Hood (bonnet) spring

[poiuyt]

The hood on my S4 is held on by hood pins at the windshield edge and,
when the pins are released, the entire hood can be taken off the car.

The front of the hood has a steel bracket in the groove that, I assume,
had been originally connected to some type of spring that pulled down
on the front of the hood when the original latches were released. I
would like to hook up a safery tie in case the front edge of the hood
gets out of place while I'm driving.

My question - where in the car would the other end of the spring be
tied down? I do not see any bracket in front of the radiator that I
can use as a tie-down point.

Where would it have originally been tied down to? Any advice?

Thanks,

Steve B

[nebogipfel]

Steve, The original spring hooks onto the bonnet (hood) as you say and
the other end of it has a large loop which wraps around the steering rack.

The system works well in both holding the leading edge down but also
providing a sprung "pop-up" effect when the original bonnet release is
operated.

The spring is simply unhooked from the top end to facilitate quick
removal of the bonnet

The springs are readily available from the usual sources.

John

[pamitchell]

If you have problems finding a replacement spring with the proper
tension, you can substitute a short bungee cord with hooks on both
ends. I cut the bungee cord down to length. Attached it to the
steering rack and hose clamped the cord on itself to secure the hook
catching the bonnet bracket. I can adjust the tension this way over
time. The bungee hook is easier to work over the hood bracket than
the metal spring as my car's front area is too full of things.
Electric fan. MSD box, airhorn, K&N filter, rad overflow.
I think the bungee is lighter than the spring which ABC would
approve of. I also replace the OEM hood latches with the recessed
hood pins from Dave Bean. Pricey but well worth it from a safety and
aesthetic viewpoint.
Rgds,
Phil Mitchell- San Jose CA.

--- In ***@***.***, "nebogipfel2004"
<nebogipfel2004@y...> wrote:

[poiuyt]

Thanks for the replies!

I should have realized that Chapman would find a double use for the
steering rack!

Now that I know I'll probably splice some hooks in a 1/2" nylon, or
get a piece of webbing with a snap hook, since I am not looking for
the spring action, but only a safety catch.

Thanks again.

Steve B.

[elansprint71]

Steve,
I would not plan on driving around with the bonnet/hood unsecured at the
front, the engine bay is a high pressure area and you can imagine what
might happen if you go over a bump at speed, if the bonnet lifts enough
off its seating for air to get under the front edge......
I found that no matter how I adjusted the original catches, at 100mph
the bonnet would pop open due to the build-up of air pressure
underneath, so I fitted pins at the rear edge; combined with the big
spring, this works well.

Pete.
Steve B wrote:

[rgh0]

Steve

I have pins at the rear of my bonnet (in Australia we have bonnets)
replacing the orginal locking spring clips and no spring or strap at
the front. I want to be able to easily remove the bonnet to get at
the engine so I did not want the spring or a strap at the front.


I fitted a layer of approx 1/2 inch thick closed cell foam rubber to
the top of the bonnet lip that fits under the body at the front. This
rubber is compressed when the bonnet is closed and holds the front
firmly and stops it rattling around.

There is no risk of the bonnet comming loose with this arrangment as
the bonnet has to move back to free the lip at the front and this is
not possible with the pins holding it down against the body at the
rear edge. The system works up to 230kph over 20 plus years on my
car.

To open the bonnet just pull the pins and push down on the front edge
of the bonnet to pop up the rear and then remove it for good engine
access. I got sick of holding the bonnet up with my head while
working on the engine after my first month of Elan ownership and its
to hard to try to reach in every time to release a spring or strap at
the front.

Rohan

[Rob_LaMoreaux]

I kept the stock latches and spring even though the spring tends to bend the
aftermarket hood since it does not have the metal bar around the edge. I did
add a cable from the bridge between the cam banks on the back of the head to
the trailing edge of the bonnet so that if the latches let go the bonnet
only rises a couple inches and I can still see. I just don't like the looks
of hood pins like the original bonnet came with, but then I didn't like the
poorly done ugly scoop in it either.

Rob LaMoreaux
Ann Arbor, MI USA
(734)-971-5583
Cell (734)-604-9280
Email: ***@***.***
Too many Hobbies.... Too Little Time
1969 Lotus Elan....It's not a restoration, it's a never-ending adventure.