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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Soft top clamps

Hi all - anyone had experience of this.... just fitted new soft top to sprite...new hood glued around header rail....new seal retainer pop riveted through hood material to header rail...new seal fitted to retainer... seems like there is too much material to squeeze down enough to lock header rail clamps! Is it maybe the new seal... I'm thinking about playing a hot air gun over the seal to see if it softens it up enough to clamp it down!! Neal
N Broadbent

Neal,
Seal on my soft top also looks big, but it does clamp down, plenty of force required though...You can adjust the clamps. If you can't get to fasten, post a picture of your seal

Alan.
Alan Cotterill (1972 standard 1275 )

I agree adjust your clamps

I got a header seal from MGOC and had to have clamps so tight that they were a real struggle in the winter but they had to be to stop water coming in

Bought another seal from MGOC much broader profile much better fit but I had to lossen of the clamps a lot

I can post a photo of the sections if you want
Nigel Atkins

Hi chaps - thanks for your replies... got my seal from sussex mg - here's a picture of the excess offcut... btw my clamps still don't shut even at max setting on clamps .. hot air gun may be employed soon


N Broadbent

Neal. When you are clamping the over centre clamps try to make sure that the tongue enters the slot as vertically as possible, otherwise it can baulk on the header rail as the rail seems to be made of a softer metal and makes it near impossible to press home the clamp. Also, make sure that all the seal is in front of the lip on the header rail as that can cause difficulty too.

Bernie.
b higginson

Another thing to watch for is that the two small blocks at either end of the header rail are there. They don't look much, but they prevent the header rail from tilting to far rearwards as it is clamped down. This in turn prevents the tongues that Bernie mentions from going in straight. I doubt that it is the rubber seal that is making it hard to clamp. But you may have pulled the fabric too tight when fitting it.

Another thing to try is to slacken the three bolts holding the frame pivots at either side ( assuming this is a post 1967, folding frame car ). This may allow the brackets to settle down a little and give you more slack to the hood. Try closing it on a hot day and if you can get it fastened, then leave it as the temperature cools overnight.
Guy

Neal, sorry was solving (and it appears creating more) problems on my midget yesterday

photo of seals - both provided by MGOC, the thicker of the two here fits

the thinner caused me problems

the thicker (new/unused) is about 17mm high (to centre excluding top retaining strip)

the thinner (new/unused) is about 10mm (to centre excluding top retaining strip)




Nigel Atkins

Thanks for all the advice chaps... every time I post something up there are always good tips and stuff worth remembering. I really didn't know what the plastic blocks were for so I put those back on the header rail - I then tried loosening the 3 bolts either side of the rail - still no good. i then put more slack on the clamp adjustment bolts and hey presto - it was a good hot day so I've tucked her away to cool off before I undo them again!! btw Nigel - I think my seal is the thinner one too - thanks again..............
N Broadbent

Neal swap it for the thicker one when you get a chance before winter or you could find it very difficult to do up and undo the clamps

>>Also, make sure that all the seal is in front of the lip on the header rail<< - to do this I close both clamps and then undo the clamp one side and check that side half of the seal is tucked in front of the screen lip then do the clamp up again and repeat on the other clamp and side of seal
Nigel Atkins

sorry Neal, post was late at night/morning

some words went missing, not copied, deleted, whatever,

it's meant to read - you may need to (swap it for the thicker one ...)
Nigel Atkins

Thanks for that Nigel - I'll see about sourcing that type of seal and try it - thanks again - Neal
N Broadbent

You might not need to, see how it goes

As I said I got both from MGOC but one was better than the other

I got through a winter with the smaller seal - but I did have to tighten the clamps so much that one time I need a screwdriver to open one clamp - but that seal looks smaller than the one you have
Nigel Atkins

This thread was discussed between 29/04/2011 and 04/05/2011

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS is active now.