MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGB Technical - New Hood

Having found i need to replace my hood i am wondering if it is a good idea to buy one with the header already fitted or not? It might make fitting simpler but would this prohibit me getting a good fit as it seems not to allow any room for adjustment.Or am i wrong on that ?
My exlsting hood is extremely tight & difficult to get up.The car is a 72 with the black folding frame.
Would like to make sure my new one is going to be a bit easier.
Also any advice on the what fabric to go for , is it worth paying the extrs for mohair ? I understand there is more flexibility in this fabric.
Your advices would be appreciated guys
Thanks
Ken
k proud

I fitted a vinyl hood to my '67 B back in the late '80s. It's still on the car and looks like new. It didn't come with a new header rail, but all the other fasteners were pre-installed and lined up perfectly. Getting the header fit takes a bit of fiddling about, but it's not that big a deal. It is mandatory that you do the work in a heated garage or on a warm sunny day or else you'll wind up having to drill out the rivets, in the header rail, and adjust it a second time. RAY
rjm RAY

Ken, I bought a replacement about four years ago from mgb owners club for my 71. It was a double duck one (canvas), It was a very poor baggy fit. Sent it back and got an acrilac one from mgbhive with the header rail on, it is still not easy to put up, a bit on the tight side, but looks good when up, the fabric still looks like new. Buying one with the header rail on could save a lot of hassle, they must be made to a precise fit. I would go for the header rail on.
Trevor Harvey

Correct, no adjustment, so it all depends on how the jig the hood manufacturer used compares with the alignment of the screen on your car. Having said that when I bought my roadster the (bottom of the range) vinyl hood which although was pretty new was a bit baggy, but I was able to carefully peel it back off the header rail and refit it.

However the biggest problem with replacement hoods seems to be the fit across the car. Some I have seen do not have enough material, the gutter is so far above the top of the drop-glass, and the flap inside bowed back, such that you get your hand in without touching the sides. I was going to replace mine with something more upmarket until I saw that, so opted to refit instead and put off the headache of what to buy until I needed to. That was 25 years ago, and it is still doing it's job pretty well.
Paul Hunt

Has anybody used a firm called carhoods based in birmingham area , they advertise on ebay .Feedback seems good & prices very reasonable ?

Thanks
ken
k proud

Ken,
if you're looking in the Birmingham area then I'd suggest you look at Don Hoods, on my previous Spridget they fitted one of their vinyl hoods and the fit was excellent

for go cars it's vinyl, for show cars it's double duck and mohair

if you use your car and also use the hood vinyl is easier to keep looking good
Nigel Atkins

Thanks for your advice guys , still looking .
Ken
k proud

When I got my B roadster the header rail was very badly corroded and the hood leaked at the sides. So I got the new hood with a new header railattached. This fixed the leaks at the sides, but the header does not match the curvature of the screen exactly, so in heavy rain it leaks thro' the gaps.

Bad news in UK as drips fall on my wife's knees, OK in Europe as I've learned to keep quiet about it.

Vic
V Todman

I fitted an acrylic one from mgb hive many years ago and the fit is perfect. It came complete with header rail. The only problem that I have with it is that is so thick it only just fits into the tonneau space. It has to be rolled very tightly to fit and this is a two man job
Iain MacKintosh

This thread was discussed between 22/04/2014 and 02/05/2014

MG MGB Technical index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG MGB Technical BBS now