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MG MGA - Centre windscreen hood latch?

I am planning on fitting a centre windscreen hood latch and catch to my 1500 MGA to help seal out the rain when we take on the UK in the 60th anniversary tour next year (they tell me it rains over there a bit more than here). I realise this isn't kosher for a 1500 but I am more interested in weatherproofing than originality.
The clip and latch that I received from Moss (US) have 4 mm diameter fixing holes that seem a little large for #4-40 screws mentioned on http://www.mgaguru.com/mgtech/windscrn/wt_104.htm
so I plan to use M4 stainless steel hardware.
Is #4-40 what was originally installed or was it BA screws?
What type and length of screw was originally used to attach the latch to the header rail as it is not mentioned in any documentation I have?
Mike
PS Plan to tape down the hood front flap as well just to be sure!
Mike Ellsmore

mike
I also reccomend a small diameter compressible rubber seal such as that used for sealing around windows. I used that on my hardtop and it seals perfectly along the top of the screen.

Looking forward to meeting you all in Schaffhausen.
Dominic
dominic clancy

I would guess that the two screws for the top catch were originally 5BA which is basically 1/8" OD. The ones that Todd Clarke supplies are neither 4-40 nor 5BA but diameter is close to 5-40. The nuts he supplied were Nylock and no spring washers were needed.

The bottom latch is held by screws that go right through the metal hood frame and into the wood so they would have been wood screws and TC supplies no.6 x 3/4" pan/Phillips head....................................Mike
m.j. moore

Hi Mike,
As per Dominic, but put the insulation against the hood rail rather than the windshield so when it stops raining, and you lower the top, you also stow away the insulation.
Bayard
Bayard DeNoie

Mike
my soft top never sealed properly until I fitted the centre catch, I tried a self adhesive foam window/door sealer strip at first but it still seemed to let water drip through.

At the same time that I fitted the centre catch I also glued a hollow rubber seal to the underside of the wooden hood frame,approx a 1/4 inch back from the front edge.

The seal was in the shape of an underlined O about a 1/4 inch in diameter and it was glued down with impact adhesive.

It has worked really well and I havent seen any rain get through the seal since I fitted it.

The main problem is that my wooden front hood frame doesnt quite match the curvature of the top of the windscreen frame.
This seems to be quite a common occurence with repro hood frames and so fitting the seal is a great way of solving the water ingress problem.

Colyn
c firth

(Webmaster, why cant we edit our posts after a few minutes? I just missed the time limit to edit my last post)

I just wanted to add that if you fit a rubber seal to the underside of the front wooden hood frame, it doesnt really matter which screws that you use to fasten the centre catch. I used round head stainless set screws as I couldnt find any countersink ones at the time and the seal still works just fine.

Colyn
c firth

This thread was discussed on 22/12/2014

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