Late (1938) Ruby bonnet stay

[Nick Lettington]

Having offered a part of my spares stash to someone other then Henry, I am left a little stumped and wonder if someone can help me to help Barry...

He started to fix up a late Ruby and asked on Facebook for a bonnet support. A quick exchange of messages revealed that mine is no use - he has the late concealed hinge type of bonnet.

Can anyone shed light on how the support attaches at the scuttle end? The MK1 and earlier Mk2 have a bracket that it bolts to. There's a lug on the radiator cowl (similar but a different shape to the one on the cowl on mine), but only holes at the rear... Is something missing? A photo of the rear attachment would be much appreciated.

He does however seem to have the (fabled) rare Ruby front stepped bolt... and hopefully now the support (thanks to Tony Betts)

Also, to satisfy my own curiosity, how is the bonnet attached?



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[Colin Morgan]

My car has a very late chassis with the concealed hinge bonnet but older Ruby body - so the front has a bracket like yours, but the rear bracket is as per 1937 - so not what you want. However, those two bolt holes in your picture suggest something similar to the bonnet fixing at the front end? - a bracket that lies on and bolts to the edge, holding the bonnet in place. Out of curiosity, I had a look for pictures, but this bit tends to be obscured by the folded bonnet. One photo of a late H and H car for auction a while go seemed to show a bracket that bolted in place using the two holes, but most of it was obscured.

[Nick Lettington]

Thanks Colin

I went looking for those photos, but couldn't find them in the previous threads on late Rubies... could you please post a link (or have you downloaded them?)

thanks
Nick

Found them

https://www.handh.co.uk/auction/lot/340-...50919&sd=1

[Colin Morgan]

That's the one - the bonnet is in the way of a proper view? Someone must have one - it will be interesting to see how it was originally done - mine has been botched.

There were quite a few value engineering and updating modifications the late chassis and fittings for the 1939 year? - like the addition of rod brakes that did away with the complicated compensating brake cross-shaft, the removal of the dowels from the wheels etc. I wonder if Len Lord was involved in any of this - he was given a Ruby to use when he first arrived and might have had an input?

[Nick Lettington]

For a moment I thought I may have cracked it... but...

   

for the full horror story see here...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204140363006?...%7Ciid%3A1

[Ivor Hawkins]

I saw that Nick, not my style, but it appears to be well engineered...shall I get my coat?

[A G Wood]

Nick, I'm not sure whether its safe to infer that information from an older sibling applies to a younger, but my late 1938 Fourteen, has this arrangement at the scuttle end. Contoured alloy bracket and 2 x 1/4 BSF setscrews into captive nuts.

   


But nobody seems to be able to tell me what the two fore-and-aft holes are for. I would've expected a stay to go there (like the pre-38 ones)  but there's no vacant holes in the cowl.

[Colin Morgan]

The picture below shows a very late Ruby sold at auction - one of the few relevant pictures around.  This car has the later enclosed bonnet hinge and no stay between the scuttle and radiator - note that the horn is fastened to the battery box.  In the picture, the bonnet mostly covers the bracket holding the bonnet to the scuttle flange - but it does appear to be like the one on the 1938 Austin 14, as shown above - and is like the bracket on the front end of my late-Ruby bonnet. 

   

[Nick Lettington]

On Facebook, Barry posted this picture of a late Ruby, bonnet open, that appears to show the late type stay bolted between the centre of the battery box and the tang on the cowl which makes sense... there are holes for brackets to hold the bonnet hinge pin as per the later cars... but someone will eventually post the details... hopefully! 


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[A G Wood]

I've seen an illustrated 'Body Parts' manual for the larger models advertised on eBay Nick, the page the vendor had displayed in the lisitng was quite well detailed (and was co-incidentally the bonnet sheetmetal and hinges...).
 I would assume a similar booklet exists for the A7 derivatives which may shed some light on the mounting hardware?
Perhaps the resident archivist can assist?