the upper piece I made/replaced is thinner metal and would allow the cup to fit a little better. That and  the paint was scratched to hell from the pin and spring rubbing from opening and closing constantly.

I wanted to make a new one because it finishes it off well. I might go back and round the edges off. But having no plate at all left open holes that just don't look finished to me. Worth the little extra effort.

Good video MM.
Just an observation and not a criticism why did you re make and replace the upper latch piece, was yours broken?
I know i have seen aftermarket ones for sale in stainless.

How about a video of how to re mount the safety latch onto the slam panel so we can save on emergency room visits lol not sure if this has ever been done over the years.

Don't put that bad juju on me! haha. I'm getting ready to make a 900 mile trip in my new (to me) car. 

Yeah, the hinges probably put a little more stress on the hinge points at the back, but they aren't "assisted", so I don't think it's affecting the fitment when closed. I think the reinforcing points on the hood are strong enough. I don't notice any deflection or warping.

Mtymouse: I'm glad to know you took my "criticism" as entirely constructive, as intended.

Be careful adjusting the latch pin... when I got my Mini and drove it home about 250 miles, I had near heart failure several times when the bonnet popped up onto the safety catch (scalp hook) because the latch pin had been screwed in a bit too far. Luckily my 'travel kit' included some 14ga. copper wire.
There should be rubber snubs at each end of the slam panel that should just touch the corners of the bonnet to stop rattling and make it sit level. I was wondering if the self-propping hinges have also tweaked the bonnet. The weight of the bonnet is levering on the side with the latch button, and double-acting hinges like that tend to have higher resistance in the fully open position. In contrast, the traditional bonnet prop relieves any stress near the hinges. Nice piece of kit though!

Dan. I tried it with just the plastic cup and just the cross member, but the circlip still wouldn't seat. Could be a combination of paint and other factors, but it certainly didn't look finished either. I probably could have fiddled with it and made something work. The latching height of the hood right now is because of the latch pin adjustment. I unscrewed it a bit so it wouldn't hit anything while opening and closing 50 times during fitment. Good eye though. I'll post some pics when it's all adjusted.

I did actually slot the hole in the cross member. You just can't see it under the latch plateI made. I have about 3/4 inch adjustability side to side. Definitely still need to do some fine adjustment to the pin location and the other fitment adjustment points, but this hood has never fit well. Check out my build thread on restorationmini.com for all the details. Truth is, I need a new latch pin and an hour to adjust everything.

The drill press is a piece of crap. The chuck is wobbly, and the plate thread was stripped when I got it. Haha. It's funny to mentioned it though because I ordered a nicer drill press last week after shooting this because of that very thing.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I'll definitely look into 

Thanks Michael. Any suggestions, feel free to leave it in the comments

Good video.
I think the kit as it comes should fit without carving up the plastic if you omitted the latch strike plate you fabricated and made the hole in the in the slam panel (the body cross-member) large enough to allow the plastic piece to sit fully in on its main outer flange. The circlip then should fit as designed and the tongue of the latch would slide properly.
The hole in the slam panel should probably also be slotted like the two mounting holes to allow for left-to-right adjustment. The existing hole was probably made oversize and the existing latch plate (you call the "slam panel") would slide with the left-right adjustment and provide the properly sized opening for the latch pin.
The front edge of your bonnet would probably sit a little lower if you took out the strike plate you made, and would probably latch better and might sit level if you corrected the left-right adjustment.
If you wanted to keep the strike plate you made, enlarge its main hole to fit the largest diameter of the plastic piece.
Oh, and for heavens sake tighten the pivot bolt of the drill press table before somebody gets hurt! Look under the table where it joins the collar around the column.

Nice video Mous! Keep 'em coming.

Decided to change to an internal bonnet release on my car for a little added security. Really like the kit from MiniSpares, but it seems none of the kits come with good fitting instructions or even all of the hardware necessary. And if you didn't have the internal release fro factory, you can't even use the plastic piece which guides the pin.

I decided to do a short video on how I fitted my kit and the custom pieces I made to make it all work the way I want.