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MG MGA - removable top and move door

I would appreciate any info on two questions:

1) Are there any sources for removable hardtops for the "A" here in the US? I found Honeybourne Mouldings in the UK, but could like to find a US supplier.The best situation would be to find a used one, even if repairs needed, but they seem to be pretty scarce. ( I really wanted to build a coupe, but I understand they can be terribly hot. I am putting a Ford 302 into her and don't want A/C, so a removable hardtop is a compromise. Sorry if the V8 offends some, but I have driven an MGB V8 conversion for almost 20 years and going back to a 4-cyclinder would be really tough!)

2) I am starting to fit the doors to a disassembled body I purchased several years ago. The body is very solid and the door appears to be original. However the entire door needs to be moved forward about 3/16", both top and bottom. I am told that the only way to move the door is to mill metal from both the top and bottom hinges. This would still leave adequate hinge thickness, I think. However, that seems rather crude. I was wondering how the pro's deal with this situation.
Thank you for any info!
KM Schley

Please explain why you need to move the door forward. It will help in giving advice, and save typing. There are also different style hinges.Do you have a matched set.
WYATT WOLCOTT

Like Wyatt I'm curious about the problem with the doors. I've never run across anything like that before. Can you post a photo of the hinge mountings?

As for the hard top, there's one on Craigslist here in KC right now. Needs a bit of work, but might be something you could use. http://kansascity.craigslist.org/pts/451144840.html
Bill Young

As for the hard top new ones are still available.
Check out:
http://www.smoothline.com/classic_sports_cars_MGs.php
David Werblow

The reason he's having trouble is,I'll bet, he mixxed up the hinges or used some from another car.I had the same problem. When the cars were made,the doors must have been hand fitted.Some hinges I have have been closed together,and others have had more shimms under them.
gary starr

Thank you for the come-backs. I have to move the door forward bacause there is a gap between the front fender and the door of slightly more than 1/4". I have moved the fender backwards to the point at which the windshiled might not slide through the fendewr opening and into it's channel. There is also the same gap between the top of the door and the panel behind the windshield. (Not sure of the proper name) Finally, the rear of the door is about 1/8 - 3/16" from allowing the door from closing with the proper clearance.
The hinges are .25 - .27" in thickness. I have four doors on hand and the hinges on all are the same. I will make some photos this weekend.
Bill Y. Thank for the craigslist tip. I have been calling the number ever couple of hours. No luck so far.
David W.Thanks for the smoothline tip. I will contact them for prices.
KM Schley

Kurt, I'm also building a modified MGA would like to correspond about our projects if you want. Drop me a line off the board if you want.
Bill Young

I'm rebuilding a Coupe which has aquired replacement front wings at some stage. I found that the gap between door and wing was about 1/2". The only way I could reduce this gap was by brazing mild steel round rods (I used welding rods)to the back edge of the front wing and then using lead loading to fill in the joins. I'm not an expert welder or lead loader, but I'm reasonably happy with the results. The picture shows the half finished job. I'll probably need to file the edges a bit more to produce satisfactory shut lines.

Regards
David

PS. I tried to attach a picture, but apparently the file size was "too large". Not sure how to reduce its size.
D Jacobs

KM,

A roadster with a hard top is likely just as hot as the Coupe. In fact it may be even hotter because it lacks the vent windows which funnel air into the cockpit. Some days I do wish I could "take my top off", but I haven't fully heat-proofed the car yet. I have driven Coupes that have been well insulated and they are comfortable- the difference is very noticeable. Since you're going to have a big powerplant in there and will likely have to scoot it closer to the firewall, I might recommend serious thought to how you're going to insulate it. Good luck!

Mark
Mark J Michalak

David, the easiest way to resize images if you are using Windows XP is to get the Microsoft Image Resizer. You can then just right click on the image and create a resized copy. Here is a link http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/learnmore/tips/eschelman2.mspx

I'd be interested to see you picture as I think I will have the same problem with the front wings in due course.
Keith Morris

My problem was different.I mixed up hinges from several cars and when I went to put the doors on they would not physically fit in between the pillars.The doors were the originals from the car but with new skins and the door pillars were not touched either.
gary starr

Thanks for that tip, Keith.
Here's a picture - it shows the panel gap after I'd brazed the welding rods in place, ground down the surface and then added body solder (lead). As I'm new at this game, I also used body filler to end up with a reasonably smooth finish. Hope this helps.
David.


D Jacobs

This thread was discussed between 25/10/2007 and 05/11/2007

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