Bonnet support...? WTF??

[RazorbackNOR]

Just came across Jon Weywadt's post on why they didn't gavanize some parts, and saw the inside of his front bonnet.

WTF?? This doesn't look like mine...

Jon's:


Some others:



Mine:


Looks like some previous owner has welded a 8X30mm steelbar INSIDE the reinforcements on the Bonnet
A quick flip on the calculator showed me that this adds 2.5kg of weight, for no apperent reason, since I don't see any of you guys having it on yours....


Looks like I have to get medieval with the anglegrinderone of these days....

[krede]

I have had the bonnet flex quite a bit too.. especially in windy weather... but this seems a bit like overkill to me 

[RazorbackNOR]

And away it goes!!

Sparks are flying!



Done!


Just look at these holse that idiot has put in the bonnet.... 



Steel bars removed


And bonnet is just as stiff as it was before I removed the steelbars....

[Jon Weywadt]

That shower of sparks look dangerous. The glassfiber is flammable, after all. 

Don't forget to close the holes where you cut off the support. You don't want moisture to get in there and rust it out from the inside.

Also, the picture you included of the red bonnet, made me think that Matra planned to have braces to stiffen it.

Look at the indentions in the back corners and on each side of the latch in front. It sure looks like cross braces were meant to be mounted from back corner to the front.

I wonder if any Murenas were equipped with those.

[RazorbackNOR]

He he, not to worry, tried high exposure time on my camera, so there is ALOT more sparks then it actually was.

Yes, I see what you mean, surely looks like they are for something.... we have a lot of aerospace grade aluminuim at work, perhaps I should make some kind of crossbeam there later.

[Anders Dinsen]

He he, not to worry, tried high exposure time on my camera, so there is ALOT more sparks then it actually was.

Great photo!

[Oetker]

Not to be nagging, but next time put something over the window or better cover up the whole car.
The sparks can burn in the glass and f*ck up the window badly.

[RazorbackNOR]

Luckily there won't be s next time. There was actually quite few sparks, shutterspeed was 2 seconds, and I'm considering changing the windscreen, seems like water has begun penetrating from the sides and splitting it from the inside. Only at the edges at the moment tho...

[Oetker]

I had the same problem on the corners.
I closed the gap with kit, and after that I put a new strip.
I have a new window ready for mounting, but that will be done just before a respray somewhere in the near future.
The old window is bad, because of sparks.
Someone restaurated a oldtimer near the car  

[Jon Weywadt]

Hi Oetker.

Can I have your cat ?  I promise I will treat him good. I love the mean, tough look on his face. I bet he eats bulldogs for lunch. 

[Oetker]

Yes, he is a bad ass cat.

He loves Matra stuff.
My wipers are not original, and he showed me what he thinks of not original.

[michaltalbot]

I had the same problem on the corners.
I closed the gap with kit, and after that I put a new strip.
I have a new window ready for mounting, but that will be done just before a respray somewhere in the near future.

OMG, I am an idiot! I forgot to tell You and all others, that we've found a company which, specialy for us, produced the rubber/plastic strip (also known as bauset) exactly by Murenas original, of course with selfadhesive tape  Price was 6,-Eur/meter. If anyone is interested, I could ask them if it is possible to do it again.

[Oetker]

Recently I bought 100 meter of strip that is normaly placed in a alum. rail for caravans.
The tip came from this forum.
You can find it in places that deliver parts for caravans.
I payed €70.- for 100 meter.
It is perfect for the job, but it took me 5 hours to mount

[michaltalbot]

Yes, but it doesn't look like original strip...

[Oetker]

The cat didn't notice  but since I have it on the car he is looking a bit strange at me.