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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Hood Set-up

Having sorted the bolt attachment on the quarter panels I'm struggling to get the hood to fit properly. My original theory was that if I left both sides slightly loose, as I pulled the hood down onto the windscreen the quarter paenl brackets would settle into their "natural" position. That theory it seems is misplaced.

THe hood has always been a so and so to fit to the top rail. The last two inches has been a real fight. Probably not fitted properly originally but I hoped that having unavoidably to loosen the side brackets I could improver things. Apparently not!

Anyone have any intructions, suggestions...... weather forecast?
Graeme Williams

Any chance, there is an indention under the hardware in the paint or discoloration...you may have to use a strong magnifying glass to see the imprint imperfection....even after a repaint many times there is a washer imprint under the new paint...hard to see, but cool if there is

Your mainly looking for washer and nut head indentations

I do that to line up panals to get them the way they were before...after that its just fine tuning piddly

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

prop

Wrong hood!
Dave O'Neill2

You brits...good grief hahaha

Its ....

Hood not bonnet
Trunk not boot
Wrench not spanner
Kerosene not parafin
Drive shaft not propeller shaft
Fenders not wings

And that meteric system...phiff !!!

Hahaha

Sorry about the confusion...:-) :-) :-) :-)

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Fenders not wings

One of the guitars that I have is a '62 Wings Stratocaster... Is that correct?
I Ball

Hoods shrink for the whole of their life and seem to get harder to put up. Also, fitters try to get them as taught as possible and forget that they will shrink.
The only thing I have thought might help is if you can unglue the material from the header rail without ripping it you could re-glue it with a bit more slack. Not tried it myself, but will be trying sometime this year on a 1500 I keep meaning to MOT. Also, it might not help the fit of the side of the hood.

Rob
Rob aka MG Moneypit

Buy a Sebring!
I Clifton

loosen off frame toggle (over) catches, push back (or forward, can't remember) on one of the frame's hinged bars (can't remember which one and it's too dark to see now)

don't secure the side lift-a-dot fasteners until last

obviously with my lack detail you'll have to experiment a bit

it is easier to do in the warm (and light) but remember if you adjust it for the warm it'll be a b*gger when it's colder
Nigel Atkins

so what Nigel's trying to say in his pidgin-English is that the over-centre catches on the header rail also have slotted holes for their fastening bolts and so offer some additional adjustment.
David Smith

What Rob says!
Dave O'Neill2

wot David put plus fiddling with one of the bars
Nigel Atkins

Clifton: "ha, bl**dy ha!"

Graeme Williams

Nigel: "bigger when colder" (!)
Surely that is totally against Nature?
In the warm weather it stretches doesn't it?
Graeme Williams

Ian. That Strat will be worth a few bob now won't it? I have a '62 Ludwig Super Classic drum kit, one owner from new, (me), but it won't be worth as much as your Strat. Nice pension booster if you ever sell it!
Apologies for thread drift.

Bernie.
b higginson

Hard tops fit right every time

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

Graeme,

here's something that will help

if you've not already done so recently, there are a lot of moving parts on the hood frame hinges, joints, rivets, etc., if you oil all of these you find find the hood frame is more mobile

have some paper roll or rags to wipe up muck/rust oil runs

the word from the previous post wasn't bigger
Nigel Atkins

One extra thought. If you've moved/adjusted the mountings to the body you may have moved them upwards when you fixed the loose bolts? My hood was massively tight so I loosened off the side mountings on both sides to let them drop a bit. The difference was enough to make the hood much better.

Richard
r parker

Big mistake: decided I may not be able to fully float the brackets because the holes in the trim might be too neat a fit. So removed screws in the backet on the other side of the car. All three bolts unscrewed ok... but were accomapnied by the sound of two nuts dropping down the cavity, followed by the metal plate. Same problem this side as the original side.

But now I'm an EXPERT! (???). I nolonger have to worry about whether that MIGHT be a problem, my expertise tells me it IS a problem. David, got another plate?
Graeme Williams

Who was it said that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different outcome!

Shouldn't take so long this time and at least you will know that both sides are done properly.
Bill
W Dunsmore

Greame
My thoughts are with you during this time of frustration....Magnets will be your friends!

Goodluck old chap!
Steven Devine

The most useful purchased tool: the magnet+light on a telescopic rod sold by Halfords.
Gets nuts and plates out of that internal cavity over the sills.
Graeme Williams

This thread was discussed between 05/03/2014 and 08/03/2014

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