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MG MGA - 1500 vs 1600 top

One of my cars is a 59 1500 and I was interested in installing a single rear window top from Moss which says it fits early 1500's.
Does the frame change from the early 1500 to late 1500 or is just the look of the top that they seperate from early to late?
Cleve Crews

Same hood frame. The first 10,000 cars had the 1-window top. The 3-window top was introduced in September 1956 at (c)20162. The hood frame didn't change until October 1959 at (c)78249 when the "MK-II style" top gained an overhang on the sides, and the frame would fold farther back over the battery cover.
Barney Gaylord

Barney,
Would the early 1500 top fit on my 59 1500 frame?
Cleve Crews

Yes. Same frame.
Barney Gaylord

How can a person tell if they have a 1500 frame or a 1600 frame. Is there any markings we can look for?
Jeff Becker
JEFF BECKER

Apparently the only difference is location of the front brake hose anchor point. See here:
http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/brakes/bt202.htm
Barney Gaylord

Is there some confusion here about soft top frames and chassis frames?
Malcolm Asquith

Ah, sorry about that, thought he might be on a different subject for a moment.

There are exactly two different folding frames for the MGA rag top. The visible difference is length of the slot in the bottom end of the front leg where it meets the bolted wall bracket.
See here: http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/top/top108b.htm
The change point is Car No. 78249 in October 1959, about 5 months into 1600 model production.
Barney Gaylord

This thread was discussed between 06/06/2011 and 12/06/2011

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This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.