Hood puzzle

[davidj]

Morning,

I wonder if someone can answer this question which has been puzzling me for months........

The hood for my car was included in the boxes of parts for my disassembled S3. It looks used, dirty and the rear screen is misty. However, it has no fixing clips nor holes for them in the fabric! From the pictures on this site, it would appear it should have a row of studs under the rear screen and one each corner at the front, but there are no trace of any on this one. Maybe it is actually a new hood, but it does not appear to be.

Also, Attached is a picture of the section above the doors. This appears to be hood material which has aged, badly, but what should it look like? Under this, there is another layer of the hood material which is OK.

I confess to never actually seen an Elan hood, so maybe I am missing something. So is this a new hood which has been sitting in a barn for 30 years, or is it destine for the skip?

Cheers.

[richardcox_lotus]

Difficult to say, but what is the fixing mechanism for the front screen? Is it a sleeve to allow insertion of a metal strip, or is it a plastic bonded blade ?

The former would point to an early hood, the latter would be modern.

Regards
Richard.

[ericbushby]

Hi David
My new hood from Sue miller came without any fixing studs. Apparently their position on the body can vary so you have to fit them to suit.
There are 17 Tenax needed for the rear and two press studs for top of the windscreen pillar.
My modern one has the semi rigid blade that Richard mentions which is facing rearwards to slide under the metal strip along the top of the windscreen frame.
Hope this helps
Eric in Burnley
1967 S3 SE DHC

[davidj]

Thanks for your reply's and I realise this is a difficult question without seeing the hood and comparing it to a new one. However, as far as I can tell, the front "tongue" to hold the hood to the windscreen appears to be plastic covered with the hood material and stitched all round.

As I said there are no holes for the Tenax clips below the rear screen, which would suggest it has never been fitted.

And what is the "mesh", cannot think of another word to describe it above the door glass? I have attached a close up. Could this be left over for the manufacturing process? Could someone snap a picture of this area so I can compare it to mine?

The evidence points to it being a new hood, but it looks like it has had several years of use.

Thanks folks!

[ericbushby]

Hi David
I suspect that is mouse damage.
Mine looks like this.
Eric in Burnley
1967 S3SE DHC

[snowyelan]

The mesh reminds me of toolbox drawer liner....Little beads of spongy foam stuck to a mesh. No idea why it would be there though.

[h20hamelan]

There are a couple lengths of the Tenex clips/studs. Think the longer ones.

[aratchet]

Original hoods had two strips of reinforced rubber to seal against the window frame. One horizontal. One vertical. Sealed much better than the vinyl top material that most replacement hoods come with now. That is the remnants of the rubber strip in the pic

[Craven]

viewtopic.php?t=41065&p=288176