Well, I wasn't expecting that...

[TooMany2cvs]

Had to swap over to the 2cv van for a trip away for the weekend. We'd got in the c900, stopped to fill with fuel and check the tyre pressures about ten miles away - and the bonnet was ajar. Odd.

Won't close. Odder.

Oh. The pin for the catch is still IN the catch.

Take it out, try and rethread it - it won't. Remove a couple of spacer washers, and it threads in fine, but won't shut. Fine. One washer back in, and... bugger. It's stripped the thread in the bonnet. Nowhere NEAR tight, either.

Now, I swapped the bonnet for a rot-free one a few weeks back, and we'd had to put a stack of spacers in to get it to latch - so it can only have been in a thread or three. But to strip the LOT?

Hiho. The van performed flawlessly, and we only got to our friends about half an hour later than planned. Cracking weekend, too.

Best guess on fixing it is going to be to drill and thread the pin to give a larger (and longer) thread, then re-tap the plate in the bonnet.

[TooMany2cvs]

Originally Posted by TooMany2cvs

Best guess on fixing it is going to be to drill and thread the pin to give a larger (and longer) thread, then re-tap the plate in the bonnet.

Didn't need to. Yet, at least.

Adjusting the rubber stop (there's only one, so I need to get another) on the front corner of the bonnet, it's now sitting much lower, which puts the pin into good threads. Running a tap through the thread on the bonnet, and cleaning and slightly straightening the latch on the slam panel has meant it shuts much tighter now, and the pin's solidly screwed in.

Let's see if it lasts...

[philb]

The bonnet was still held by the latch though, it can't flip up and hit the windscreen so theres no major problem driving the car.

[TooMany2cvs]

Originally Posted by philb

The bonnet was still held by the latch though, it can't flip up and hit the windscreen so theres no major problem driving the car.

...apart from the large amount of wind underneath the bonnet causing it to flap and vibrate like mad... It definitely wasn't happy - and we were getting pointed and gestured at quite a bit.

It was fine pootling back home, then over to the workshop this morning - about 20-25 miles at 60ish tops - but I wasn't exactly happy about doing 150+ (largely motorway) miles with it, given that there was a perfectly functional vehicle a short detour away...

[philb]

Heh fair enough, I suppose I've never driven it on the motorway like that.

[JimmyG]

i'd sometimes pop the bonnet when i was going for a fast spin on the country roads. my intercooler used to heatsoak like mad so it helped a bit. bonnet only popped up an inch or 2. never had any noise or vibration from it