{"id":9301,"date":"2014-09-08T06:33:17","date_gmt":"2014-09-08T10:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.monocoque-metalworks.com\/main\/?p=9301"},"modified":"2015-02-18T12:37:02","modified_gmt":"2015-02-18T17:37:02","slug":"1968-e-type-covered-headlamp-conversion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monocoque-metalworks.com\/main\/2014\/09\/1968-e-type-covered-headlamp-conversion\/","title":{"rendered":"1968 E-Type Covered Headlamp Conversion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Couldn’t sleep…\u00a0 So I’ve been out here catching up on office-type work since 4 AM – just about the only chance I get to blog!<\/p>\n

I spent the day last Friday converting this 1968 bonnet to Series 1 covered headlamps by welding in a set of our conversion flanges.\u00a0 Here, we trim the outer edge of the flanges down to 1\/4″ wide, and then open up the factory hole for the 1968 bonnet by 1\/4″, and butt-weld the flanges in using a TIG welder. In the process, we precisely align them to the bonnet using patterns taken from known good original bonnets – they are EXACT!<\/p>\n

But to be honest, you don’t have to be quite that perfect.\u00a0 For example, I do make them identical to original factory Series 1 bonnets, but that doesn’t make the headlamp glass fit perfectly.\u00a0 I COULD make the bonnets better than factory, but the holes are close enough as it is and I guess that’s what they figured in Coventry – the rubber and wide chrome is very forgiving…<\/p>\n

The point of this discussion is that if you purchase our flanges and do this job at home – you should be as careful as possible, of course, but you don’t have to be quite this meticulous.\u00a0 If you align your flanges with the factory 1968 cutout, you will be close enough – just make sure you use the glass and rubber to double check things as you go, and BEFORE you weld anything in!<\/p>\n

Also – you do not need to butt-weld the flanges and then TIG them as we do here.\u00a0 You can (and most of my customers do it this way) simply overlap the flanges UNDER the existing skin of the bonnet, and then tack them around the edges once every thing is lined up nicely.\u00a0 This also will allow you to hold the flanges in place as you are adjusting with screws, rivets, or clecos, and then just weld up those screw holes.<\/p>\n

This particular bonnet was a little weird – I’m positive that it was an aftermarket or factory replacement center section.\u00a0 For one thing, the bonded flanges were stepped down on the very ends and spot welded to the skin with one spot on each end.\u00a0 I have never seen this before, but I did have someone send pictures of one like it a couple of years ago.\u00a0 In addition, there was WAY too much metal in the headlamp openings on both sides of the center panel.\u00a0 I’m pretty sure that this was intended to be trimmed down once it was installed, but whoever did install it didn’t do that – no wonder the Series 1.5 buckets fit SO bad when this came in!<\/p>\n

It always amazes me when I see this type of thing – I think alot of people are “afraid to cut” – I guess they don’t have the confidence that THEY are right and the metal is wrong…\u00a0 I see this alot on replacement wings – which come long in the back on purpose so they can be trimmed down to fit.\u00a0 I have actually seen bonnets with one replacement wing, where the extra material was all left on, and a metal strip was ADDED to the center section!\u00a0 And then the wing is sticking past the end of the sill 3\/4 of an inch as well!\u00a0 I have also had people call and say they purchased a new wing but it doesn’t fit because it is too long…\u00a0 Make new mistake – new wings DON’T fit worth a damn – but that’s not the reason!<\/p>\n

Anyway – enough of the soapbox…\u00a0 This conversion turned out really nice – and added some much needed stability and stiffening to the headlamp openings of this bonnet, since the new nose piece wanted to kink at the ends right at the weld line.\u00a0 The flanges not only stiffened that up, but welding them in shrunk things down a bit too – bringing everything right in line.\u00a0 It’s nice to get a break like that – especially on this bonnet – which has been fighting me all the way – but I’m winning!<\/p>\n