opening a stuck TR6 bonnet

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A right-angle drill and a 3" hole saw was used to cut a hole in the side of the passenger's footwell. A 3" rubber plug, originally intended for the holes in the floor pan, was used to plug the hole.		Here you can see the hole in operation. If you have large hands, you might want to consider using one of the oblong plugs used in MGBs for access to the brake and clutch master cylinders. There is sufficient room to use a wrench to completely remove the hood catch if need be - either the hood portion, or the catch itself can be removed.

That's one way to get it open, but what about preventing it from happening in the future?
				Here's my solution - a heavy duty solenoid, with a 30 pound pull, located inside the car, just over the passenger's footwell, right behind the windshield washer bottle. I purchased the solenoid from Watson's StreetWorks, 1-860-859-0513
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These are the same bolts seen above, holding the solenoid bracket to the footwell panel. From under the hood, it's almost unnoticable. The bolts are bigger than they needed to be, but, due to a pig-headed blunder on my part....
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						This bracket was made from a piece of 12 gauge steel plate. I drilled all of the holes, and then took it to a metal shop in town to have them bend it for me.
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This sleeve was made from a standard bolt. I first drilled clear through the center, from the head end, with a bit to match the size of the inner cable, then I turned the bolt around and drilled another hole part way through the center to match the diameter of the outer cable housing. This locks the outer cable housing in place, while allowing the inner cable to move.
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				The sleeve and the solenoid were then bolted to the bracket, which had been painted. The completed assembly was wired and then installed as shown in the photos above. The other end of the release cable goes to the latch mechanism, and installs exactly like the original cable (except it is now only about 12 inches long, and has practically no bends).
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			This is the wiring diagram for the solenoid installation. If you connect the switch to a purple wire, no fuse is needed in this line, as the purple wires are already fused. Mount the switch by the driver in the hole left by removing the bonnet release cable. Mount the circuit breaker as close to the starter solenoid as practical. The relay can be mounted anywhere that is convenient, but try to minimize the length of wiring used.