THE INTERNATIONAL JAGUAR 'S'-TYPE REGISTER FORUM

Hi, I'm trying to find a replacement bonnet for my 1968 S-Type. I have discovered that the later bonnet is different to the earlier cars and the Mk2 bonnet cannot be used without serious modification. The way to identify the correct bonnet is by looking at the cross bar that holds the latch locating pin. The cross bar is wider on the late S-Type bonnet. the distance from the cross bar on the earlier cars is about 3cm but only 2cm on the later cars.

Any help in tracking one of these down will be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Ian.

Good to meet you yesterday, Ian. Hopefully someone here can help. Or knows a man who can.

You are going to have to look long & hard for a late car. Jaguar for some reason made a change to the radiator spacing on late cars & along with it the catch panel & bonnet. Cass car has your bonnet & radiator gap. There is a long thread here on the subject. External dimensions/shaping did not change by much. There are 2 different bonnets for S types & other catch panel paraphernalia.

See:
http://jagstyperegister.com/forum_new/v ... diator+gaP

Hi Glyn,

Thanks for the quick response and links. I have found a bonnet that may be correct and for which the owner has promised to send the key measurements tomorrow (Wed 17 Aug 22). If that doesn’t work out I’ll have to fabricate a new cross bar for the Mk2 bonnet I already have.

The car is currently being prepared for paint so time is pressing.

Thanks again for your interest,

Ian.

Only a pleasure. We try hard to help one another on the Register.

Good luck!

Hello Everyone.

I’m pleased to say I have found a correct bonnet. It is not in the best condition but I think with a little welding work it can be made to fit.

The problem is at the windscreen end of the bonnet which appears to be too wide for the bonnet aperture. Looking at it closely I think rust in the corners where the hinge mounts are is distorting the curve at the edges effectively making the curved section shallower and so appearing to be wider than is quite right.
I’ll keep looking for something better but at least the body shop has something to work with in the mean time.

Regards to all,

Ian.

Ian what you have to remember is that no Jaguar door, bonnet or boot lid were the same as the tolerances during manufacturing in the 1960s were not as they are today. On the production line the work force had a selection of bonnets and they would offer them up one at a time until they got a good match. Same with the doors and boot lid.
During my rebuild I was given a set of door skins with the car as my doors were a little rusty at the bottoms. I was advised quite strongly not to fit the door skins but to repair the original doors because it would have been almost impossible to get the skins to fit correctly without a lot of fettling. I was also advised not to try and buy secondhand doors as these were also very unlikely to fit. Your bonnet might be the same, slightly different curve or width due to the manufacturing process as apposed to any damage faults.

Hello Cass3958,

Yes that is a good point and especially on the doors too. It is easy to see the curve going top to bottom but not so obvious going from side to side. Like you, only the bottoms are reskinned on mine but it has still needed a filler skim to get the shape right.
With the bonnet I always knew there would be some “fitting” work to be done and my comment in the post was more to say I’ll have to take the shaping into account when cutting out and welding in new metal at the rusted rear corners.

Thank you for your interest and comments. It’s always interesting to pick up these additional bits of knowledge and explains a lot when what should be straight forward jobs become amazingly complicated!

Regards,

Ian.

Modern car panels are all laser cut by robots and are identical. Even the colour code from one car to the next is identical. I had a Volvo V70 and my wife hit a bollard in a carpark writing off the nearside front wing. I bought a replacement from a scrapyard, same model same paint code and it took half an hour and about six bolts to change it over. Perfect fit. Unfortunately 1960s Jaguars were not built with the same precision so they do need a lot of fettling to fit a second hand panel.

Remember there are 2 different bonnets for the S Type. Remember your radiator gap issue Cass. Also different slam plate/panel assembly. Discussed above. Even hinge assembly changed. Sorry to be repetitive. The one won't fit the other aperture.