Some time ago in a previous MG life, the hood apparently
came open at highway speed and suffered frame and topside
damage. Hinge mounts bent and topside creased from windshield
impact. I took this on as a learning experience, not knowing if
it will be useable. The aluminum hood is not cheap to replace ($800.new?)and I
have a steel hood in pretty good condition just in case.
The skin is removed for access under frame areas. Using a
torch and laser thermometer, the stretched areas were shrunk
down to a more workable shape. It was then welded back to the
frame, shaped and filled as needed.
This simple jig made it possible to handle the unsupported
aluminum skin.
The hood frame in place for adjustment.
The assembled hood back in place
with new hinges to insure the best possible geometry.
One problem with this repair is the long corner to corner
curvature is irregularly altered. Any more filler on this and I
might as well have a steel hood. I put this piece aside and
moved on.
I found another
aluminum
hood on Ebay with only minor damage in the left front. The frame
is in good shape. With
little access from the underside, I had to pull dents from top
side. I used a pop rivet and aluminum lever bar. Carefully the
rivet was locked on without popping off the stem. A lever bar
with a hole for the stem was used to pull the rivet and heat
applied to the dent as the lever is pulled. (excuse the fuzzy pic.)
A non contact
thermometer is used to prevent damage. I kept it between 400-500
degrees F. Black BBQ paint covers the dent to get a better
reading.
The holes need to
be filled and the finish work begins.
I draw a roadmap
of the landscape to organize a strategy.
Sanded and
spotted with self-etching primer it's ready for a primer coat. I
was careful to save the original primer as much as possible
because aluminum needs corrosion protection before painting.
This hood is
pretty straight from the headlights on back. It looks to be from
a 1980 "B" from the Inca yellow base color.
