Front Hood Capping

Old-Bugga · Post by **Old-Bugga** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 7:30 am

I'm at the stage of fitting my hood and wanted to ask what glue you guys use to stick the hood to the fibreglass front capping that it goes over. You know, the one that clips onto the windscreen.

davidppp · Post by **davidppp** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 7:50 am

Yes, me too!.

I am putting the brand new hood together on my technics spyder and would love to know exactly how the hood is supposed to meet the front vapping..is it folded to elinimate the raw edge, or is it covered after gluing?
I'd be tempted to sew it on as well as glue it ( marine practice) then cap it with a folded and sewn bit..but really have no idea what is normal practice?

Kind regards
david

beachcomber · Post by **beachcomber** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 9:40 am

You need pro- upholstery glue.

Stocked by most PROPER trim shops. Don't go for the spray jobby - the trimmers use the old brush method.
The spray is about £5.00 a can and the pot glue about £10.00 a can. both will obviously double up for carpet and other applications. A can should be enough for the whole car. 2 cans probably for the hood.

Here's a tip if you don't want a "saggy" roof.

Pre-fit the hood ass'y including the front hood bow to the screen - stretch [ at least 2 people + one to glue down ] without undue force and LIGHTLY glue down the front hood material to the bow. SOAK the hood material [ unless it's Vinyl, you're NOT using vinyl are you? ] and leave overnight. Repeat this at least 2 more times and then finally trim the excess material off the front and glue the bow permanently - you have "pre-shrunk" the material to the point where you should be able to play a tune on the erected hood. Single Duck / Wigan are the worst offenders.
Davidppp - just fold the raw edge over neatly and glue BOTH sides of the fold - ie to itself and to the bow.
here's another tip if you don't want a broken windscreen [ !! ] pull the hood material from the front of the car as near to horizontal as you can and then LIGHTLY drop material down until it makes contact with the pre-fitted bow. There you are - perfectly fitted hood.
Beachcomber

davidppp · Post by **davidppp** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:16 am

Great advice..thanks!

On my capping, there is a moulded recess on both the screen side and the hood side..like two u-sections back to back..

I'm wondering what is supposed to fill this grooves..and should I fit a rubber seal inside the one which covers the screen frame?
It would rattle otherwise I recken.or does the hood tension hold it firm and take up the slack?

Thanks again.
David
again..
David

beachcomber · Post by **beachcomber** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:02 am

Hi David,

I've not seen the "double U" method on replicas. Must be an M&W "thang".

However, you're quite correct - bow to screen frame DOES have a rubber SEAL / BUFFER. Not only acts as the weatherseal, but helps to eliminate the dreaded screen breakage. I've known these to break overnight in the garage - with nobody anywhere near them!

I have seen the "grooved " top method - mainly on vintage stuff [ well done Technic ], the hood material is glued INTO the top groove and then a "finisher strip" goes on top of that - usually pliable alloy or pre shaped chrome strip.

Maybe a call to M&W will get you the right parts / advice?
Just as a matter of interest, what screen / frame / posts are you using? is it the "normal" Speedster?

The reason I ask is that I have an Albert Autos [ Essen ] hood for "my" 550 - Albert's car was the one that was touted by Bailey for a while [ very brief ] as the "New" Chesil car. Albert was an importer for Chamonix - so I guess in turn the hood was for that car - but as they were ALL splashed originally from Classic Legends of South Bend, Indiana [ including Beck ], which begat Chamonix, which begat Vintage, which begat Thunder Ranch, which.............. THEORETICALLY, they should all pretty much be interchangeable. Unless of course your car came from a manufacturer "who took his moulds from a real car". Sorry, can't type for a minute, I have to roll round the floor holding my sides from the mirth that statement invokes. Oooh, that's better, just wipe a tear from my eye and we'll continue.

My hood fitment is some way off yet, and at this point I'm not certain if I will even fit a hood - but it would be nice to be forewarned of any problems.
Hope some of the above ramblings helps
Beachcomber

Old-Bugga · Post by **Old-Bugga** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 1:48 pm

I've got hold of some EVO-STIK Timebond which I'm hoping should do the job. They had another one but....it said it grabbed instantly. Didin't fancy the idea of having to get it right first time, so, went for the time bond which allows for a bit of manouvering.

Will let you know how it goes (assuming I don't end up bonded to my car)

martinpcraven · Post by **martinpcraven** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 3:18 pm

Hi guys,

If you have any difficulty obtaining the correct adhesive, we stock the professional glue for our own use and can supply mail order. However, you should be able to obtain it at any good trim shop.

Old-Bugga · Post by **Old-Bugga** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 7:21 pm

Right,thats the back end secure. Hit a few problems along the way which means I never got to the front bow tonight. Bl**dy Tenax fasteners!!!!!! I drilled the holes for the self tapers a little neat and ended up shearing two of the little studs when I tried to put them in (they are plated brass). As such, spent a bit of time drilling the remnants out and starting again.

beachcomber · Post by **beachcomber** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:30 pm

well done O-B,

Don't forget to soak / stretch / dry the material otherwise your hood will have more wrinkles than Prescott's belly [ ughhh.]

Also another tip - albeit a little late. Put a bit of Vaseline / similar on ALL screwed threads going into GRP. Glass Reinforced Plastic - ergo little strands of glass - screw thread - not compatible. As in most things in life, a little lube goes a long way towards a satisfactory conclusion [ nearly said climax]. And yes I also broke the little buggers until someone older and wiser passed on the tip [ 40+ years ago ] - that was a Berkley 4 wheeler with a supercharged 700cc Royal Enfield engine.

stevesprite · Post by **stevesprite** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 8:58 pm

Hi OB

Where did you get the hood from ?. I am not happy with the Pilgrim one and am looking for an alternative ?

regards

Steve

Old-Bugga · Post by **Old-Bugga** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 9:24 pm

Vaseline.......that costs money!!!! Oh No, us Scots make do with Spit! We found my fathers worked better (he's an ex smoker!!!!)

Beachcomber-WHen you say SOAK, do you mean until the thing is sodden then stretch? If I get you right, I soak it, temporarily fix the hood in place by LIGHTLY glueing, then soak again the next day, before permenantly gleuing after re-tensioning?

I'm a bit worried about putting too much tension on the windscreen frame.

The hood is from Speedster Clinic. It's nowhere near as fancy as the Chesil one i.e. no cantilivered frame just a simple two bow affair. Having said that, it is, in my opinion, a far far prettier hood to look at. The Chesil hood seems too high, almost pram like to me. This one sits nice and low giving the car a mean purposeful look (ok ok I'll stop!!!!!)

beachcomber · Post by **beachcomber** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:02 pm

O-B - yep, spit'll work where Vaseline is not available - I remember once - I was in the desert with this georgeous girl and .... ooops that's another tip.

YES - I REALLY mean SOAK the material - a sponge is good so you don't get too much on the rest of the car. If you've got the patience, do it at least twice and then final permanent gluing on the third time.

There was a tip for NOT breaking the windscreen in my posting to davidppp.

OK- stand at the front of the car with TWO mates, one on each corner of the hood material and then pull it forward from the last bow - ie HORIZONTAL and ABOVE the screen. When you've got it tensioned as far as you can, lower it gently onto the pre glued bow. That's where the third person comes in handy. At this stage [ and the next two pre-shrinks ] you should have a fair bit of "spare " material. That's quite normal, and naturally as the material stretches in the soaking / drying cycle you'll end up with more. Try to avoid the temptation to say "Sodit" and simply cut the material a little shorter than the hood length and glue it on. Believe me that WILL end in tears - if not another cracked windscreen.
Final tip for the day - mark off the cut line on the hood material with a piece of tailor's chalk [ also available in ye old fashioned puncture repair kits. ]

That's it, I'm all tipped out for the day
Beachcomber

beachcomber · Post by **beachcomber** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 10:55 am

Hey O-B - where's the pix of your "tight as a drum" hood?????

Beachcomber

Old-Bugga · Post by **Old-Bugga** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 11:25 am

It's coming, it's coming! Had to put it on hold for a few nights, as I've been working extra hours to cover for abscences and had a wedding to film yesterday. Added to that I still have to fit the catches to the front bow.
Sooner take my time and get it right.

beachcomber · Post by **beachcomber** » Sat Jul 16, 2005 12:08 pm

Timely tip

If your hood frame HASN'T already got the holes drilled and tapped - remove the rail for this process!!!
I know that sounds obvious, but I watched someone do just that and before I could stop them and yes - the screen did crack!
Can't wait for the pix O-B.
beachcomber

DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

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