Bonnet lightening, seat swapping and interior painting query

rowan · Post by **rowan** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 7:21 pm

A) Hey just wondering what the legalitys of removing the bracing from a bonnet is for road use, ie instead of a 3-400 fibre jobby, will the removal of the bracing be illegal for road use, as mine is pretty rusty, and wouldnt mind hacking away the bad bits with a bit of weight at the same time.

B) What is the legalness of seat swaps eg? only legal when certed or if standard rails are used or? rails and seats can be swapped if mounted to standard holes in car.

C) Wanting to pain the brown/tan interior of my corolla, parts are plastic and parts are vinyl, any recomendations for products, any pics? as i have used vht black vinyl dye on my old cortina door cards etc, did an alright job but wasnt a very permanent solution, am also considering taking the interior stuff out taking it to a panel beater and getting it all sprayed black if it doesnt melt the plastic.

post up post up post up

no_8wire · Post by **no_8wire** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 7:43 pm

A) Not sure...but would prob fail as being unsafe/ structual unsound etc...

B) As long as rails go to stock rail holes its fine

C) No idea.

johntramp · Post by **johntramp** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 8:25 pm

one of my bonnets has been cut in a couple of places to make a little more room for piping and that has never been a problem

rowan · Post by **rowan** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 8:46 pm

hmm cheers for the answers so far

i do have to wonder wether the modified bonnet would matter or not, as surely a bonnet with all the bracing cut out would still be stronger than a fibreglass job?

and for the seats would this mean i could get seats make up a bracket that suits the original holes? eg buy different seats with rails, place a bracket under them that will adapt them to fit the standard holes? would this be legal? does the seats become illegal only when you make new holes etc?

no_8wire · Post by **no_8wire** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 8:52 pm

johntramp wrote:one of my bonnets has been cut in a couple of places to make a little more room for piping and that has never been a problem

Yes but ALL the bracing?

If you look at it if you remove all the bracing the "bonnet" will just be a sheet of metal...not very strong etc...

rowan · Post by **rowan** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 9:00 pm

true true yeah i wouldnt take all the bracing out, but is the bonnet in a 87 corolla structural important?

KinLoud · Post by **KinLoud** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 9:13 pm

Hi Rowan - are you building up your project car or something else?
If you have to cut anything out of your bonnet try to cut the minimum.
When I cut out my racecar bonnet I think I saved 2kg or 2.4kg...
Wow - can you ever tell when I'm out on the track! It moves around and jumps up and down like crazy above about 100kph! Back probably moves about 5cm up and down - the front about 3cm!
You can just see it on the video of when I crashed my Carina last weekend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BiG3-gGqHE

Ken
Ham
021 408 863

rowan · Post by **rowan** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 9:55 pm

yup building up the project car thought i'd query the bonnet situation as i've just finished uni, have no job yet and no money, so need things to do to my baby that cost nothing.

Thats some amazing footage, shame about the carina! whats the status on it at the moment? by the sounds of the movement you get may not be worth it, i think i recall you saying how much of a effort it was to remove the bracing too.

i put some new pics of what i got in the multimedia section, just finished installing the central locking kit from jaycar, cheap was like 30 bucks but beware they come with absolutely no instructions except on the box where it says, "EASY TO INSTALL" just chucked it in because i want to remove locks when i get an alarm soon.

heres the car link, and cheers for the info

Rowan
viewtopic.php?t=43945&start=20

RS13 · Post by **RS13** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 12:11 am

Ring a local certifier, and ask them about the bonnet and seats.

No offence to others here, but it would appear that most forums are 90% opinions, and only 10% facts. So just cover your ass and ask someone who actually knows for certain.

NA Drifter · Post by **NA Drifter** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 12:30 am

A)I save 4 KG by cutting almost all the bracing of my TE71 bonnet. I still got the bit at the front that hold the bonnet down and I have bonnet pins. I have to rivit the "bit" in the middle as there is not much support left on it.

Bonnet is pretty flexi after that :lol:

I can see under the bonnet when I'm driving, and light at night time :lol:

I asked the WOF man and he say bonnet is not part of WOF. As long as there is no dangerous stuff on the bonnet that can hurt someone(more) if you hit a pedestrain.. etc.. like pointy bits, sharp edges rust etc..

B) as "no_8wire" said

C)for the interia paint, most peoples just use those VHT? interia spray cans.. for the cheap option... you need quite a few cans.

pc · Post by pc » Fri Aug 04, 2006 9:07 am

I wouldn't cut out the bracing in a bonnet, it weighs stuff all and turns the whole bonnet into a wobble board... Tie me kangaroo down, sport, tie me kangaroo down....

rolla_fxgt · Post by **rolla_fxgt** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 10:59 pm

check with the lvvta website, i think there is something on there about bonnet bracing, i would think it would affect the crash structure of the car, which is covered by a wof.

Hybridd · Post by **Hybridd** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 10:29 pm

KinLoud wrote:Hi Rowan - are you building up your project car or something else?
If you have to cut anything out of your bonnet try to cut the minimum.
When I cut out my racecar bonnet I think I saved 2kg or 2.4kg...
Wow - can you ever tell when I'm out on the track! It moves around and jumps up and down like crazy above about 100kph! Back probably moves about 5cm up and down - the front about 3cm!
You can just see it on the video of when I crashed my Carina last weekend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BiG3-gGqHE

Ken
Ham
021 408 863

@ Ken-seen the vid-hope you doin okay buddy...
@ rowan-i have seen guys here in my country take
out the top sheeting of the bonnet and replacing it with
fibre glass and thus leaving the bracing in place for
safety purposes...just a thought...

gasman · Post by **gasman** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 10:59 pm

how about taking out all your seats except the drivers is that illegal?

rowan · Post by **rowan** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 11:18 pm

hmm i think i'm gonna flag the bonnet idea, and for seats mainly looking to change to something that handles better than a beanbag.

i'll photoshop some pics soon but i am seriously contemplating a spraycan paintjob for the rolly, was thinking of matt green in army jeep style? as some friends just painted a s14 silvia with matt black spraycans and its looking sweet.