulty fitting the reproduction chrome and on comparing it with the original found it was narrower in the bottom of the channel. The clips were ground shorter to overcome this
Since this picture was taken the hood has been tightened slightly by removing the front chrome, overall it's reasonable for a first and rushed attempt. There are still a few small creases but a professional trimmer told me they can be removed by repeatedly wetting and drying that section with a heat gun - I have yet to try that.
That concludes the restoration although I will add more information about the car the more I drive and become familiar with it...................