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MG MGA - cockpit length

Can someone tell me please the distance apart of the front and rear of the body. I'm close to the stage of joining the two halves and I don't have much to go on. At the moment I measure the distance (along the front rear cockpit centre line) at the top surface from front to rear metal panels to be 33 3/4". However, I have been told today by a tonneau manufacturer that the length of a standard tonneau cover is only 37" which after allowing for the distance of the LTD studs from the cockpit edges doesn't seem much to me. I think my two halves may be a bit too far apart.

Unfortunately although I have an original rear cockpit rail, I don't have any original rear cockpit corner pieces to give me guidance.
Many thanks Mike
m.j. moore

Mike, distances across top and bottom of the door pillars would be a a bit more significant as it is the door gaps that are important.B pillar is raked back 4 deg. If your pillars are finished, you should ask for some very specific point to point distances here. Mine is not the best car to do this for you, yet!
Art Pearse

You really have your work cut out for you! Place the front and rear “clips” (body tub) on the frame. Before doing any welding, mount the doors and the front and rear fenders (wings). Take a great deal of time and be sure that the gap between the doors and wings is good. When you have the door gap satisfactory then secure the two clips to the frame. Take the doors and wings off and weld up the inner sill and the sill plates. Then try a final fit of the above parts before painting the car. If it all fits well, then you cockpit will be the right size!
David werblow

My 62 MK11 measures 34 5/16" at the center. I will measure the 2 at work tommorow. This car was totally rust free. No changes were made to its size.
That said the size it should be is the one that fits. building a car around the doors as David states is the way to go.
R J Brown

Mike,

My tonneau is only about 2" longer than the cockpit opening. I wouldn't worry about that. It mounts on the rear cockpit rail and just ahead of the front cockpit rail.

Ken
k v morton

Mike, Your measurement pretty well matches my cockpit length. Ken is right - the short tonneau only just covers the cockpit, which is why I use a long one ( I have a spare short one too). Whereabouts in Cheshire are you? - you are probably not far from me in Ormskirk if you ever want to take measurements of my car - cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

Thanks all. Working from the front I've already sorted out the door gaps but I still have some freedom to move the back clip towards the front by 'compressing' lengthwise the rear wings (and front) maybe between 1/4 to 1/2".

My worry is that if I don't get the front to back clip separation correct I will have trouble with the cockpit trim and/or the tonneau fit. Randy's measurement of separation is over a half inch greater than mine and I can't see how the same set of cockpit trim pieces could be made to fit both cars. If,at the factory, they didn't have to hand a variety of trim pieces of different lengths, which surely not, then I would have thought the clip separation would have had to be, at most, within an eighth of an inch either way from car to car.

Ken, your tonneau must be the short one with the studs screwed into the wood? My studs are about 1.5" out from the wood into the panel.

Cam, Is your cockpit length exactly the same as mine (33 3/4") and would this be original do you think? If so then I'm puzzled at the large difference compared with Randy's 34 5/16" BTW I'm in Macclesfield (50 miles away?) and many thanks for your offer.

I should add that my 1600 body was in really bad shape and I've got all wings and doors from another car, replacement F sections, complete front sides,duct panel,half the inner wings, as well as sills,rear front sides,etc,etc!! I delaying welding as long as possible but using copius pop rivets.

Mike
m.j. moore

I just measured my other 2 roadsters. The 58 that has had extensive rust repair measured 33 7/8". The 60 that has never been off the frame and is not rusty at all measures 34 1/4". The 62 measured at 34 5/16" only 1/16" off from the other "virgin" body. I believe, and others who measure cars they know were never molested please pipe up to confirm, that 34 1/4" is where it came. That said This is not a real important measurement. My 58 has good gaps And was built to fit.
If the body is off the car this measurement can flex over an inch I expect. The frame is what gives the body strength. The measurement at the sills is more important. Dont worry about the body trim. The door trim is wood and can be easily shortened to match if needed.
R J Brown

We always liked to be within 1/4" of 34 1/2" on the cars we did at Eclectic Motorworks. However, what really matters is that all your body panels fit. When they came off our jigs (which I sold to Sports Car Craftsmen), they'd be right at 34 1/2, but we'd see cars come in with dimensions all over the place as you've seen from some of the posts above.

I strongly recommend test fitting all the cockpit rails, door latches, etc., as you work on your car to avoid surprises later.

We've still got about 2500 pictures up on the www.eclecticmotorworks.com website if you want some reference on the various jobs of welding up an MGA.

--Carl

p.s. When you get the main welding done, make sure to test fit the grille and the front bumper too.
Carl Heideman

Mike - I have measured it again and it is just a fraction short of 34" (probably 33 15/16). My son lives in Macclesfield - we visit him about once a month - but not often in the A though. cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

Thanks again Randy,Carl and Cam, I will try and keep within Carl's range subect, as always, to maintaining the correct door gaps. It struck me that over the years and especially if there is any weakness/rust in the frame centre that the frame will gradually sag in the middle and distort the body so that this cockpit length might decrease. I have seen several poor cars where the doors catch at the top and I've put this down to the frame sagging. I don't wish to worry them but perhaps this is why RJ's 1958 car and Cam's have cockpit lengths below Carl's range?

Cam, We're on the old Buxton Road in Macc. and number fifty and I could offer you a beer in exchange for bags of encouragement and advice. At the moment I need it.
Mike
m.j. moore

I've just re-read this thread and I hastily point out that I was not casting doubts on RJBs 1958 or Cam's car or putting their cars in the 'poor' category: perish the thought!! Mike
m.j. moore

Mike,

My 1958 measures 34 1/8." It has never been apart. The sills are in pretty bad shape so there could be a little sag I suppose. And yes, the studs for my tonneau are in the rear wood and just ahead of the front rail. I didn't know there were two lengths of tonneaus; this one from MG Mitten fit both of my '57s as well as my '58, though now it has shrunk enough that I don't think it will ever go on again. I guess when I do my sills I could shorten the car to fit the tonneau! I could call it an 1800SWB...

Ken
k v morton

OH NO -my car's about to fold up in the middle!!
Well perhaps not - I reckon when the car was restored in 1996 the cockpit length may have slipped a fraction - not enough to affect the door fit - perhaps the rebuilder was trying to set the length to 34".
Mike - will try to pop by to see your project when we are next in Macca - cheers Cam
Cam Cunningham

The 58 had been hit hard in the Left Front early enough that the body work was done with lead. I used a frame purchased from Scotland Yard back in the 80s for $150.00 to replace the poorly repaired one. This car is literally a bunch of left over parts, I bought it as a parts car to finish another restoration. All the best parts became the white car in the top 2 pictures below. I did replace the inner sills on both sides. My comparison was that this was a "not to be trusted" measurement. The other 2 I know are as original.
The red car is the 58.
The white coupe was my first MGA pictured in 1976. It and the Iris Blue 60 have been sold and show on Koen's register as being in Holland.

R J Brown

This thread was discussed between 22/10/2009 and 26/10/2009

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