407 replies to this topic

[stuart bowes]

meanwhile, I've been playing with a bit of cardboard and trying something out.. 

 

 

would you believe measured pretty much freehand (guessing a bit) and pumped that into solidworks as a sheet metal part, fitted perfectly first time, that's a bit of luck

 

perpective makes it look a bit off centre but it's bang in the middle

 

trying not to have it sticking out too far, but allowing space for wiring and a nice viewing angle trading off against the angle of the bullhead.. pretty much decides the positioning for you really

 

I know you can get really flat cheap panel things but I want something with a decent amp built in

 

and then 20mins of mucking around with ms paint

 

 

it's a bit of an eighties look but with a modern screen, I might have to smooth out some of those edgy corners a bit though

 

I'm thinking spot welded or even pop riveted centre section from folded sheet (easy to revert to original) and two separate side sections for easier removal / access, with some sort of leather / pleather / vinyl covering to tie it all in together

Edited by stuart bowes, 12 March 2025 - 11:05 AM.

[stuart bowes]

back to more sensible real stuff that is actually going to happen 

 

before I start painting the inside of the engine bay I want to make sure this bonnet hinge arrangement is going to work, and work out the positioning for gas struts:

 

firstly fitted the hinges and cable tied in the washer motor to check clearance:

 

 

it's close, but does not touch

 

also the other side works obviously, no clearance issues there

 

 

and then tried to work out the effective 'weight' of the bonnet (trying to take spring force into account)

 

 

measured up hinge distance, estimated gas strut positions, lengths required.. did some maths to work out the right gas strut force and give it a go now while I can still get easy access and make holes where required

 

also with the wiper spindles in place I can get a reasonable idea of where the right stopping point is, to make sure no collision to back edge of bonnet

 

have ordered 2 x 30N struts (60N total for bonnet, where calculations show about 40n total is required minimum), 100mm travel, 270mm full length inc. end mounts (centres).  fingers crossed they're right because they're £90 the pair, ouch

Edited by stuart bowes, 17 March 2025 - 10:51 AM.

[stuart bowes]

update, I did the maths wrong.. oops.  2 x 30N is not enough to keep the bonnet up.  length and stroke still seem correct, getting them swapped for 2 x 60N

 

don't want to go too strong obviously as you get into the area of bending the bonnet when closing

 

also I need to make a bit of an adjustment to the geometry of the brackets (how far they allow the extra opening) will explain when posting pics later

Edited by stuart bowes, 20 March 2025 - 09:09 AM.