cutting a hole

[Anonymous]

hey guys!

does anyone have any ideas on how to cut a 'neat' circular hole in a bonet???? not alot of pannel beaters are willing to do this, but there must be someone here in perth that can do it nicely..

-matt-

 

[addo]

Wot for? The edges need to be turned and maybe some bracing relocated. How big and where?

 

[George]

Hi,

You can do it yourself! Mark the hole were you want it and use a Dremel with a carbide tile cutting bit. For even more control,use the flexible shaft option.
You will be amazed at how quick and easy 30,000 RPM can do the job.
You should be able to pick up a Dremel kit for under $150.00. I used it to port my heads!! It took very long!

Bye

 

[Anonymous]

i wanna do something different, and i figured it would look pretty good, and if not ill just replace the bonnet...... i wanna cut a very neat hole and etend the aircleaner so there is some of sticking out the bonnet..... (i have one of those (bling bling) chrome ones open around the sides) figure its gonna have bloody good air intake and i rekon it would look pretty good, and i aint seen it done with it on a 6 (eg offset) i plan on getting a small shaker type scoop that will be removable//

-matt-

 

[addo]

Well, you should mark it out first. Tape a big sheet of paper on the bonnet, that well covers the area likely to be cut.

Then pop the lid and measure the location of the aircleaner centre - how many mm from the side of the front guard , how many mm from the back edge of the engine bay. Close the bonnet and transfer these dimensions to get the centre of the cutout. Then it's easy to mark out the rest.

Shade it or colour the paper appropriately, stand back and have a gander. If it looks ordinary, better to know now than after cutting. Assuming you're happy, then open the bonnet again and look at what has to be cut underneath. Typically, it runs right through a diagonal brace...

If you have the bonnet assist springs, take them off. Weakening the bonnet by cutting will make it way flexy and the thing will kink near the hinge mounts, from the resistance of the springs to closing. You need to use a prop from another vehicle - easy to fit.

Dores this help? I am planning a power bulge in mine to clear the triple carbs. Hope to spring for louvres, too.

Cheers, Adam.

 

[Anonymous]

yeh i see what your saying, i rang a few places earlier, most of them refused to cut holes at all, more of them would cut holes just not circular ones, but there were just a small handfull that believed they could get a pretty good outcome, one person said they just use tin snips!!!!!!! and another said jigsaw.... these were both car restoration places.... the tinsnips sounds samer to me than the jigsaw! .... im considering investing in a GOOD pair of tin snips and doing it all my self! luckily the aircleaner has made a perfect marking on that heat material stuff on the underside of the bonnet so finding the middle really shouldnt be hard...

p.s.... what would happen if i remove this heat stuff?? stuff round with the paint right?

-matt-

 

[addo]

Just trim the underbonnet sheeting, or remove the whole section and refit after. You'll have to cut off the car. An air powered reciprocating saw (sort of a jigsaw) or this German thingy known as a "feinsage" (I think) are both pretty neat ways to cut. Snips should be MidWest or Wiss, but you need right and left hand curves. They are $60-odd per pair.

It will be a learning experience...

 

[addo]

Here's a good example of what can be done with snips and a little filing. I may have tidied the edges with the die grinder, using a carbide bit, not a stone. It has added 35% effective exposure to the radiator.

Adam.

 

[Anonymous]

You will need to turn the edges of the hole over or the edge will be quite flexible/sharp.
One way to do this (practice first!) is to make a fork by hacksawing a slot in the end of a piece of roundstock to the depth of turn-over you want (10mm?) and welding a T piece on the other end. You then cut the hole undersize by 10mm, and turn a flange carefully with the fork. This will stretch the flange which will need to be shrunk to lie flat, so you can cut a number of slots in the flange before tapping it down flush at the back of the panel. This method works well if done right, but you must practice a bit first or you will stuff the panel.

 

[Anonymous]

I forgot to add, if you are doing this then don't just pull the falge up 90 degrees at once. Work your way around it bending it up by about 5 to 10 degrees at a time.

 

[Anonymous]

hopefuly i will have this done in the next few weeks, i will let yas know how i go and ill put pictures on aswell to see how it looks!

cheers
p.s if i change from the stardard webber to say a holley, will the carb sit in the same place as the webber??? eg, will the hole still be in the right place?

-matt-

 

[Anonymous]

I always Imagined if you have an air cleaner sticking out of the bonnet without a scoop over it, it would be in danger of being stolen if you left the car unattended. If its a big aircleaner once this is off there might even be enough room to pull the carb out of the hole (and maybe the engine?).

 

[Anonymous]

that had crossed my mind.... not really as much as having the carby or motor stolen, but the aircleaner at least.... thats why im seriously considering running a new sensor from my alarm to a spot on the aircleaner, so if its tampered with it will set the alarm off and its bloody loud too!

-matt-

 

[Anonymous]

hey matt: i like your signiture matt!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

hahahaha cheers!
i laughed my arse of when i first read it haha

-matt-

 

[Anonymous]

I think it is cool too.