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Triumph TR6 - My bonnet flys free

Almost every time I drive over railway tracks
my hood pops open. Both the hood catch and catch plate
are new, they line up well when closing the hood and
there is litte or no play in the hood when closed.
Anyone else had this?
Christopher Trace

Chris
My son had it happen once to him while out "joy riding" in my 6. Are the 2 "rubber cones" at the back corners sitting in bonnet snugly?
I find, when I pull the release handle, that I have to push it back in so the bonnet will catch properly when I close it.
Cheers... RickC


Time for another get-together????
Rick Crawford

Hi Chris

Try giving the release cable some slack TRs flex a bit.

Bill
Bill Brayford

DON'T DRIVE OVER RAILWAY TRACKS !

Don Elliott, 1958 TR3A
Don Elliott

Drive over railway tracks backwards. That way the hood will try to close instead of open!!!!

Always trying to help -- Doug
Doug Campbell

Yeah - but then the trunk would fly open...
Brent B

Not if you have the wife ride on the luggage rack.
Doug Campbell

I'm suprised at all you guys forgetting your basic automechanics 100 course.

I pretty much use duct tape to solve problems like that. Duct tape even works well for the wife.

John Parfitt
73 5 speed.
John Parfitt

Hi Chris, Red Green and associates.

Just got the quarterly sale paper from Obsolete Auto.

Article about release points out the battery proximity to the cable. Make sure the cable is not behind the battery or being flexed by the battery. They are dealing with frayed cables but your problem came to mind.

Can't remember if you moved battery to trunk? Know someone did? Getting old. Might check cable route and engine components. Anything that hits the cable strong can release hood.

Now one other suggestion would be putting a hood intake on at back. Sort of like Fir Birds routing it through a KN filter and flex tube. Then when the hood pops. Just give that big V8 a little throttle vac. to lock it back down? Saves screwing around with the Duct tape. :)

Bill



Bill Brayford

Chris-I used to have the problem of the hood popping open when crossing rail road tracks or even shadows across the road. Time spent adjusting the spring on the latch mech (3-1/8" is the recommended length)and the rubber cones. Check the cones with chalk marks to make sure they seat in the hood holes. At least our hoods won't turn into sheet metal tacos when they come open, unlike TR3's.
Bill's comments about batteries brought to mind a bad experience. I installed a side terminal battery (don't ask why)and the hold down bar came loose, fell across the terminals creating a very impressive short. This caused a small explosion and blew a large hole in the battery top with a shower of acid. My wife doused the fire with water and there was enough charge left in the battery to power the ign. With help, we push started the car and was able to drive to the next town and purchase a new battery. The moral of this tale is to block the battery in place and make sure the hold down bar is secure. The protective boots that fit over the terminal clamps are cheap insurance too.
Berry

Well... where do I start?
Thanks to all, the funny as well as the useful.
Yes I have new rubber cone bumbers, I think they are snug but the chalk is a great idea that I'll try.
Berry Or, where are you measuring from for the 3-1/8th? Also slacking off the cable abit may do the trick. The battery is in the boot a la Shelby style so no pinching.
I know this isn't part of the thread but thought I'd mention that I just had TRV8 dyno'ed, 280HP and 340ftlbs torque at the engine, and 30% less at the wheels. Which works out to 215HP and 260ftlbs.
But the good part is that the torque curve is actually
quite flat with 250-260 ftlbs of torque available
between 2600 RPM and 5500 RPM.
Sorry, I just can't go back to being a purist after
driving this car, too much fun.
A bit more fun I'm thinking about having has to do with biulding a trailer for longer trips, but instead
of the common back half of a TR I was thinking about
using the back half of a Mazda Miata. Would be a great
visual joke don't you think?
Thaks to all.
Christopher Trace

Check out #167 under the heading 'You're definitely a redneck if...'

http://members.aol.com/SkyNRG/humor.html
Doug Campbell

Chris-I believe the 3-1/8" dimension for the latch spring is measured from the attatching bracket to the retaining ring. The spring length is adjusted by the slotted screw inside the spring. This info came from the 6pack list. Having a hood that pops open is better than one that won't open. I have often wondered if the trailers behind British sports cars were to haul spare parts.
Berry Price

This thread was discussed between 28/07/2003 and 01/08/2003

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