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MG MGA - HARDTOPS

I guess that some of you guys have fitted hardtops to your A's over the years, or know of someone who has.

I am interested and visited Honeybourne Mouldings in Bidford on Avon near Stratford. They have been producing fibreglass tops for many years. They are only offered in two colours - white or black - and can't do any other colour. I would like to have a match to the Chariot Red on my 1600 Mk1.

The guy suggested getting a white top and having it resprayed. I do know a few sprayers but the cost is likely to increase from the £355 quoted (which includes VAT and I can collect) by a fair amount.

What I would like to know is (a) is it worth going down this route (b) finding a supplier who can match the colour that I would like (c) any other options.

I believe that original MG supplied hardtops were available in glass fibre or aluminium. Does any supplier provide examples in the latter material?
If so which is the better choice?

Look forward to any responses. Lovely 50 mile drive this afternoon I am very taken with the A - the steering though is a tad heavy - any thoughts?

All the best and a belated Happy New Year

Jerry Birkbeck
J P BIRKBECK

They are pretty much the only MGA hard tops available at the moment. The only other choice is a used hard top and the only good ones IMHO are the works aluminium and fibreglass tops. Expect to pay £1,500-£4,000 for the aluminium one and £800 plus for the fibreglass one. I have heard some negative remarks about the quality and fit of the Honeybourne tops, but not worse than you would expect for the price. It would be difficult to get a close match to your paint with a gel-coat (even if you could find someone to make it) and so repainting is the only sensible option if you want a red top.
N McGurk

Try Bob West, he normally has the original tops around
dominic clancy

Jerry, are you certain you really want a hard top?

I almost bought one for my MGA last year but after sitting in a car with one fitted I realised that I would struggle to see out of the side windows.

It is the same in my car when the soft top is fitted as I find that the top of the sidescreen frame is exactly at my eye level.
Being just over 6 feet tall means that I have to duck down a little to be able to see out of the side window and this gets a bit uncomfortable after a time.

I find that I prefer to drive with the top down whenever possible to avoid this and also the problems of much increased noise and heat levels in the car.

So I think that although I quite like the idea of owning an original alloy hard top, it would probably end up just stored suspended up in the garage roof space mostly unused.

But its your choice.

As for your steering being heavy, have you have greased the suspension, oiled the rack and pinion and checked that it moves freely?
Just jack up the front end clear of the ground and see if you can turn the steering by pulling and pushing the tyres round by hand. You should be able to spin the rack easily.
It may be worth checking your steering geometry too, the steering on an MGA should be set to parallel (no toe-in or toe-out). Too much toe-out can cause heavier steering so this is worth having checked.

If these are ok then finally you could try increasing the front tyre pressures, I have mine inflated to between 29 to 30 psi which definitely helps to lighten the steering but may affect the steerings feel a little.

Colyn
Colyn Firth

I am with Colyn on this one. I bought the Roadster for the top down driving. If I had wanted a hood over my head I would have gone for a Coupe. I guess I am an extremist to the extent that I removed the hood completely to save weight. If it rains I get a bit wet; but isn't that the fun of it? I also fitted a sportscreen that uses more raked stanchions than the standard, so I cannot even use the sidescreens.

Love it.

Steve
Steve Gyles

Thanks Colyn

I think you are right and if you add to the cost of purchasing a hardtop from Honeybourne the extra for a re-spray it makes it all rather expensive!

As I live relatively close to their factory I took the chance to visit them yesterday and saw an example that had just been completed for a customer.It struck me that would it really be worth it as for 8-9 months of the year the hood would be down? The storage would mean hanging the thing from the garage roof as you noted.

I hadn't thought about the side visibility and am not as tall you. Nonetheless, I am sure that I too would have the same problems.

So I think that I'll follow your advice. I guess that sometime this year I may have a chance to sit in a model with a hardtop and get an idea of what it is really like!

I had the steering checked in November as part of the MOT and I have undertaken the lubrication as you mentioned. However, I will have the alignment checked next week.

The tyres that I have fitted are Vredestein 165R/15 onto a set of bolt on chrome wires that I acquired from SC. I have the pressures set at 17 and 23 as in the Workshop Manual. Judging by what you set yours at then these are far too low - suggestions?

Thanks for your advice

Jerry
J P BIRKBECK

Having all four options (Open with standard screen, hood with standard screen, ally hardtop with standard screen, or just the sports screen), I can say that each has its place.

If I hadn't got the first hardtop cheap, I may well not have bothered. The ally hardtop was a bargain, so it was irresistible, and is wonderful for outings where the weather is marginal. I don't like driving with the hood up, but use it when it's pouring, but rarely use the side screens in any setup, and they are normally left hanging on the garage wall.

For really sunny days, the sports screen is great. I have special screws to enable a screen change in about 10 minutes, but I am not as extreme as Steve in having it permanently fitted.
dominic clancy

I bought a black Honeybourne top for my car 2 years ago and had it shipped to OZ. The fit was terrible,huge gaps, especially around the rear... and the fittings were trashy. I talked to Honeybourne and wanted advice but only got a response from a young lady in the front office who ran back and forward talking and conveying the message....which was to remove all seals and start shaping it myself. Poor quality and poor service. They were not really interested and after a couple of calls I gave up on them. The hardtop has hung on the wall for last two years taking up space and reminding me of Honeybourne!!!
Neil Ferguson

This thread was discussed between 09/01/2012 and 12/01/2012

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