Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Bonnet strap maintenance and care.

Two weeks in and I'm unhappy with the quality of my black Morgan bonnet strap. The leather has patches of a whitish hue which I had assumed to be leather spew. Half a bottle of leather spew remover later and it's still there. So I have bought a single buckle Williams strap. The leather looks much better quality than the Morgan one and it has sheepskin lining, which I think looks better. I'm taking it to Techniques to be fitted next week.

I think bonnet straps are another hidious paint damaging unnecessary addition that cause paint damage. Just like running board treads and those wing mounted small side lights, all unnecessary bells and whistles that cause corrosion

OTOH I quite like bonnet straps - but the way I see it, they are like eared wheel spinners. Invented by racers to stop bonnets popping open under bumpy racing conditions (or to make it easier to be whacked with a hammer when needing to change wheels fast in the case of spinners).

A product of a time when cars were used hard and function took precedence over form. Worrying about a bit of paint kind of misses the point, I feel.

I agree with you Tim. I'm not a fan of wing treads, but I love bonnet straps, wing mounted sidelights and spinners, all of which I have. I don't believe wing mounted lights, which are after all part of the traditional look (to my eyes the car looks bare without them) cause corrosion issue on modern aluminium Morgans. Bonnet straps can damage the paintwork - but with sufficient care and maintenance this can be prevented. Anyway, the strap covers any marks.

I think bonnet straps were required for racing cars back in the 50's. It was a British racing regulation as there had been incidents with bonnets flying open in mid-race. The strap was insurance against that eventuality.

You wont get paint damage or corrosion if you apply PPF under the belt

Indeed. That is the ultimate solution.

Ideally if you know you want a bonnet strap, you should miss the relevant area when punching the louvres, that way the strap sits closer and aesthetically looks better too

If my memory serves me correctly, the 70th Anniversary 4/4s had missing louvres, where the bonnet strap was positioned.
My 2003 4/4 Runabout has fewer louvres, so the strap sits flush to the bonnet.

Bud
4/4 - Stanley

I apply PPF on these rub points too, which I believe are mentioned in DW’s book ?

Craig, if you are bored one weekend a 1" wide strip applied on the underside of the bonnet front & rear edges stop the gritty fabric bonnet tapes wearing the paint through