Non techy guide to hood replacement in 12 steps - picture heavy.

[Precious]

Girls please wear thin rubber gloves or your nails will be gone and your hands well messed up like mine got!

**TO REPLACE REAR PLASTIC WINDOW ONLY - FOLLOW STEPS 3 TO 4**



Tools needed : drill, 7mm drill bit, 3.2mm drill bit, wallpaper scraper, socket set, posi drive screwdriver and 17mm rivets ( approx 60 to be on safe side ) NOTE ALL BASIC POINTER INSTRUCTIONS ARE IN BLUE, IMPORTANT NOTES ARE IN RED.




1. REMOVE 3 SCREWS ALONG BACK OF T-BAR ( 1 PRESS STUD IN CENTRE FOR TONNEAU + 2 TONNEAU SCREWS EITHER SIDE ) HOLD ONTO TOP OF T-BAR AND YANK TOWARDS YOUR BODY WHILST FACING REAR WINDOW. T - BAR WILL PULL OFF AND YOU WILL SEE THERE ARE SMALL PLASTIC PLUG LIKE CLIPS THAT HOLD IT IN PLACE.( SEE THE CIRCLES EITHER SIDE OF THE CENTRE CUBBY - PLUGS GRIP HERE AND EITHER END AND IN THE SECOND PICTURE THE PLUG IS SHOWN IN RED.. YOU WILL NEED TO REMEMBER TO MAKE SURE THESE PLUG GRUB SCREWS ARE ATTACHED TO THE T-BAR WHEN YOU PUT IT BACK INTO PLACE WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED SO IF ANY HAVE REMAINED ATTATCHED TO THE METAL FRAME REMOVE THEM BY GENTLY EDGING THEM OUT WITH A SCREWDRIVER AND CLIP THEM ONTO THE TOP OF THE SCREWS ON THE REVERSE SIDE OF THE T-BAR











2. THERE ARE NOW 2 BOLTS EXPOSED AT EITHER END OF THE T-BAR THAT HOLD THE HOOD FRAME ONTO THE CAR. REMOVE THE 2 BOLTS. PICTURE ABOVE SHOWS BOLTS BEING REMOVED PICTURE BELOW SHOWS THE TOP BOLT ALSO HOLDS THE HARD TOP CATCHES.



NOTE: ****TO REPLACE YOUR REAR PLASTIC WINDOW ONLY LEAVE HOOD FASTENED WITH CLIPS AT FRONT BOW AND FOLLOW INSRUCTIONS FROM SECION 3 THROUGH TO 4 THEN REVERSE THE STEPS REPLACING YOUR OLD WINDOW WITH THE NEW AND YOUR WINDOW REPLACEMENT IS COMPLETE ******

3. YOU NOW NEED TO UNCLIP THE BACK OF YOUR ROOF ( PARCEL SHELF AREA ) LIFT UP THE BOOT CARPET AND UNCLIP THE LARGE CLIPS AROUND THE EDGE OF THE PARCEL SHELF. *NOTE **** FOR REAR WINDOW REPLACEMENT ONLY JUST RAISE THE BACK BAR THAT YOU HAVE UNCLIPPED THEN MOVE ONTO STEP 4 **** LIFT THE FULL ROOF FRAME OFF THE CAR. THIS IS HEAVY AND A LITTLE AWKWARD SO BE CAREFULL NOT TO SCRAPE YOUR PAINTWORK! ONCE YOUR HOOD IS FREE TAKE IT INTO A COMFORTABLE ROOM TO WORK IN.



4. FIRST BEGIN AT THE BACK OF THE FRAME IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMOVE THE WINDOW TO AVOID ANY SPLITS. ZIP OPEN YOUR PLASTIC WINDOW AND ALLOW IT TO CAREFULLY FALL FLAT TO THE FLOOR ( ***IN THE CASE OF WINDOW REPLACEMENT ONLY - ALLOW THE WINDOW TO REST ON THE PARCEL SHELF****). RAISE UP THE REAR BAR THAT SITS IN YOUR PARCEL SHELF AND YOU WILL SEE A FULL LINE OF RIVETS ( they may be hidden by a foam strip ) . THESE RIVETS WILL BEGIN FROM THE VERY OUTER EDGES AND OVERLAP THE PLASTIC REAR SCREEN AREA OF THE HOOD. USING A 7MM DRILL BIT SIMPLY DRILL THE RIVET HEADS ALL ALONG THE BAR UNTIL THEY POP OFF AND THE WINDOW SECTION AND REAR OF HOOD MATERIAL IS FREE FROM THE FRAME. (**** FOR WINDOW REPLACEMENT ONLY - YOU NEED ONLY DRILL THE RIVETS ALONG THE CENTRE WINDOW SECTION - LEAVING THE EDGE OF THE HOOD MATERIAL INTACT AND FREEING ONLY THE WINDOW FROM THE FRAME. once you have completed this --- REVERSE THE STEPS INSERTING NEW POP RIVETS TO SECURE YOUR NEW REAR SCREEN IN PLACE AND YOU ARE FINISHED!!.****)

See picture below of rear bar and rivet being removed by drilling the head.…..








NOW YOU CAN PLACE THE WINDOW OUT OF HARMS WAY WHILE YOU REMOVE YOUR HOOD FABRIC. ALLOW YOUR REAR BAR TO SIT ON THE FLOOR AND RAISE UP THE FRONT BOW SECTION OF YOUR HOOD AS YOU WILL BE PEELING YOUR HOOD FABRIC FROM FRONT TO BACK.


5. BEGIN BY UNDOING THE 3 BOLTS FROM THE HOOD CATCHES.( 3 BOLTS ARE SHOWN IN THE PICTURE BELOW).



REMOVE THE PLASTIC EDGE THAT FRAMES THE FRONT INSIDE OF THE HOOD. IT IS THE THIN BLACK PLASTIC STRIP YOU CAN SEE JUST BELOW THE CATCH IN THE ABOVE PICTURE AND IS BEING SHOWN IN THE PROCESS OF GENTLY PULLING AWAY FROM THE HOOD IN THE PICTURE BELOW.





6. WHEN YOU HAVE PULLED AWAY THE STRIP YOU WILL NOTICE SOME LITTLE FLAT ENVELOPE LIKE CLIPS YOU NEED TO REMOVE. THESE NEED TO BE FLICKED OFF USING SOMETHING LIKE A PAPER SCRAPER OR PALLET KNIFE. SEE PICTURES BELOW









7. WHEN ALL OF THE CLIPS ARE REMOVED THE FRONT PLASTIC BOW BECOMES LOOSE. YOU WILL NEED TO CLOSELY LOOK AT EACH CORNER OF THE HOOD FABRIC. YOU WILL NOTICE BY PULLING THE RUBBER CORNER PIECE TO ONE SIDE THAT YOU HAVE A LITTLE METAL “V” SHAPED GRIPPER CUT OUT OF THE METAL ( SEE PIC BELOW ) AND THAT THIS IS USED TO HOLD THE MATERIAL OF YOUR HOOD. ALONGSIDE OF IT (A LITTLE TO THE RIGHT) IS A SMALL PLASTIC OR RUBBER PLUG. ( SEE ON PIC WHERE SMALL HOLE IS APPARENT AFTER REMOVAL OF PLUG ) CAREFULLY FLICK OUT THE PLUG USING A SCREWDRIVER AS THIS WILL BE NEEDED WHEN YOUR NEW HOOD IS REFITTED. THE “V” GRIPPER NEEDS TO BE BENT UPWARDS USING A SCREWDRIVERAND THEN YOU ARE ABLE TO PEEL BACK YOUR HOOD FABRIC. YOUR HOOD FABRIC WILL BE GLUED WITH A STRONG GLUE IN QUITE A FEW PLACES JUST REMEMBER TO PEEL AWAY USING A WALLPAPER SCRAPER WHERE YOU NEED EXTRA LEVERIDGE



8. WHEN YOU PEEL BACK THE HOOD A LITTLE YOU WILL SEE SMALL RIVET HEADS ALL ACROSS THE BAR HOLDING THE FABRIC ONTO THE BOW. SEE PICTURE BELOW…..ON MY HOOD YOU WILL SEE THE FOAM SLIGHTLY COVERING THE RIVETS. JUST SCRAPE AWAY THE FOAM EXPOSE THE HEADS AND THEN YOU WILL NEED TO DRILL EACH HEAD OFF THE RIVETS. USE A 7MM DRILL AND THE HEADS WILL POP EASILY.






9. WHEN ALL OF THE RIVET HEADS ARE REMOVED YOU CAN BEGIN TO PEEL BACK YOUR HOOD MATERIAL. REMEMBER ANY GLUED AREAS WILL BE EASILY PEELED WITH A LITTLE EXTRA HELP FROM YOUR SCRAPER. (SEE PIC BELOW) THE RIVET HOLES WILL NEED TO BE TOTALLY CLEARED OUT WITH A SMALL DRILL IE 3.2MM AS YOU WILL BE RE INSERTING NEW RIVETS LATER. I ALSO SQUIRTED SOME SEALANT INTO THE BOLT HOLES ( WHERE CATCHES WERE ATTATCHED ) IN THE FRONT BOW BECAUSE THE TAIL OF THE OLD RIVETS DROP INSIDE THE BOW WHEN YOU CLEAR THE RIVET HOLES. THEY ARE KNOWN TO RATTLE INSIDE SO AS SOON AS THE SEALANT WENT IN I TIPPED THE HOOD UP AND DOWN UNTIL THE TAILS WERE CAUGHT AND SILENT.







10. NOW YOU WILL SEE WHEN THE HOOD PEELS BACK THAT THERE ARE SMALL CABLES RUNNING THROUGH EITHER SIDE OF THE HOOD MATERIAL. THE CABLE IS SIMILAR TO BIKE BRAKE CABLE AND IS ATTACHED TO THE VERY FRONT OF YOUR HOOD FRAME WITH ANOTHER METAL”V” . THE “V” IS LOCATED EXACTLY UNDERNEATH THE “V” THAT HELD YOUR HOOD MATERIAL IN EACH CORNER WHERE THE BOW WAS. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE IMPORTANT TO SECURE THE EDGES OF THE HOOD MATERIAL WHEN DOING HIGH SPEEDS ALTHOUGH ONE OF MINE WAS RUSTED AND BROKEN IN SEVERAL PLACES AND I WAS ADVISED BY A FITTER THEY ARE NOT THAT IMPORTANT AND CAN BE REMOVED AND LEFT OFF WHEN FITTING YOUR NEW HOOD MATERIAL ( I LEFT THEM OUT HOWEVER IT IS YOUR DECISION TO MAKE ) IF YOUR CABLE IS DAMAGED OR SNAPPED YOU CAN ORDER NEW ONES FROM BAS FOR £6 A SET- OR BUY BRAKE CABLE AND MAKE YOUR OWN. PHOTOGRAPH BELOW SHOWS THE CABLE AFTER I REMOVED IT FROM THE METAL “V” CLAMP. THE CABLES ARE EASIER TO UNHOOK FROM THE METAL “V“ CLAMPS IF YOU HAVE YOUR HOOD FRAME SLIGHTLY FOLDED. YOU NEED ONLY UNHOOK THE FRONT CABLE AND PULL IT OUT OF THE HOOD MATERIAL. IT WILL REMAIN ATTACHED AT THE REAR OF THE FRAME AND CAN BE RE-THREADED THROUGH YOUR NEW HOOD.






THIS PIC BELOW IS THE ONE THAT HAD RUSTED AND SNAPPED




11. NOW YOU COME TO THE SIDE BARS - THESE ARE THE BARS THAT SIT BEHIND YOUR WINDOWS. YOU WILL SEE IN THE PICTURE BELOW THEY ARE THE THICK RUBBER SEALS RUNNING VERTICALLY DOWN THE FRAME. I DIDN’T REMOVE THESE JUST PULL THE SIDE WINDOW RUBBER SEALS FROM THE BOTTOM UP TOWARDS THE TOP OF THE FRAME AND THEY PEELED AWAY UNTIL THEY GOT TO THE TOP OF THE BAR WHERE THEY ARE ATTACHED AND SECURED. NOW YOU HAVE ACCESS TO THE RIVETTED AREA BEHIND THESE RUBBER SEALS. WHEN YOU REMOVE THE EXPOSED RIVET HEADS THE WHOLE PLASTIC AREA TO WHICH THE RUBBER SEAL IS ATTACHED WILL BECOME FREE. PUT THIS TO ONE SIDE AS YOU WILL NEED IT LATER. AGAIN AS BEFORE CLEAN THE RIVET HOLES. PEEL AWAY THE HOOD MATERIALFROM THE WINDOW AREA OF THE FRAME ( IF GLUED AS MINE WAS JUST USE YOUR SCRAPER TO PEEL ) I DID HAVE TO USE PLIERS AS IM A WEAKLIN lol )SEE PIC BELOW










12. WHEN YOU HAVE REMOVED BOTH SIDES ALL YOU NEED TO DO NOW IS REMOVE THE TOP ZIP WINDOW AREA OF THE HOOD AND YOU ARE FINISHED. SO MOVE TO THE LAST BAR COVERED IN FABRIC .THE LAST BAR TO WORK ON IS THE BAR THAT IS COVERED INSIDE IN A VELVETY STICKY BACK STRIP. SEE PIC BELOW




PEEL BACK THE VELVETY STRIP AND YOU WILL SEE THE BAR NOW EXPOSED HAS LOTS OF LITTLE COUNTERSUNK BOLTS ALL ALONG IT AND AT EACH END THERE IS 2 TINY PHILLIPS HEAD SCREWS. YOU NEED TO REMOVE EVERY ONE OF THESE LITTLE BOLTS USING A SOCKET SET AND ALSO REMOVE ALL FOUR OF THE TINY SCREWS. THIS WILL RELEASE THE BACK TOP ZIP SECTION AND YOUR FRAME IS NOW READY FOR YOU TO REVERSE THE INSTRUCTIONS AND APPLY YOUR REPLACEMENT HOOD.


I AM STOPPING HERE AS FROM HERE ON I ATTACHED A BAS HOOD AND THE FITTING INSTRUCTIONS DO DIFFER TO STANDARD HOODS.

AS YOU WILL SEE FROM THE PICTURES TAKEN THE START TIME IS 9.16 AM AND THE FINISH TIME IS 11.36AM !! THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HAVE REMOVED A HOOD AND THE HOOD WAS REMOVED INTACT TO ALLOW SOMEONE ELSE USE OF IT.

I ALSO TOOK PICTURES IN BETWEEN AND HAD A CUPPA SO I THINK YOU WILL FIND ITS NOT A HARD JOB JUST A LITTLE FIDDLY. ( please note I am not responsible for any damage you may do to your hood during this process ) I say this only because I cannot be responsible for any heavy handedness you may apply during the removal or refitting process lol! Just have a go and trust yourself!

Lise

[MGFmad]

Brilliant how to there Lise - I must book mark it for future use if I go down the BAS route.

Can't wait to see the new hood

[AndrewR]

Great job, and photos. I have had my new roof sitting in it's box since January trying to pluck up the courage to have ago. You made it look so easy, I've got no excuses any more.

[MoonManMike]

Wow, Precious....top job there! Looking forwrad to te pics

[Precious]

the sportster hood doesnt need the bolts re-fitting as in step 12 because you receive a plastic casing for that particular bar to just mask the holes left from the bolts. this is because you no longer need a top zip section since the window in the sportster hood is glass.

everything else is the same in reverse steps to refit your hood.

a not so good picture of my new hood....sorry but there isnt enough room in my garage to step back and take a decent pic and i havent taken Mabel out of the garage to get a better picture because ive been applying the "secret weapon " LOL. The secret weapon is a waterproofing layer that contains teflon to coat the hood and prevent heavy dirt build up. i will post the details on a thread of its own so everyone can read incase they want to use it ( if they arnt already ). I only just heard of it.

[Fast Jan]

Great 'How To' Lise

And the hood looks fantastic! I really hope I get to see it in the flesh one day.

[MG_CHIC]

Really fantastic guide Lise! CJJ would be proud of the amount of pics you've taken!

And as for the new hood... it's gooooorgeous!

You've really worked hard to make your girl stunning & your hard work has definitely paid off!

[Gos]

Originally Posted by Precious

the sportster hood doesnt need the bolts re-fitting as in step 12 because you receive a plastic casing for that particular bar to just mask the holes left from the bolts. this is because you no longer need a top zip section since the window in the sportster hood is glass.

everything else is the same in reverse steps to refit your hood.

a not so good picture of my new hood....sorry but there isnt enough room in my garage to step back and take a decent pic and i havent taken Mabel out of the garage to get a better picture because ive been applying the "secret weapon " LOL. The secret weapon is a waterproofing layer that contains teflon to coat the hood and prevent heavy dirt build up. i will post the details on a thread of its own so everyone can read incase they want to use it ( if they arnt already ). I only just heard of it.

WOW!

Fantastic job Precious, cant wait to see the full effect with a whole car image (different angles please)

brilliant "how to" as well.

I am suitably impressed.

[MoonManMike]

I just have to see this car in the flesh......I know most of have unique cars one way or another, but this must be in the top group for uniqueness!

You do realise that it will be a talking point wherever you go.......just make sure you put an extra hour on your parking tickets

[Villager]

Excellent how to. Also, I love your seats. Really enhances the "bumblebee" effect.

Very jealous!

[sash]

I've not posted on your work on your car as i thought you had lost the plot, but have found your posts strangly alluring and now you've gone and put a yellow roof on it. well what can i say im so sorry for ever doubting you it looks great the roof pulls it all together. what a cracking job excelant. o yes the how to is also very good im most impressed

[Precious]

aww thank you everyone - i was a little bit worried about posting this guide as im not good at wording things but then i figured maybe others arnt too so maybe they will understand it also LOL

Your comments are lovely so thank you


Lol sash ive never had the plot to lose

I hope cjj is proud of my piccies since his how to's have helped me so much

Lise

[AutomanUK]

Mabe looks great Precious she's a credit to all your hard work.

Edit:- Nice nails....

[Petevick]

great how to. Now added to my web site - http://www.mgf-tf-central.co.uk/tt-h...light=Precious

I think your very brave, be interesting to see how it holds its colour.

[MGFmad]

The yellow hood looks good in the photos Lise

So we can add a new combination of black with a yellow roof