Don’t you feel that the same old and convention bonnets are rather boring? And with the help of some creativity and hard work you can turn this boring and flat surface into a very interesting object which will give you a fresh look to your ride and its sure going to be appreciated by your friends and peers. What I am talking about is the “Bonnet Split”. After reading this article you will k now that having your bonnet split is not a difficult and risky thing to do and you can perform it yourself with the help of some everyday car parts.
First of all I want to say that bonnet split is the most dramatic car body modification which is really in now days. It gives a car whole new look so that instead of opening on a hinge at the top the bonnet opens from the middle and gives the impression of the bonnet getting split.
First, remove the bonnet from the car and make sure that you do not affect the rigidity of the bonnet. While you remove the bonnet have a look at where the supports are. For the sake of more strength you may need to weld additional support(s).
As I said in at the beginning that imagination and creativity plays a key role so there are never ending options of splitting your bonnet. You may cut it from the middle, off center, diagonal or even you can cut in triangular shapes or any other shape you think best suits your car. However the basic remains the same. Many car enthusiasts go for diagonal cut. Make a provision of a repaint in the end because the cutting will cause the paint to erode and thus expose them to corrosion.
Whatever shape you think to cut, mark the surface where the split is going to be performed with some heavy duty masking tape. To perform the split you can use angle grinder or jigsaw. Both have their own merits and de-merits. The choice is yours. An angle grinder is good in giving straight edge but it’s harder to cut shapes with it.
A decision would be needed by you about deciding that which part is going to be a leading edge because an overlapping seam would be needed to weld on the other half in order to rest on it. After that balance the weights on the either sides using spring mechanism. Rear parcel shelf stay can also be useful for this purpose.
The idea behind using the stay is to give a smooth opening mechanism and reduce the amount of spring strength required. Hinges are required to be fitted outside the edges of the bonnet and they should be connected to the car just to make sure that no problem occurs while opening and the joint where the two edges of the split bonnet meet is even and harmonized.
After the adjustment and fixation of the hinges and the halves respectively, the bonnet is ready for the opening and closing mechanism. Keeping in mind, the weight of the bonnet, appropriate sets of springs should be installed for the purpose of counter balancing the pistons.