Bonnet straps are the period-sporting accessory that secures the bonnet of a classic MG against opening at speed, the leather or webbing strap passing over the bonnet from one wing to the other, buckled tight enough to prevent the bonnet lifting under high-speed airflow. The headline product is a quality thick-leather bonnet strap with screw fixings, available in a choice of black or tan for the authentic competition look. The straps were originally a competition-safety measure on works and works-supported cars of the 1960s, the standard bonnet catch being supplemented by the strap to prevent any risk of the bonnet opening during fast driving, and the visual signature of those Abingdon Works competition cars is unmistakeable on any classic MG fitted with the appropriate straps today.
The Period Sporting Visual
Bonnet straps are the visual signature of classic British sports cars built around competition or rally use during the 1950s and 1960s. The strap running across the bonnet, typically a tan leather strap with a polished chrome or brass buckle, or a black leather strap for a more understated finish, adds a distinctive horizontal visual element across the bonnet that signals the car's sporting credentials, with the warm leather finish complementing the chromed brightwork on the car. The visual reference to Le Mans-era racing is part of the car's identity, and for owners building cars to a competition or rally visual specification the bonnet straps complement the badge-and-lamp bars, headlamp stoneguards, and other period-sporting accessories. Black leather provides a more understated appearance or matches darker-coloured cars, while tan suits traditional sporting aesthetics.
Bonnet Pins as an Alternative
Bonnet pins are the competition-style alternative to leather straps, separate fixings that secure the bonnet with removable lock pins rather than the factory internal mechanism. They fit through the bonnet and the front shroud at the forward edge of the bonnet, with the pins passing through both panels and held by retaining R-clips, allowing rapid bonnet removal for competition applications such as pit stops and scrutineering access. Two finishes are stocked, stainless steel pins giving a bright finish matching the car's general chrome and bright-metal appearance, and anodised blue pins for a more colourful period-racing appearance commonly seen on cars prepared in the 1960s and 1970s. Bonnet pins can be fitted alongside bonnet straps for a fully competition-prepared appearance, or as an alternative method on cars where the rapid-release function is preferred to the leather-strap look.
Mounting, Function & Application
Bonnet straps mount to dedicated anchor points typically positioned on the wings or scuttle area at each end, the standard arrangement using small chromed buckles or D-rings as the anchor with the strap passing through and over the bonnet to the equivalent anchor on the opposite side, the strap then tightened to remove all slack and hold the bonnet firmly down against any high-speed airflow. For competition use, the straps are sufficient to prevent the bonnet opening even if the standard bonnet catch fails, and on the road they remain a genuine secondary safety device that prevents the bonnet flying up and hitting the windscreen in the event of a catch failure at speed, with some competition regulations requiring straps or pins as a secondary retention device. Straps and pins are fitted without permanent modification to the bonnet and can be removed if required, and for owners running their car to strict factory-original specification neither item is appropriate, as both are owner-fit accessories rather than factory equipment on any of the cars in the range, but where the period-competition appearance is part of the car's intended character they deliver that visual without practical compromise.