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MG TD TF 1500 - Moss side curtains on TF

The top (hood) is on and looks preety good. The tonneau is done and it looks good. Held the new rear side curtains up and they look to be a good fit. Held the new front side curtains up and whoa. Major gap at bottom of windscreen when touching the top of the windscreen. Angle is off plenty. Checked the box part number and checked the catalog and the number matches the new side screen covers for the TF. Soooo now what? Does the windscreen on the TF have more rearward rake than the TD and if so is it possible that they mixed up the front side curtains? Anybody have some good dimensions they could give me for the TF- TD so I can see If I'm gonna have some non functional equipment?

Thanks,

LaVerne
LED DOWNEY

If you loosen the windshield and angle it forward a bit, does the top still fit on the posts? I think my windshield over the years has become a bit more raked... if I had loosened my windshield, I think the top would have fit better when it was installed?
gordon lawson

I loosened the wing bolts, but the top frame work will not allow the windshield to fold forward. The top framework and material all seem to fit and line up well. The posts are straight and line up well with the cowel. I was thinking perhaps the front side cutrains had a slightly different profile on the TD and that possibly thats what they shipped to me.

LaVerne
LED DOWNEY

The more I look at these the more I'm convinced that they belong on something else. If I line up the top of the side curtain to the bottom of the outside flap on the hood, the bottom of the side curtain will not reach the top of the door. There is no way these babys will fit this car. Guess I'll call Moss tommorow and see what they have to say. I bought them over a year ago but just getting around to putting them on now. Hope they just sent the wrong ones and will exchange them for me.

LaVerne
LED DOWNEY

LED:

I took a quick measurement on my old (and I mean old originals)....pretty nasty and yellowed. The length measurement at the top of the side curtain (passenger side, front) is right around 23 inches. The length measurement at the bottom on the plastic window is about 26 inches. That should give you some idea of the rake involved. I can e-mail you a picture if you'd like.

Jim
Jim Rice

LaVern - Whether it was due to the rake of the windshield or my not getting the curtains on the frames correctly (I think it was the latter) the front edge of the front side curtains didn't fit right, the top was too far forward to tuck in behind the post that attaches to the side of the windshield frame. After many years of getting rain in hte face, I took the curatins off of the frames and trimmed the front edges, then had new trim sewed on. The curtains tuck in behind the post now and we are no longer called by the Indian name of Old Rain in the Face. Looking at the curtains, it can be seen where I trimmed, but since our car is a driver, I would rather be dry than pretty. In your case, where you are just now in the process of installing the curtains, you can afford to be both. Cheers - Dave
David DuBois

LaVerne,

I had the same issue with Moss side curtains. I also found a few threads in the archive with the same problem. It appears the car that Moss used for a pattern had a more upright windscreen than most of our cars. I compared them to my original curtains and they were different.

I "adjusted the fit" on mine. I used a seam ripper to remove the trim from the forward edge. I cut the curtain to match the proper angle of the windscreen, then sewed the trim back in place. I used the wifes sewing machine and had to replace a few needles. In the end, the curtains came out great.

If you decide to adjust your curtains, pay close attention to the location of the stitching that should be hidden behind the curtain frame.

Good luck!
Evan
Evan Ford - TD 27621

LED.....this may be of help. The windscreen rake on our TF 20 deg + - 1 degree.
The front edge of my original window frames (2 sets)are set at 20 deg. You can change the angle of the front by lifting the rear post mounting.
I have two sets of windows and both fit really well
I can send you some pics if you need them. email me, I think you have my address.
Colin Stafford

LED,
I adjusted the supports on my sidecurtains by cutting and rewelding them so the fit was better. I had to do this on all four sidecurtains and the fit still wasn't great. Have a good day!

John
John Progess

I have looked at the supports and thought about giving them a bit of a bend...might be enough.
gordon lawson - TD 27667

A related question...

Has anyone tried to (or is it even possible) to clean the plastic windows if they are really yellowed? I assume that if the windows are yellowed it's a much deeper condition than just on the surface. In reading about how the side curtains from Moss don't seem to fit too well....I was thinking about trying to reburbish the one's I have. They may be too far gone to restore but I figure it doesn't hurt to ask! Is there a product out there that works well to remove the yellowing?

Thanks,

Jim
Jim Rice

Jim, the clear plastic can 'easily' be replaced. If the cloth is in good condition, it's well worth putting new windows in. You're correct about the yellowing. It can be more than skin deep.
Bud Krueger

There are a couple...visit your local airport using airport transfers tunbridge wells/flying club. I use something called "Plexus" and it took the yellow out and was pretty amazing.....
gordon lawson

Rake on the windscreen is at about 21 degrees. Fabric is at about 17. Anybody have exterior dimensions for both the TF and TD side curtain?
LED DOWNEY

I had the exact same problem on my 1953 TD which is an unrestored (apparently original) car.
The problem starts with the sidecurtain frames, which have a different profile than my (apparently original) frames: they are more vertical than the originals.
Further, the pattern for the sidecurtains takes this even further. There is no way these curtains will ever fit my car. My complaints to Moss got me nowhere.
Mark Sherman

I don't have any issues with the frames (at least yet) it has to do with the fabric. Just holding it up to the openings reveals that this just won't work. I'm waiting for some dimensions form Moss. My hope s that these belong on a TD and not a TF. I'd still like to have some overall dimensions of the front side curtains off a TF and TD if somebody can get the tape out.

Thanks,

Laverne
LED DOWNEY

Laverne:

I have my passenger side curtain here on the floor and will measure and describe as I go.

Top of curtain (front to back) = 23 inches. Top of curtain to bottom of plastic window (rear of curtain) = 11 inches. Top edge of curtain to botton of swing-out flap (rear of curtain) = 20 inches. Bottom edge of angled flap (front to back) = 27 inches. Top of curtain (front) to botton of swing-out flap (front) = 15 inches. As I had indicated earlier, the plastic window length measures approximately 23 inches across the top and the length measures approximately 26 inches across the bottom.

I don't have an angle guage but eyeballing it the rake seems a bit steeper than 60 degrees...so...I used a straightedge to create a right triangle down the window itself and took the measurements as follows: base = 3.25 inches, height = 9.5 inches, hypotenuse = 10 inches. That gave me a calculated angle (top front to bottom front of the plastic window) of approximately 70 degrees +/- 1 degree. Hope that helps. At least I was able to brush-up some on my Trig!

Jim

Jim Rice

This thread was discussed between 21/04/2006 and 25/04/2006

MG TD TF 1500 index

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