The MGF Register Forums

Aw...hardtop went on today...
It feels like starting back to school at the end of the summer hols

A real no no in my book

Cheers

Mike.

Not for me it isn't! Took the car and the Mem'Sahib out for a spin today down to Grau du Roi on the Med for a spot of lunch. Fine, sunny and 25°C.
Had lunch here:

https://www.google.com/maps/@43.5361988 ... 312!8i6656

Meal for two - 34€, Cushty!

Bloody chinese cat gave up the ghost on the way home. Type approved one ordered from Germany.

When it's on the road I'll use the F all the time, nothing beats driving to work at 5.30 am in light snow in mid February with the roof down.

talkingcars wrote: nothing beats driving to work at 5.30 am in light snow in mid February with the roof down.

That reminds me of the Winter of 1963. Really cold and a great deal of snow. I had a 1936 Morris 8 Tourer, no heater and no Tonneau. As the condensation always froze on the screen I had to put the hood down. That meant wearing a Jeep coat with a flying helmet and goggles and sheepskin gloves. On one occasion I couldn't get it away from the kerb as the camber was very steep, so I removed the spark plugs and wound it out using the starting handle. The car is still on the road, but I sold it in 1974 to help with the deposit on our first house.

My first car was a 1937 Austin 7 Ruby which I gave a chassis up Restoration in 1962 and painted it BRG with Brushing Belco paint which needed flatting with wet&dry after each coat. With a 36 mile commute with no heater , in the winter two pieces of wood lifted the back of the bifold bonnet so ram air came thru the radiator and engine bay onto the screen. This was replaced in 1066 when I had twicw ekkiy buisness trips from Coventry to Bristol.
The majority of the miles on our "F" (59 K since 2000) have been on European trips to Switzerland or Spain, Pottugal, Norway, Sweden and Italy. The car now has a HardTop or Full Tonneau with the hood in the garage.
The TOP gives a pleasant Autobahn/Autoroute drive, being silver the sun is reflected, the AirCon keeps cool and the Softop space is used for luggage.
I had a new MGB-GT (with no power steering or A/C) in 1970. Living in Belgrade and travelling to Greece, the white roof kept the car cool in the hot sun. There were concept designs for a MGF-GT but MGR could not resist in making it a high power version at a ridiculous cost way beyond the "F" market so they went for a rebadged existing Italian car.
Geoff.F

Bazzajay wrote:That reminds me of the Winter of 1963......

Don't remember then, I was conceived sometime around then.

Geoff.F wrote:.....in 1962.....< >........in 1066.........

Prehistoric.................LOL

Now there's a thought from Geoff.F: Is it a good idea to take the soft top out before putting the hardtop on? It'd save lots of squeaks + rattles and stop the hood going into fold fatigue lines.

Is it hard to do (and a pain to find somewhere to store the old hood) or don't most people bother?

Ps talkingcars reminds me of the Monty Python 'Yorkshiremen' sketch? 'Awww...we 'ad it tuff...ah used ta remember...in't septic tank in't middl o' rowd'...we used ter eat gravel... cup o' tea wi' no tea...'

ArntyR wrote:...........Is it a good idea to take the soft top out before putting the hardtop on?.....'

Geoff doesn't use the car as a convertible, the only reason I see to remove the soft top is because one doesn't plan to ever use it again.

I am probably a secret biker, I love to drive with the roof down and live by the mantra - wipers off, roof off.

I agree I also enjoy the the Tf with the hard top on during the winter months although its not fitted yet, I believe the mgf/tf is one of the few cars of its era that looks good with either option, not got round to painting one for the 85th yet.

The HardTop sits on the rear rail of the Hood therefore the rail from a scrap frame is needed.
The SofTop is easily removed,held by 4 bolts after removing the "T" Bar.
We have a simple pulley system in the garage to lift the HardTop so we have plenty of OpenTop motoring in the right weather whilst the full tonneau keeps the bird s*** off the Oxford Leather seats when parked.
Our other answer is to take out Ann.F"s RagTop Fiat 500 .
Geoff.F

Ah gottit...the idea is that the hood always stays attached because it normally supports the hard top.

ArntyR wrote:Ah gottit...the idea is that the hood always stays attached because it normally supports the hard top.

Yes, that's right, but don't forget to unzip the rear window and fold it flat, before folding the hood and fitting the hardtop. I must admit also to covering the rear window while the hardtop's on.

ArntyR wrote:Ah gottit...the idea is that the hood always stays attached because it normally supports the hard top.

Don't know about your soft top frame, but mine has detachable brackets for the hard top. I intend removing the soft top for winter - the advantages are less weight and a big parcel shelf as Geoff suggests. The only disadvantage is access to the engine compartment - I have to get help from a neighbour to manhandle the hard top if needed

Horses for courses, yes it is nice to drive about in the cold fresh air, but even nicer in warm air Best of both worlds to have the option.

just how do i post photos on here ?

Hmm...I didn't know about these detachable brackets, unless they're the round 'pencils' that the hardtop clip/levers sit on? (one on each side?)
The curved part under the rear window sits on the soft top frame. Mine's a TF too.

Yep easy enough to take off - but awkward to move around and store...

ArntyR wrote:Hmm...I didn't know about these detachable brackets, unless they're the round 'pencils' that the hardtop clip/levers sit on? (one on each side?)
The curved part under the rear window sits on the soft top frame. Mine's a TF too.

Yep easy enough to take off - but awkward to move around and store...

Yes, those "pencils" are the brackets, and the hard top should gently rest and seal between the black plastic trim on the body and the soft seal on the bottom of the hard top - the weight being taken by the brackets.
The folded down soft top doesn't take any weight of the hardtop, just takes up a lot of room.

Brilliant...all that makes sense.

Those bracket 'pencils' are metal and so is the hardtop stirrup. There's a bit of creaking and rattling going on so I think I need to get something soft between them. Also, perhaps, unwind the stirrup downwards to firm up the grip of the locking levers/clamps to make the fit more 'solid'.

bigmac to post pics: I made this hardtop pic smaller (800 x 600px) using an image editor (Lightroom) - 'cos big files won't work - and simply drag-and-dropped the image file into the bottom of the message box. It gets put at the bottom of the message as an attachment like so:-

mgtfnut wrote:

ArntyR wrote:Horses for courses, yes it is nice to drive about in the cold fresh air, but even nicer in warm air Best of both worlds to have the option.

I'm lucky, I have other MGs to choose from if I want a car with a roof.

lets see if my photo appears.......