Hard top / soft top hood frame fixing hole/bracket

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KevinW
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Hard top / soft top hood frame fixing hole/bracket

Post by KevinW »

I bought a used Hawk bubbeltop sometime ago from the small ads on T289R, and plan to adapt this for my Crendon. However, I have now realised there is no alternative but to cut it in half and extend it backwards by inserting a 3-4" fillet. I am slowly getting a plan together on how best to do this, , before re-profiling the rear skirt as per Gerry's article on the tech section here. But I will need to secure the top down before and after the surgery and prior to the making-good stage.

When roughly hand-held on the Crendon the bubbletop rear mounting brackets that use the hood frame fixing points seem to sit just inside the cockpit perimeter.

I believe the Hawk might have a more authentic mounting point for the hood frame, which sits , i think, again just inside the cockpit perimeter as per original cars, in contrast to lots of other replicas that use a hole in the body just aft of the door.

If I am correct, please can I request some pics as I think I'll need to glass in something similar to have a secure landmark/fixing point. Any descriptions/pics of this bracket mounts and how it avoids stressing the body would be appreciated.
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clive
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Re: Hard top / soft top hood frame fixing hole/bracket

Post by clive »

Hope these help...

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Cheers, Clive.

(If I'm not here I'm in my workshop or on the golf course!)
KevinW
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Re: Hard top / soft top hood frame fixing hole/bracket

Post by KevinW »

Thanks Clive - this is what I suspected would be the case.
I see the aluminium hoop ferrule sits inside a steel bracket - internet pics of the hawk chassis suggest this may be glassed into the body.
Would anyone, perhaps in build before cockpit fit-out, have a pic of what this bracket looks like in-situ?
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clive
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Re: Hard top / soft top hood frame fixing hole/bracket

Post by clive »

You are correct, the steel bracket is glassed in, and is fitted by Hawk. I've looked for pictures of it during my build, but this is all I can find.

Image

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Cheers, Clive.

(If I'm not here I'm in my workshop or on the golf course!)
KevinW
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Re: Hard top / soft top hood frame fixing hole/bracket

Post by KevinW »

Thanks Clive.
I surmise from this that there is a metal bracket from the floor pan up and behind the door aperture for mounting the door latch and then folds up and under for mounting the steel tub for the hood bow. Makes sense - good design and won't stress the body over such a large area. I'll have a think about how I can do something similar...which also looks nice and authentic.
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peterc
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Re: Hard top / soft top hood frame fixing hole/bracket

Post by peterc »

Kevin, for reference the hood support tube is attached to a similar sized tube that goes back to the side of the car. I peeled of a little bit of trim back but it didn't show much more the bracket being totally glassed in. I expect that there is a main vertical metal tube that forms the B pillar from which the door catch bracket will also be mounted on.
Hope attached shows a tiny bit more.
Peter C
hood support tube.jpg
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KevinW
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Re: Hard top / soft top hood frame fixing hole/bracket

Post by KevinW »

That's very useful - thanks Peter.
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