Disclaimer:
The procedures on this page are presented as guidelines ONLY. They reflect particular jobs that were done by myself and were written down from memory as a guide to others who might need to do the same procedure. I make no representations as to the accuracy of the information contained here (please remember that I am not a professional mechanic and that free advice is worth every penny). What you do to your car is what YOU do to your car. I take no responsibility for the results of YOUR actions, lack of common sense, or stupidity.
Introduction:
The bonnet on a 205 can often get a bit ‘flappy’ at speed and the front catch can also fail, so you may like to consider fitting a pair of bonnet pins at the front of the bonnet. Or you may have a fiberglass/carbon fibre bonnet that needs holding down, in that cause you’d use at least 4 pins (2 at the front and 2 at the back). Either way, fitting bonnet pins to the 205 is quite a simple job as there is plenty of room to fit them in a variety of places.
Sparco bonnet pins in original packaging
Tools/Parts Required:
- Bonnet Pins
- Drill & Bits
- Spanners
- Screwdriver
- Hacksaw
- Files
- Grease
- Shake-Proof Washers
- Hosepipe
The Job:
1. First decide where you want the pins on the bonnet and ensure there is something metal underneath to hold the pin!
choose a good location for pins
2. Drill the holes for the pins and mount those to the car first, setting them to roughly the right height (your guessing at this point but that's fine). If you find the thread of the pin is too long and hits something below it then simply cut some thread off with a hacksaw.
set the height roughly at first
all 4 pins bolted in
3. Once mounted put a little bit of grease on the top of the pins, then lower the bonnet until the underside touches the pin. The blob of grease will then leave a mark on the underside of the bonnet and that's where you need to make a hole!
cut a hole for the pin to poke through
all 4 holes cut in bonnet
4. Now turn the bonnet over (assuming you've removed it from the car!) and drill a hole through where the grease marked. Depending on which type of pins you have you'll probably have to make 3 holes and file them into a rectangle shape. If your unsure keep checking by placing the bonnet back on the car and seeing when the whole is the right size for the pin.
mark the screw holes for catches
5. Once that's done you need to mount the catch to the bonnet. Best way is to put the bonnet back on the car so the pins are sticking through the holes. Then rest the catch over the pin and align it to how you want it, then mark where the mounting holes need to be drilled.
drill and screw the catches on
the underside of a catch
6. Drill those holes and mount the catches, now your almost there!
7. All that's left is to set the height of the pins so your bonnet is at the right height. This is simply trial and error with winding the pin up or down until you can put the catch through the pin and lift the bonnet up so it's level with the wings.
use hosepipe to set the bumpstops
8. Once it's level with the wings you need to get some Hosepipe and cut some short pieces to use as 'bumpstops' on the pins. This will hold the bonnet at the right height for you. Again this is trial and error so start with a longer bit and trim off as required. Your aiming to have it so you have to put a little pressure down on the bonnet to get the catch to go through the pin. This keeps the bonnet nice and tightly closed.
all pins fitted and job done
9. And that's it, job done!