:: Thursday, 4 August, 2022 ::
We're off on a mission of mercy today.
Hugh phoned last week with a simple question - "can I have a look at your bonnet and measure where the locking pins are?"
DingDingDingDing! Alarm bells go off! "why do you want to measure that?"
"So that I know where to drill the holes."
"what holes?"
"Holes in the bonnet so that I can get to the bolts on the locking pins."
"No wait, back up - why do you want to do that?"
"Because the bonnet was springing open so I tightened the pins and now I can't get them to open at all."
Now this course of action seems a bit drastic to me, so I tell him that I'll speak to Dave and Jim and we'll all come up and get it open with no damage. All we ask in return is:
unlimited bacon rolls; and
unlimited Belgian buns.So we meet up at lunchtime today at Dave's house and head up to Hugh's - about an hour away.
When we get there we discover that he has disconnected the hinges at the front of the bonnet so that he can wriggle it side to side to free it. Except it didn't... It's supported at the front though on a big trolley jack and some wood, so the first step is to release these bonnet catches. I pull the lever and Dave and Jim wrestle the end of the bonnet side to side and back to front until "boing" - it springs free and opens!
Then we (or rather Jim alone) reassembles the hinges - his knees still work so he can get down there AND get up again!
So far so good. Then we pay around for ages adjusting the hinges and the bonnet pins a bit at a time until they line up. A bit of masking tape over the catch and a blob of grease on the end of the pin helps to confirm alignment, a stage at a time. We also wind the bonnet pins out a wee bit because they are too tight and not engaging properly.
Sorted! Around an hour, no holes drilled, no springs flying around the garage - and plenty of time for bacon butties and Belgian buns!
And the bonus is that we got to see Hugh, who hasn't been able to get along to meetings or runs for various reasons.
All in all, a lovely we afternoon out!
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