MG-Cars.info

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

Recommendations

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 MGF Technical - Please help - I can't get the hood down

Hi

Please can you help me. I recently bought a 1997 MGF and cannot get the hood down. The two clips inside are fine and then the hood will retreat halfway but go no further. When I bought the car, the dealer managed to get the hood down and said something about a safety catch but I cannot work out where this is. Any help would be much appreciated! Caroline
Caroline

Common problem! As you lift the hood pull the most forward tube slightly forward/up towards the front rail and it will go down a treat - they nearly all do that sir!
Tony

Caroline,
Don't forget as your clear plastic window now folds down to prevent any creases forming; or these will be weak points in the future and may crack withou much provocation!
Charles

Hi Caroline
I was never shown properly how to put the top down but it really is dead simple once you get the hang of it. You can even do it sat at traffic lights when you really want to pose!!

As Tony says bring the first bar towards you once you have released the front catches and it just drops down

Lydia
Mad Girl in a Frenzy

Caroline, the point about ensuring the plastic window does not crease is imperative. A good way of doing it is to put your free arm across the window as you begin to lower the hood and this creates a natural curve that the hood then sort of fits around. Avoid cool/cold days as that does make the plastic brittle. Robert
Robert Matthews 1

I would echo comments above, and also point you to the "hood lock-up" section at this link:

http://www.mgf-tf-central.co.uk/tt-hood-hardtop.htm

I fitted the elastic straps (about £17 if I recall, from Brown & Gammons) and that solved the problem. There is no "safety catch" so don't waste too much time looking for it!

W
Will Harvey

The locking up feature might be an unintentional safety catch, but it was not designed as such.

Chris
Chris

I agree with Chris, personally I like mine to lock. I was thinking about repairing it over the weekend, however on reflection it does give you time to ensure it doesn't fold straight down and crease the window.
Stuart

You should really unzip the rear window before folding the hood down !!!

Undo the front clips first to release the tension, then unzip the window. Pull it down onto the parcel shelf (in fact, there are two large studs to which it can be clipped), then fold the hood down.

When you put the hood up, don't clip it up until you have zipped the rear window back in (the little velcro tab at the centre top will help to hold the window up whilst the zip is fastened).

Jonty
M.J. Tait

This thread was discussed between 02/04/2007 and 09/04/2007

MG MGF Technical index

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