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MG MGF Technical - MGF power hood

I wonder why no one ever mention installing a power hood. Is it worth? Does it works?
I would like to get opinions fron the Forum members before to order the kit. Thanks.
Mike
JM Vega-P.

This has been mentioned by forum members in the past - most of them having had problems with the mechanism jamming.

Sam
Sam Murray

Mike

There have been a number of references in the Archive and it may be worth trying a few inventive searches.

I remember a couple of reports of frames bending when powered but, of course, nobody bothers to go on the BBS to say when they are happy.

Also, less than 10% of MGF owners seem to know about this BBS or participate on it so you may not get sufficient answers to help your choice and you may need to go out on a limb and spend your money.

So far I've only thought it would be 'nice' about 3 times and on each it was a sudden downpour while sitting at red lights.
John Ponting

Gets harder to get out quickly at your age i should imagine John !!

LOL

Stu
Stu

I've a plan to save myself a lot of money: do not convert to power hood and instead keep a supply of incontinence pants and sheets in the car. We have a warehouse full of them here at work and staff get good discounts.
John Ponting

My wife used to have a Punto with a power hood - it was really slow to go up and down. Much easier and quicker to just lift/drop the hood on the F. In my opinion a power hood is not worth the money.
David Clelland

If it's too easy to raise the hood it takes all the amateur weatherman fun out of driving the car! :)

Tim.
Tim Jenner

I agree with DC - the standard arrangement makes it so easy to raise the hood from the driver's seat, that an electrically assisted mechanism would only slow the process!!!
Rob Bell

Well Rob, I don't know whether I'm too small, or not strong enough, but it's really though for me to raise the hood straight from the driver's seat... But I won't go for an automatic one anyway!
Frederic Lemaire

Probably just years of practice Fred! LOL
Rob Bell

Not being the tallest guy in the world, I thought that it wasn't possible to raise the hood without getting out of the car. With a little bit of effort, two hands on the metal bit that fastens inside the car and voila..

Try it.. I can even do it with the car moving... Ooeerrr.

Jon.
Jon

To raise hood, (right hand drive car), put window down, right hand over shoulder, grab top side bar and pull. Takes about 2 seconds. For lowering of hood, I would worry about the rear screen not folding properly and putting a crease in it.

Steve.
Steve

Oh! Makes me ask another question: do you guys always unzip the screen? That's bloody ennoying... What I do is placing a tube in the fold so that the screen rolls around. What odo you think?
Frederic Lemaire

I never un-zip the window unless the roof is stowed for prolonged periods (like when the hardtop is fitted for the winter).

You may need to 'train' the window to fold without creasing, but once this is sorted, I just unclip and throw the roof back :o) Bliss!
Rob Bell

ditto ! Rob

Stu
Stu

Stu - you throw Rob back AND he doesn't crease?

Ted
Ted Newman

12 months and my window is still not trained....! I have to get out and push it to ensure it folds properly.

Steve.
Steve

Big word of warning - the plastic window gets brittle in cold weather. While it is fine to drop the hood without unzipping the window in the warm weather, you risk an expensive crack in you window if you try in the cold!

Cheers

Patrick
Patrick Beet

DONT DO IT!!

Its a complete waste of money. I have it fitted to my car and the brackets fitted to the hood frame bend until you can't use it (the design puts a twistin motion on the brackets, which fatigue and bend). Its broken every year and now it's run out of warrantee the dealer principal won't even answer my emails (Faraday Rover ,Newbury) even though last year they (along with Rover) said "Give us one last try to get this sorted out".
Keith

>To raise hood, (right hand drive car), put window down,
>right hand over shoulder, grab top side bar and pull.
I do this but I don't have enough strength in my shoulder, so I use my left hand on my right wrist (which makes it tricky, but not impossible to do on approach to rounderbouts)

>For lowering of hood, I would
>worry about the rear screen not folding properly and
>putting a crease in it.

The solution to this is to unzip the rear screen and popper it down, then you have as much up/down action as your arm can muster ;-)
Will Munns

<<so I use my left hand on my right wrist >>

A permanent surgical procedure or just a qd arrangement?
John Ponting

It helps if you are right handed, but for some reason your right hand is busy doing something simple, swap hands and jobs a good'un
Will Munns

>> While it is fine to drop the hood without unzipping the window in the warm weather, you risk an expensive crack in you window if you try in the cold.....

I find that my rear window curls without creases more easily when it's NOT hot....when the plastic's hot it tends to develop all manner of creases and flat areas along the curveline, necessitating countless pokes and squeezes (oooh errr) as the frame is lowered.

I take your point about taking care when the window is REALLY cold, tho'.

As far as quick hood raising, I had to do this on saturday night on the M2, when the heavens opened, without warning!! I know you're not s'posed to but, stopped on the hard shoulder....straighten legs and body, twist to half face rear, reach back and open both clips (TERRIBLY bad form NOT to close the clips when the hood's down chaps!!), grasp front of hood in the middle and yank it over the head!!

Think I lost no more than six places during the 15 second stop....soon regained them tho'!!!!
SimonKE

I would question if it is illegal to stop on the hard shoulder if you want to put the roof up.

It could be questioned that driving with the roof down in a major down poor, is potentially dangerous (as people from the 2nd South West MGF Meet will tell you), do you not have a right to stop and put the roof up.

If anybody knows for sure, let us know.
Steve Green - KX51 NUH

This 'stopping on the hard shoulder' question has cropped up before - surely it depends if it is an emergency - for example:-

The traffic stream is too slow to allow the rain to blow over the top, so the rain curls into the car gets on my glasses and I can not see, if I take the glasses off I can see even less, for me to continue driving would be a dangerous act!

However as hard shoulders are now cosidered one of the most dangerous places to be I would not hang around for long.

Ted
Ted Newman

I didn't, Ted!!!

Scuderia Ferrari couldn't have done it quicker (altho' they'd have changed all four wheels at the same time!!!)
SimonKE

If you have an experienced partner you can do it without stopping (putting the hood up you dirty lot) just slow down to about 15 mph!

Ted
Ted Newman

Ted

I have a very experienced partner but she is only 62" tall and cannot reach the folded hood while seated and strapped in. Not using seat belts is still an offence and, therefore, not an option.

But I take your point.

BTW Ray & Leslie say "hello"
John Ponting

Karin kneels on the seat and grabs the hood and pulls it over then clips into place and promptly puts her belt back on!

Return hellos to Ray and Leslie - how are they?

Ted
Ted Newman

Tried raising the hood from within the car, like people have suggested by grabbing it with the right hand.

Almost broke my arm the first time...:-)...but have it sorted now. Thats me from now on not getting soaked at the traffic lights.

Steve G.
Steve Green - KX51 NUH

it is not difficult - it just needs practice - like a lot of things....

Steve.
Steve

On a right hand drive F/TF...

With a windstop fitted, you need to drop the driver's window, use your right arm and reach behind you for the side of the frame.

Without a windstop fitted you can reach behind you with your left arm and grap the windscreen header frame.

I feel a gallery for the SOS site coming on...

SF
Scarlet Fever

pull on hand brake, stand up in seat forgeting seat belt,get pulled back into seat quickly release seat belt, stand up in seat again avoiding laughter of driver in next lane, pull hood over, flick clips, belt up, hand brake off, accelerate quickly - works for me everytime
Mark P

I found that I always ended up with a bruise on my left shoulder blade when raising the softtop from the driver's seat. But then I was using my left hand on the centre of the front bar to raise the roof.

As a note, the worst crack that I got in the rear screen occurred when folding the screen down after unzipping it.

Ralph
Ralph

This thread was discussed between 16/07/2003 and 25/07/2003

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