Cutting a stock bonnet??

Anyone got any suggestions or is an angle grinder the way to go?? im adding louvres and some clever vents shortly

It will be resprayed as well;)

Anyone got any suggestions or is an angle grinder the way to go?? im adding louvres and some clever vents shortly. It will be resprayes as well;)

Is it holes you are cutting ? If it were me, I'd cover the area with wide masking tape, draw the area to be cut, drill a hole in each corner and use an electric jig-saw with a metal cutting blade.

this will be good to know,im putting a vent in mine too soon

Is it holes you are cutting ? If it were me, I'd cover the area with wide masking tape, draw the area to be cut, drill a hole in each corner and use an electric jig-saw with a metal cutting blade.

It will be some flat sections similar to TRD style vents meshed over with some industrial Greace filter mesh and some louvres towards the top....I didn't think about a jig saw, I might give that a go...basically I want to follow a smooth path on the vents ie no sharp 90 degree bends, I want a smooth transition on the cuts

Ian up at Turbofit uses a dremel drill. He goes through loads of wheels but always does a spot on job

It will be some flat sections similar to TRD style vents meshed over with some industrial Greace filter mesh and some louvres towards the top....I didn't think about a jig saw, I might give that a go...basically I want to follow a smooth path on the vents ie no sharp 90 degree bends, I want a smooth transition on the cuts

I get you. In that case it would probably be a neater job using a hole-saw for the radiused corners, then jig-saw to join the holes up with straight cuts ?

oh i was made for this thread various pics of in progress and the last one complete, you need to be very carefull cutting the bonnet as its thin aluminium for f***s f*****g f***s sake do NOT use a jig saw you will trash it the blade will grab and you will be left with a massive dent, i like the idea of a dremel i used tin snips and a very fine hack saw blade (hand held) i wont kid you i have worked with sheet metal and fabrication half my working life and it was pretty tricky

oh i was made for this thread various pics of in progress and the last one complete, you need to be very carefull cutting the bonnet as its thin aluminium for f***s f*****g f***s sake do NOT use a jig saw you will trash it the blade will grab and you will be left with a massive dent, i like the idea of a dremel i used tin snips and a very fine hack saw blade (hand held) i wont kid you i have worked with sheet metal and fabrication half my working life and it was pretty tricky

I did toy with the idea of a dremel but thought the blades would be chewed up in seconds....would an angle grinder be any good failing the dremel not working??

Im using the stock gaps on the underside of the bonnet as a kind of templete so the structural rods and framework of the underside on the stock bonnet will not be touched, its no where near as complex as your effort Paul

Im up to the challenge, I often surprise myself with my DIY skills

for f***s f*****g f***s sake do NOT use a jig saw you will trash it the blade will grab and you will be left with a massive dent,

Just going outside to spank myself:d

personally i would not even consider a mangle grinder firstly it is very course, one slip and you'll be half way accross the bonnet with a nasty groove cut where you dont want it, secondly you really should not grind ally (or any non ferrous) it clogs the grinding wheel which then overheats and then explodes..........nasty, take your time use a hole saw then join up with either a pad saw or tin snips

Interesting thread, i want to do something with mine but wound be able to accept the fit of an aftermarket jobbie

Just going outside to spank myself:d

hmmmmmm i was thinking of doing that myself with terrible turners avatar lol

personally i would not even consider a mangle grinder firstly it is very course, one slip and you'll be half way accross the bonnet with a nasty groove cut where you dont want it, secondly you really should not grind ally (or any non ferrous) it clogs the grinding wheel which then overheats and then explodes..........nasty, take your time use a hole saw then join up with either a pad saw or tin snips

great stuff, well I will give the dremmel first and see how I go, ive done a nice neat job shaping my bumper around my IC so if it cuts then I will use the dremmel as its lovely and neat

great stuff, well I will give the dremmel first and see how I go, ive done a nice neat job shaping my bumper around my IC so if it cuts then I will use the dremmel as its lovely and neat

suggest you have a practice on some of the "waste" parts ie dead in the centre of the area you are removing, have fun

dremmel is the way to go i did mine with 1 and it makes a very neat job.

Mike as i said before the dremel is the way to go. You will go through loads of wheelss but you will total control over your cuts and it'll come out great. Think Ian has done 6/7 bonnets now like that and he started on mine before i run out of cutting wheels

oh i was made for this thread various pics of in progress and the last one complete, you need to be very carefull cutting the bonnet as its thin aluminium for f***s f*****g f***s sake do NOT use a jig saw you will trash it the blade will grab and you will be left with a massive dent, i like the idea of a dremel i used tin snips and a very fine hack saw blade (hand held) i wont kid you i have worked with sheet metal and fabrication half my working life and it was pretty tricky

I am not in to this sort of custom stuff. but with the greatest respect put that to one side though and please accept my total awe. Stunning job, and I FULLY appreciate the skill, time and effort needed to produce that end result. Wonderful! Half your life has been well spent.

i can see the sale of bonnets now goin up

oh i was made for this thread various pics of in progress and the last one complete, you need to be very carefull cutting the bonnet as its thin aluminium for f***s f*****g f***s sake do NOT use a jig saw you will trash it the blade will grab and you will be left with a massive dent, i like the idea of a dremel i used tin snips and a very fine hack saw blade (hand held) i wont kid you i have worked with sheet metal and fabrication half my working life and it was pretty tricky

Clever stuff Paul, don't suppose you'd like to do another?

when you need a silver bonnet let me know... The price of mine has just gone up and I am going to get me a carbon one... simpler... good luck, would love to see the progress pics of this!!

How about a cut off tool (the one like a die grinder). The cutting disc is only about 1.5mm thick, and should last the whole bonnet.

A Proper jigsaw(not a b&d with a homebase metal cutting blade!)with the right blade will do the job perfectly,you would need to support the bonnet underneath(close to the cuts),and obviously mask the top well,then you could finish off with a fine file or dremmel.

But why you would want to cut holes in one of the most beutifull production cars ever made is beyond me:d

going from a previous post, hes too cheap to buy one thats already done

I personally would use my diamond tipped cutting wheel.I did my previous supra bonnet with ease.

I use this tool in my job for cutting carbon-fibre.

If anyone wants theirs done,let me know.

Naturally there would be a charge as it is my business.

i can see the sale of bonnets now goin up

I hope not, I decided upon this idea to get away from the norm and tio make it as functional as possible