Bonnet and liner/sound proofing

[davie489]

Hi sorry if been covered before....

Have damage on bonnet from radiator cap which has pushed it up forming a tiny visible crease in paintwork ....I think the cause is the padding on the underside of the bonnet which has the indentation of cap on it . Once bonnet is repaired and sprayed should this be put back on? Is it sound proofing or heat shield to protect paint? Or is there something thinner I could replace it with ?

Thanks
Dave

[tedtaylor]

the cap should NOT touch the bonnet, close clearance, but not touch. Try adjusting/moving radiator lower a bit?

[MarkDa]

Is this general padding or jus at the radiator?
A foam strip across the radiator is intended to stop air spilling over the top, thereby improving cooling.
Obviously the foam thickness needs to match the space available.

[JonB]

I'm also wondering about this. My Plus 2 has a small crack in the bonnet above the radiator cap; it's old and the cap is nowhere near it now. I have no soundproofing under my bonnet and I see none on the parts diagram. Question is, was it ever fitted? I can see some benefits...

Incidentally, I couldn't see the foam strip on the parts diagram either. I have one, but a section is missing.

[TeeJay]

My car has the original fibre / black coated matting fitted underneath the bonnet and yes you can just a small impression of the radiator cap.

But not sure if it was fitted to later cars.

[davie489]

Thanks for the replies guys

Mine sounds like your TeeJay, I have a 1969 early plus 2 and has a full black matting with indent where radiator cap is. So i guess this is original? had no problem with bonnet before. Had engine out at a garage and noticed the dent when car was returned. Garage says bonnet can only be put back in the same place and dent must have been there before.

May leave this padding off once bonnet is respired but worried about damage from heat of engine

[nmauduit]

Thanks for the replies guys

Mine sounds like your TeeJay, I have a 1969 early plus 2 and has a full black matting with indent where radiator cap is. So i guess this is original? had no problem with bonnet before. Had engine out at a garage and noticed the dent when car was returned. Garage says bonnet can only be put back in the same place and dent must have been there before.

May leave this padding off once bonnet is respired but worried about damage from heat of engine

rad cap clearance can be very small, an engine and back may result in closing it (esp. if new motor mounts have been installed, rad reinstalled a bit higher etc.).

[jono]

I never re fitted the matting to the underside of my bonnet when I restored the car. Instead I applied 3 heavy coats of Gravitex (the overpaintable one).

This has sound deadening/anti drumming qualities and has stood up really well - no issues at all with heat over 12k miles and the paint looks good as new.

As an aside I had a new rad made without a cap and fitted a Ford type filler in lieu of the 'stat housing - no clearance issues and easy to re fill (highest point).

Jon

[The Veg]

As another data-point, my car has the stuff described by others. I do plan to remove it and use something else, probably the same aluminium-backed, closed-cell foam that I've been using in the interiour, although this Gravitex sounds interesting too- I may need to look into that.

[tedtaylor]

Thanks for the replies guys

Mine sounds like your TeeJay, I have a 1969 early plus 2 and has a full black matting with indent where radiator cap is. So i guess this is original? had no problem with bonnet before. Had engine out at a garage and noticed the dent when car was returned. Garage says bonnet can only be put back in the same place and dent must have been there before.

May leave this padding off once bonnet is respired but worried about damage from heat of engine

I wonder if they "slammed" the bonnet shut, or "dropped" it from high? That force may have bellied the bonnet enough to "hit" the cap and make that crack?

[draenog]

Thanks for the replies guys

Mine sounds like your TeeJay, I have a 1969 early plus 2 and has a full black matting with indent where radiator cap is. So i guess this is original? had no problem with bonnet before. Had engine out at a garage and noticed the dent when car was returned. Garage says bonnet can only be put back in the same place and dent must have been there before.

May leave this padding off once bonnet is respired but worried about damage from heat of engine

rad cap clearance can be very small, an engine and back may result in closing it (esp. if new motor mounts have been installed, rad reinstalled a bit higher etc.).

This is what happened to me. The carb side engine mount was sagging so I replaced it with a heavy duty mount. This raised the engine and caused the radiator to hit the bonnet.

[Andy8421]

Thanks for the replies guys

Mine sounds like your TeeJay, I have a 1969 early plus 2 and has a full black matting with indent where radiator cap is. So i guess this is original? had no problem with bonnet before. Had engine out at a garage and noticed the dent when car was returned. Garage says bonnet can only be put back in the same place and dent must have been there before.

May leave this padding off once bonnet is respired but worried about damage from heat of engine

rad cap clearance can be very small, an engine and back may result in closing it (esp. if new motor mounts have been installed, rad reinstalled a bit higher etc.).

This is what happened to me. The carb side engine mount was sagging so I replaced it with a heavy duty mount. This raised the engine and caused the radiator to hit the bonnet.

I recall the rad is bolted through the body to the frame, not the engine ....

[nmauduit]

I recall the rad is bolted through the body to the frame, not the engine ....

indeed the rad is attached to the body, I was thinking of what may happen when one gets the engine out (then on some cars - e.g. my s4 - the front of the camcover shows also a small bonnet clearance / so is the front carb cover, but because it has a 2 or 3mm riser).

[draenog]

I recall the rad is bolted through the body to the frame, not the engine ....

Yes, you're right - it was the camcover that was hitting. I noticed the underside of the bonnet had bumps on it under the padding. I peeled the padding off and removed the bumps with a chisel, which fixed it.

BTW, on my car the padding around the radiator cap has been removed, leaving a square hole.

[draenog]

BTW, on my car the padding around the radiator cap has been removed, leaving a square hole.

You can see this on the pictures here:

http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/introducations-f46/new-member-wales-t31142.html#p221639