A Life Goal: AKA, A Stupid Decision, AKA, the Strange Things People Do.

So, Uncle Eel went out and bought himself a 54 year old car! When he was a little 16 year old eel, he saw a picture of a BugEye Sprite at Toad's house and has not been the same since.

So he got one

Well, old Eel is not exactly a rich man, not exactly starving either, but somewhere between. He can buy a classic British sports car... But not one in pristine condition. The above example of a 1960 Austin-Healey Sprite cost about 1/2 what a fully restored car would be. And thus needs some work... A lot of work.

Well, the car showed up not exactly drivable (and almost fell off the truck, but that is a story for another time). Todays tail is one of hood hinges. It seems as though the car (henceforth referred to as Hugh) had at some front end damage (not disclosed by the seller. Grrrrr! (but moving one))) and the hood did not fit correctly:

The hood is sitting so high and forward that it did not hit the latch and was only staying closed by the good grace of gravity

As a result of this, the tyre (hay, it's English) was rubbing against the fender (the hood (properly "bonnet") and fender are connected)

The hinge it turns out had been for some unknown reason (Bubba owned a welder and wanted to use it?) had been cut and welded back together.

Note how closely the shape of the old hinge matches the new part. ($50, and stamped from the original die)

A couple of hours of swearing, and being a pill towards my lovely assistant. Hugh is back together again and the rear of the fender no longer drags on the tyer (still Brittish) and the hood latches correctly (almost)

Next up, fixing the front of the fender from rubbing... Is this what the hinge hack was attempting to repair?