The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hi all, is there anywhere you can find weld on hinges for a major bonnet, this is the long centre hinge down the centre of the two halves? Tah
Edit
If there is no such a thing (which I suspect there is true) has anybody got any tips on how they’ve fabricated a new one or however they’ve sorted the issue. Thanks

What's happened to it? If it's seized try to remove the shaft. If it's come off the bonnet half, pry it off the shaft and remove it, then weld it back on the bonnet, it was originally point welded on. The hinges do tend to seize and they're then likely to break the hinge off the bonnet half.
Sandy

Well in the past it’s obviously got seized and somebody has snapped the channel off the one side of the bonnet trying to open it with brute force. I’ve got the hinge apart by knocking the centre bar. I could fix it by bending some tin into the channels profile and welding it onto the bonnet but the hinge itself that the channel is point welded to is quite rotten. It’ll definitely hold but the question is, for how long for? I was just wondering if anybody has had luck m renewing their hinge in some fashion.
Josh

I've never used it for this purpose but you can buy piano hinge by the length from some fastener suppliers. The one I used previously was about a meter long.

The piano hinge won't hold the bonnet on.
Sandy

Their called piano hinge but it's not literally a piano hinge that's just what they call them because of their length.I don't know how big they go but the ones we were using were the size of a door hinge.

The ends of the shaft hold the bonnet on, without them the bonnet would be very loose and might fall off.
Sandy

Ah gotcha

My bad

I've got the same problem. I did consider a 'piano hinge' to fix the two halves together, and then leaving the rod in place to secure the assembly but apart from looking awful the geometry would mean one side would open ok, the other would try to rotate around two different axis and bind together. I have been along mine and opened each of the rod clasps slightly just to give a little more clearance on the rod, but I have yet to try and stick the broken bit back where it should be. I might have a chat with a local body shop to see if they can reattach it - if I try to do it I'll have more holes than bonnet.

Your right, a piano hinge between the bonnets would not work.

Getting that channel folded up should be a straight forward job for a fabrication shop or a company that makes makes facias, flashings and ridge capping etc for the building trade.

However you go about it, just remember that you'll be the one in the seat forever looking along it!