Hood Tension & Frame

[William2]

The final job on my rebuild (maybe with Elans you should never say final!!) is to have a new hood fitted. It is job I am entrusting to a professional as I didn't want the worry of making a mistake at ?300 odd a go!
My question is related to the hood tension. According to the small green owners manual the hood tension is achieved by the rear frame metal hoop being pushed into position,and no mention is made of the frame tensioners near the grp hood tray. I noticed on my car that the tensioners move the upper windscreen frame surround forward by at least 1/4" and the LH one in particular is quite hard to push down. I do wonder whether they are really necessary as surely they will put the windscreen and frame under a certain amount of stress from it's normal position and could this not potentially lead to stress cracks in the grp and paintwork near the base of the side frame struts and possibly the windscreen itself? Also with new nylon fasteners fitted to the top of the frame the hood frame side struts seem to locate well without the need of pushing the screen surround forward. Am I missing the point here or do some Elan users not bother locking these side tensioners in the down position as I am considering? Sorry for the rambling nature of this thread but I am interested to find some answers before the man comes to fit the hood.

[HampshireMush]

In my handbook the 'tensioners' are referred to as 'over-centre stays' and that they should be pushed down after locating the cant rails in the spigots.

On my S4 the 'stays' lock down firmly but without much force.

The hood is tensioned as you say by moving the rear hoop back and on my hood this is held in place by two small loops with button fasteners.

If your 'tensioner' is physically moving the windscreen forward I would say that the frame has been secured to the hood tray too far forward?

John

[elanfan1]

Just a thought but did you still have the J bars fitted into the windscreen uprights to add strength there?