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MG MGA - MGA Coupe Roof

Hi
I have taken on a basket case Coupe restoration. At some point the complete roof has been replaced (badly). Could anyone with access to a coupe please measute the distance from the top of the boot to the bottom of the roof in the centre of the car?

Thanks

Gordon
G Derham

Gordon,
sorry I have a roadster now although I have owned two coupes in the distant past, so I can't take the measurement you need.

But I am not absolutely certain which points on the car that you mean.

It would probably be a good idea to do a sketch, take a picture of it and post it on here for us.

Are you planning to use the original "lead-loading" (body soldering) to fill the join between the roof and the body?
If you are, remember to take some video for us and post it on here, I have never seen anyone do this and I would love to watch the process.

Cheers
Colyn

Colyn Firth

I have a coupe and will be happy to get the measurements for you but like Colyn I'm unsure where you want them taken. A sketch will be helpful.
Gene Gillam

Hi Gordon

Congratulations on starting a Coupe restoration. I went down the same road from 2012 to 2016 with a basket case.

The dimension in the picture is from the root of the upstand for the hood.

Send me a text to 07504901022 if I can help with anything else.

Cheers
Dave

Bolney Coupe

Coupes seem to be coming in to .... not like the old days when they were just used for parts cars for your roadster! Tough to get some of the smaller coupe special parts but not impossible! Good luck with your restoration!
S

I don't know how bad your basket case is, but if the roof is seriously out of shape ...
I have a good roof on an otherwise mostly bad shell.

It might offer more straightforward options than spending a lot of time reforming a lot of dents or patches etc.

I expect you must have the facilities and skills to deal with it, and would be a better judge than I of what would be possible.

Let me know if you need any more info, and good luck with the restoration,
as you know there is a lot more to deal with on a coupe than a roadster.

Jim
J N Gibson

Gordon,
Just measured in the dark garage. The hook end of the measure is resting against the point at which the roof starts to rise. You can just see it in image 1. Image 2 (almost) square on. Both are in the centre of the car. Let me know if you need more.

Shane




Shanerj

Here’s a picture of the area you’re looking for on my 57 Coupe.

Jim

JL Cheatham

Thank you all for your comments, but I think I may have asked my question too early.

There is no glass in the car (I do have the glass) at the moment and I had forgotten, of course, that the rubber surround will distort this dimension on a complete car.

Thanks Dave, Jim, and Shane for the pics and it does look as if the roof starts too far forward. We are going to strip all the paint back to see what we are dealing with before going any further forward.

Jim in Northants. Thanks for that info about a possible alternative roof, I may come back to you when we have stripped down this one, if you don't mind. Do you have any other bits that are unique to the coupe (e.g. Door handles)?

Thanks everyone

Gordon

G Derham

Gordon, when I did a little work on my coupe bodywork, way back in the late 70s, I attempted to use my electric welder to repair the metalwork on the coupe roof section just below the outer rear windscreen panel.

Imagine my shock when I found that as soon as I applied the welding rod, the bodywork just melted away under the spark!

I hadn't realised that the MG factory filled the hard-top/body joint area with lead body solder!

I would imagine that it is a really difficult skill to learn and I expect that most MGA Coupe restorers today use modern body fillers instead of lead-loading.

When you strip the paint down on the coupe roof section, let us know which type of body filler you find under there.

Cheers
Colyn
Colyn Firth

In the 70s I broke my first rusty heap and then converted the second one to a roadster so I have had quite a few coupe bits although most have gone now but some remain so if you can be specific on any requirements I can check.
I started the supposed conversion to a roadster by cutting the roof and we equally surprised when the lead folder started flowing over the back. By the way I never really converted that body to a roadster but got my hands on a almost complete roadster shell

Paul
Paul Dean

Gordon,

I meant to add, I don't know how far down Oxfordshire you are, but you would be welcome to come up and take some measurements ( &/or make templates etc ) if that would be useful.

Jim
J N Gibson

Hi
I have been out of the country for a few weeks, so things have slowed down a bit. But we now have all the old paint off and can see what is what.

There doesn't seem to be too much rust, but some awful accident repairs over the years. And a lot of filler.

The roof seems to start about 3.5cms too far forward and is a bit the worse for wear. The other major problem is the driver side front wing which has a large gash along the top.

To Jim Gibson in Northamptonshire. Can you please contact me on email - gordond at cse-net dot co dot uk. To discuss your potential spare roof?

I will post some pics next time I am with the car.

Gordon
G Derham

How does the fit of the roof and door look? A good fit-up of the roof and chrome window frame must be your guide to resolving the 3.5cm displacement of the roof.
Bolney Coupe

The roof line looks wrong at the back but the chrome window frame (fitted loosely) does not look too bad. it looks maybe as if it is distorted behind the door line
G Derham

This thread was discussed between 21/01/2023 and 24/03/2023

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