So even though my need for this will be a ways off, I was still somewhat curious. What, besides what's availble from Morgan, would you use to protect your bonnet paint from wear from the leather strap?
I noticed that no one actually gave you an answer, I have a bonnet strap which came already fitted to my +8. Still undecided about it after over 2 years. However it is rubbing the paintwork on each side at the bottom. So my solution is to touch up the paint work and then put 3M clear protective strip where it rubs, that is if I decide to keep it, you could fit the 3M after it is painted.
I was interested to see you were considering replacing the wood frame with an Alloy one, have you decide to do so an why?
Yeah, since the strap I have doesn't have sheepskin, and that may contrast too much with the colors / look I'm going for, I think the strap plus the 3M tape will be the answer.
I'm still undecided on the wood frame. There's a possibility I may hybrid it (some parts wood, some metal). I'm considering the switch for convenience, comfort, and safety. As I understand it, the wood frame was used to help smooth out the ride some along with being for coachworks. With the changes to the suspension on this car, the former shouldn't be an issue. Some parts may require wood out of necessity, but I'd like to have metal for the convenience of build and maintenance on the car. The 'safety' aspect comes into play for things like attempting to add some kind of side-impact protection (like a bar hidden in the door frame). Convenience will happen with things like wiring and the solid mounting of pedals (will likely a switch to hanging-down setup). There's also the cost, as I'd be buying a entirely new wood frameworks, and then having to modify it to work with the changes I'm making. If I'm buying a whole new wood frame, I'd much rather be buying it for the (someday down the road) rebuild on the original chassis.
In the end, it may all come down to cost and my final design for the rebuild. I know I'd really like to reuse the original firewall, but I don't want to be hacking into it to accommodate new parts. I've been given a acceptable rough quote to have a whole new one made out of stainless steel. If that quote still stands when I'm ready, I'd have less qualms modifying that to meet my needs. It would mean one less "original" thing on the car, but then, even if it was a full and proper restoration, plenty would fall under that category.
