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MG MGF Technical - T-Bar Questions...

Good morning all,

Mission 'interior rebuild' for my F is well on it's way. Car is getting stripped out end of this month and will need a couple of weeks before complete. Got a couple of questions regarding the T-bar though.

1. Do the speakers have to be fitted prior to mounting it?
2. I know it takes 6x9 speakers. Are there any constraits on the physical size of the magnet, as in, deapth of the speaker?
3. And lastly...Is there any difference between the T-bar of an F and a TF??

Ps... If anyone is in the market for a t-bar upgrade with speakers, i'm now in the possession of 2 believe it or not, and therefore have no use for it. Email me if interested. The item is in London and will will be dispatched from there.

Cheers in advance,

John


JW Ioannou

Hi John,

The factory speakers are actually 6x4, not 6x9 and they're fitted in plastic boxes fixed to the metal bit behind the plastic T-Bar. The early F and early 1.6 F and TFs have the same T-Bar (no speakers), late 1.8 Fs and all late TFs have the same T-bar (with speakers). Only difference for the early ones will be the seat belt trim which was subject to a recall.

Cheers,
Tim
Tim Jenner

Thanks for the prompt reply Tim.

6x4.... shoots! Had some nifty 6x9's in storage... : (

The T-bar i have in Cyprus has no speakers so im guessing it's one of the older one's (unless somebody nicked them in the process). I'm assuming i can keep the existing seat belts in place right?
JW Ioannou

John, You have mail.
Steve Ratledge

Hi,
Just to hijack John's thread for a bit.
To upgrade an old F and fit rear speakers do I need just the plastic trim or the metal bit that goes behind it as well?

John
John

The centre to centre measurements of the screw holes in the MGF Mk II speaker box are 73mm and 123mm. The boxes will easily accommodate a 50mm deep speaker.

Steve
Steve Ratledge

John, it is possible to fit speakers into a Mk1 T-bar - but it does involve some cutting. See http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/DIY/interior/T-bar/installing_rear_t.htm
Rob Bell

To John in Hants,

Ideally you need both, but I found the speaker box available for a paltry sum but the cover panel with speaker grilles was less of a bargain. Depends how DIY willing you are, but I found it reasonably straightforward to jigsaw holes in the panel and then glue some acoustic felt over them instead of grilles.
Mike Hankin

The T bar is different in one small respect in dimension from mk1.

The rear of the T bar that meets the 'carpet' sitting ontop the engine access hatch (ie above the felting) is very slightly less deep and that is why there are two part numbers for the carpet - one for the mk 1 T bar and one for the mk 2!

You can still fit the mk2 bar but you will find that to get a good fit, you will also need to purchase a mk2 carpet to get a perfect fit where it meets the bar. The mk 2 version of the carpet is also made of better material.
Julian

Interesting point raised there Julian... Which leads me to another question this point brings out.

I've been tempted in purchasing a hood tonneau for some time now. My hardtop is a permanent fixture these day and therefore want to hide the view of the soft top via the back window (i am a perfectionist of the worst kind! ;o)

Question 1 is, which tonneau model does not latch under the boot and will fit with a hardtop in place(Mk1 or 2 or other)?

Question 2 is, will a tonneau counter for this slightly less deep fit that Julian mentions?

Ta to all for the guidance! You are life savers as always!

John
JW Ioannou

John,
an "MK1" hood cover will fit under a hardtop.
I put quotes because the "MK1" isn't opposed to MGF MK2 aka MY2000. The "MK2" hood cover came out in spring 1998 IIRC. You must have the correct studs on the T-Bar to fit each hood cover. These studs can be changed from one type to the other.
BTW, I have a "MK1" black hood cover for sale. I used it less than 5 times on my former F...
Fabrice
Fabrice

How would i know if i have the right studs on my T-bar Fabrice? Would be interested in your hood cover provided i know it fits...
JW Ioannou

John, the studs for MK1 hood cover looks like standard press studs, the kind of you would have on a jacket for example, while the MK2 t-bar requires 20mm high "studs".
Here's Scarlet Fever's leather covered MK1 T-bar with Mk1 studs : http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dotcomoff/home/motoring/mgf_faq/diy/interior/tbar/html/tbar3-4.html#pic4
How old is your F ?
If it's from 99 or later, it should have MK2 studs...
Fabrice

My F's a 1996, but i'm currently upgrading the entire interior to a mkII (chairs, doors, dash)and that also includes the t-bar. Which has me guessing Fabrice that in order to utilise the hood you have i could potentially take the studs off of one t-bar and put them to the other???? (simple thinking but would it work?)
JW Ioannou

John,
simple thinking often proves to be the solution ;o)
Yes, you can switch the studs.

Actually, I did it when I crashed my former '97 F : I had fitted speakers in my MK1 T-Bar and I had a windstop. A friend wanted it for his '99 F : we simply switched the T-bars, but he kept his studs in order to put his hood cover (and I kept my studs too)

Fabrice

Fabrice

Fabrice, my email can be seen on my first posting in this thread. Drop me a line stating how much you want for the hood and let us see if we can't do some business ; )

You just can't help but love this community and the ways in which it works!
JW Ioannou

This thread was discussed on 17/05/2005

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