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More Adventures With
Tweety Bird If you own a TR6 you have heard the warning. "Make sure you have a second way to release the hood latch." When the factory issued cable breaks (they always do) you will have to disassemble the car to open the hood. I would like to add that you may need a third way to release the hood latch. There exists the possibility that a broken cable would seem child's play when compared to the problem I had to solve recently. It would also be helpful if all family members were trained in the proper method of closing the TR6 hood. I'm not sure how it happened. The first time I tried to open the hood, after it had been driven by a family member, it didn't work. It didn't feel like the cable was broken. I used a droplight and flashlight in an attempt to look from below. The exhaust pipes and a few other things limit visibility to almost nothing. I've always thought of my car as a 15 footer. That's a car that looks good from 15 feet away. My next move instantly transformed my car to a 20 footer. I used a screwdriver to jam under the right corner of the hood in an attempt to see what was creating the problem. In addition to giving you a peek under the hood it also acts as an effective cowl paint remover. At first I didn't understand what I was seeing through the tiny slit under the hood. As the day wore on and more paint wore off, it began to dawn on me what the problem was. The safety catch had somehow been jammed between the release lever and the support. I made a few vain attempts to hook the lever with a heavy wire. This added a nice sheen to the bare metal that's been created by the screwdriver. A word of caution here. If you attempt this method please wear dark glasses and gloves. You will eventually hook the wire into the positive terminal of the battery and the wire will ground on the bare metal of the cowl which is only a few inches from your eyes. If you are not able to get the wire out quickly it may turn cherry red and cause severe blisters on your fingers. Another possibility is that the wire may become permanently welded to the cowl and or the hood there by compounding your problems. While I waited for the blue and white spots to fade from my eyes, I had time to consider my next idea. I thought I might be able to use a hole saw to cut a hole in the foot box on the passenger side. This would require a large hole saw (I had one 4" dia.) and my largest drill-motor. I have a lot of respect for: no, make that, fear of that drill-motor. I has enough torque to break both wrists at the same time if the saw should hang up. It's not the best position, your back on the floor, your feet over the back of the passenger seat. Hot metal that flies from the saw adds to the discomfort. Safety glasses are a must and goggles would be better. Asking a friend to do it would be the best solution. I broke three pilot bits before I discovered that quarter inch all-thread works nearly as well and is much cheaper. It seemed to take hours before I finally had a hole in the engine compartment. I tried to file the ragged edges of the hole but didn't accomplish much. Before the day was over my hands looked like the time when I was a daring but dimwitted 10 year-old. I tried to take a shortcut through the blackberry patch on my bike. The next thing I tried was a short piece of hacksaw blade. I was hoping to cut through the safety latch. You have to be under the dash to get your hand into the engine compartment so you can't see where you are cutting. It's hard to keep the saw in the same spot. I kept at it until the hood finally released. Now I have a second puller on the release lever and an access hole. If you only do one thing I would suggest an access hole hole the size of a garbage can lid. Remember, if you don't provide an alternative hood release you may be the next one to write an article for the newsletter. Please don't call me. I broke the hole saw. |
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