make sure your frunk is fully latched!

If you look at the very bottom of the last photo you can see the latch and spring are still intact. It sounds like since the hood wasn't fully closed it was most likely moving around while he was driving and the amount of movement, maybe on a bump, was enough for the latch to be freed of the catch causing the hood to fly up and off.

Or the placement of the latch and the part it catches on isn't aligned properly. I know mine is as I've pulled up on the hood without moving the latch out of the way fully and they stay engaged pretty solidly.

This one - You can see latch with compression spring is still there.

Wow, glad you guys survived all this crazy stuff.  I always do a pre-flight inspection under both hoods , check the oil, shake the throttle linkage and make sure there are no new drips under the car.

Once, after doing a valve adjustment, I took a quick peek and noticed that I still had a 12" socket wrench attached to the crank that I had used to move the engine from valve to valve.  I can only imagine what would have happened if I zoned out.

Wombat, the main, round latch wasn't engaged, If forgot in my hurry to get home and miss a rainstorm. Only the secondary, safety latch was holding the hood down but after one particular bump, even it gave up the  ghost. The latch assemblies, on the trunk lid and car are intact.

When the safety latch let go, the wind from 40 mph travel lifted it all the way up, instantly tearing the fiberglass mounts apart and allowing the lid to become a flying saucer.

Hmmmm?  I always thought hood straps were just for looks... guess not. 

I want to convey my experience so that you don't do the job twice and at twice the money. After enlarging the photos, I'm sure that there will be additional hidden damage into glass that looks ok but is not. I realize to the eye it doesn't look all that bad  but , it is...Please do yourself a favor and get another hood.

My vote is to change the hood 

same cost for all the paint and prep

but the satisfaction of knowing it's done right

Will Hesch posted:

I'm reminding all of us to make sure the front trunk is fully latched before driving.

This courtesy reminder comes on the heels of mine flying off and over the car at 40 mph yesterday.

I was leaving a Dr's appointment and Kathy called warning me of a squall headed my way so I popped the trunk, grabbed the windows (top was already up), installed the windows and vamanosed.

I noticed the trunk bouncing about 5 minutes later but unfortunately I was driving on a frontage road with a 50 mph limit and full concrete curbs on both sides with no shoulder and blind curves.

I knew there was a driveway about a 1/4 mile further and had slowed to about 40 when to my horror, the trunk bounced once and flew off the car. I saw it flying for a moment in the mirror and then watched as it bounced off the pavement behind me.

I backed up, grabbed it and fit it on making sure, this time, to fully engage the front latch. It actually sat almost perfectly in place so I limped to an OSH nearby and used Black Gorilla Duck Tape to secure the top/rear corners and limped home 12 miles with my tail between my legs.

Amazingly, the lid has minor damage, other than the fact that the hinge-mounts were savagely torn apart.

I'm not sure what to do but I wanted everyone to double-check before you drive, you don't want to mimic me and I learned yesterday that the "safety-latch" isn't.

Will

The trunk latch on my new 2015 VS didn't work properly when I got the car. It sometimes wouldn't fully catch and often wouldn't pop open when I pulled the cable. I looked at five used cars before buying mine and all had trunk latch issues. After spending a lot of time to find the sweet spot for the adjustment mine now works as it should.  

Alan Merklin posted:

I want to convey my experience so that you don't do the job twice and at twice the money. After enlarging the photos, I'm sure that there will be additional hidden damage into glass that looks ok but is not. I realize to the eye it doesn't look all that bad  but , it is...Please do yourself a favor and get another hood.

I regret that I have but one "like" to give for this comment.

Buy once, cry once. 

Kirk told me my new hood would be arriving on March 3rd, put your worries to bed.

I am, however, going to buy a canister (2 equal part tubes) of 3M Panel Bond. My brother has the gun it takes to use these canisters and I've got a couple nozzles, what could go wrong?

Then I'm going to bond the under-structure back to the lid and when that's dry, glue the under-structure back to the hing-glass (that's still bolted to the hinges).

Then I'll have a serviceable frunk until mine is here, sans Gorilla Tape.

Just nail it shut and drill a whole over the gas filler. Then make your own leather tie down straps from old embossed cowboy belts. Everyone will comment on your cars unique appearance. I figure $20.00 ought to do it if you supply the labor.

Just drive it frunkless.

Or paint it to look rusted, put it on, and if anyone asks tell them you're almost done with the restoration.

LoL Bob you made me laugh even with a small trunk it's good to have some tool space.

Will Hesch posted:

Kirk told me my new hood would be arriving on March 3rd, put your worries to bed.

I am, however, going to buy a canister (2 equal part tubes) of 3M Panel Bond. My brother has the gun it takes to use these canisters and I've got a couple nozzles, what could go wrong?

Then I'm going to bond the under-structure back to the lid and when that's dry, glue the under-structure back to the hing-glass (that's still bolted to the hinges).

Then I'll have a serviceable frunk until mine is here, sans Gorilla Tape.

Just be sure to scuff and clean the areas to be bonded.  It looks to me that you had a secondary bond failure on the frunk.

Molleur, I thought the same thing, that both sides came loose too cleanly. I will sand them with 30 grit and clean with MEK before re-gluing.

Always better to  buy once... even wives  

Hey Will, you could always take the old trunk fix it up and make a hanging wall decoration in your garage Coffee Table, if you can dream it they can make it.

Trust me, particularly with wives.

IaM-Ray posted:

Hey Will, you could always take the old trunk fix it up and make a hanging wall decoration in your garage Coffee Table, if you can dream it they can make it.

...now that's an idea, recycle, reuse...behind a boat...leave the carpet in place and it would be a rockin' wake-board!

WOLFGANG posted:

I have new black gel coat CMC hood in Baker FL Barn.  Unfortunately mailing one is like mailing a kayak - costly.  The hinges are at least still available - connected to rest of car.  New hoods come in  2 parts --- as you chronicled. An inner and an outer liner.  I don't think there is as much fitting as Kirk makes out.  I have 2 CMC hoods that fit identically.  

So now you're going to part it out?

Why not sell it as a roller?

Will- is it possible to weigh the lid before remounting it? 

Al, I will and will post it. I don't want to weigh it now, Kathy and I are taking a Speedster outing today and I'd have to un-duct tape it. (of course, I'll have to later to fill up the gas tank)

Any time that's convenient, Will. And thanks.

Hi Will,

Really glad you, or anybody directly behind you, didn't provide an ugly stop to that flying missile. It happened to me at 60mph and the safety latch held long enough for me to safely get to a side of the road pulloff.  The next day, I ordered leather straps which in addition to adding a lot of interest to the car , provide a "belt & suspenders" solution to this issue.

Robert M posted:

Just drive it frunkless.

Or paint it to look rusted, put it on, and if anyone asks tell them you're almost done with the restoration.

You mean like this?