g'day i have a 1970 mini k and was wondering with the bonnet that when ya put it down how do you stop the catch thing scratchin all the paint off ya crossmember?????? hope that makes sense....

There's two buttons that are supposed to be on either side of the slam panel to stop it scratching that. For the rest, I put the bonnet up, place tea towels in the back corner and loosen the four 7/16th nuts on the hinges enough to allow it to move around but not flop loose. After that it is trial and error to get everything aligned.
The holes where the bonnet studs go through are elongated to allow for this adjustment. Takes some time.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

no i know the bonnet buffer rubbers i have both of them on but the catch thingo claw looking thing if you just sit ya bonnet down it will rest on ya crossmember and scratch it...how do you avoid this?

Same again. However, if the bonnet lines up nicely for the rest of the way around the car, thake a look and see if the bonnet hook is'n bent askew.

You have to decide is the bonnet, or just the hook is out of alignment.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

welll..... it the hook didn't sit on the bonnet shut panel with you put the bonnet down, then it wouldn't catch underneath it, this is by design - you've gotta push it back when you shut the bonnet, I've never seen a mini that doesn't require this.

If you're worried about it, get a little bit of stainless sheet or something and bend it so it fits over the panel at the top, and screw it into the bend on the engine side

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

yea.......i might do that one day.....thanks for all ya help....

The hinge bracket that the hook is mounted on is easy enough to bend back just enough to let the hook slide on the back of the crossmember when the bonnit comes down. (I did a dodgy drawing that may help, or confuse )

Be carful not to bend it back too far that it dos'nt catch at all. This will still scratch the crossmember but it should only be the back so it won't be seen

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Respect mine and I'll respect yours.

Ahh oops, the wrong bonnet hook I was thinking...

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

Obviously, not once but twice, maybe you should stick to looking for big end bearings

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Steve

The other way you could sort of protect it is by getting some clear contact (generally used on school books to protect the covers......now im showing my age) and put two layers on the panel the catch hits so as to protect it (similar to the "clear car bra" type things that people are putting onto new cars instead of those bulky black ones that scatch the paint when you put them on and take them off, even though they arn't s'posed too) and when the top layer really starts getting worn from opening the bonnet often (and you will), you remove that piece and put a new piece of contact on top of the piece of contact thats not damaged......and its much cheaper and has little or no interferance with your paint/panel finish and the bonnet stopper rubbers.
i hope this made some sort of sense??

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMkVq1jRGU

You could even get some tougher clear vinyl like they use on trail bikes, lot thicker and resistant to everything.

hehe bonnit

What's the prob with big end bearings- I've never had a problem finding them. I even bought some +.030" thrust washers this week.
Of course there is the Holy Grail- -.080" big ends that Matt Read is scouring the world for...

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Ive gotten myself into the habbit of pushing that hook latch in as im shutting the bonnet. I dont have any marks on crossmember. Dont just drop the bonnet from a great height to shut it.

Hold onto it all the way down, poke a finger under the bonnet front edge and push the hook backwards. Then gentley push the bonnet shut and pull ur finger out at the same time..

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

you could make a scratch plate to go there?