Soft top repair

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Soft top repair

toyonut

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#143943 2-May-2014 14:25

Anyone know who to go to to have a soft top repaired? In particular, I need a new back window for my mgf and would be good to know who to take it to.

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Rickles

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#1036320 4-May-2014 10:11

Where in NZ are you?

ubernoob

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#1036333 4-May-2014 10:36

Try these guy's http://www.mgcarclubnz.org.nz/ clubs in Auckland ,Wellington, Otago and Canterbury
They may have guy's who can help or recommend

toyonut

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#1037308 5-May-2014 20:32

I'm in Auckland.
Cheers, will try the MG car clubs too.

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DravidDavid

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#1037606 6-May-2014 10:57

Ever so slightly off topic...But has the MG given you any trouble other than the roof. Most of the people I talk to tell me they are British crap that over-heat and blow up all the time. But I still want one because they are SO MUCH FUN to drive!

BTR

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#1037664 6-May-2014 12:06

DravidDavid: Ever so slightly off topic...But has the MG given you any trouble other than the roof. Most of the people I talk to tell me they are British crap that over-heat and blow up all the time. But I still want one because they are SO MUCH FUN to drive!

I see there has been no reply in over 12 hours, maybe he's on the side of the motorway in a cloud of steam. Joking, any car that is looked after is reliable, I would love an MG myself but don;t have the space.

Re the OP, try contacting an automotive upholsterer.

toyonut

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#1037701 6-May-2014 13:04

I wouldn't recommend one unless you can do things yourself.
The roof design is crap, the bolts holding the car together seem to be made of cheese, The K series engine, despite the VVT, is rubbish from the 80's that should not still be going today and all of them bar none have head gasket problems even if looked after perfectly (rover used plastic pegs in the original cars to hold the head in place before you bolted it on and these can move so even head alignment is a pig). The Hydragas suspension is now old enough to cause major problems and the one manufacturer who still made the units stopped after Rover disappeared. It is also way to complicated despite its technical merits. The car leaks because they decided open cell foam would be fine to make seals. The rear PVC windows are crap on all of them. The coolant system is a nightmare, I could go on and on.
I only have one because my father in law got a company car and gave it to me. It was his pride and joy but he has no technical skill, or much mechanical sympathy, so kept on driving while it was overheating which is a big nono.
It is a lot more fun than my Honda Logo which was killing my soul to drive though. I can just tinker away on it when I can so that is fun as well as the fun driving it. As long as it does not cost too much I will just keep it going.

In short, save yourself the heartache, buy an MX5, an MR2, an S2000 or just about anything else. I am getting an MX5 when I get finally rid of the MG.

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DravidDavid

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#1038063 7-May-2014 08:09

paulmilbank: I wouldn't recommend one unless you can do things yourself.
The roof design is crap, the bolts holding the car together seem to be made of cheese, The K series engine, despite the VVT, is rubbish from the 80's that should not still be going today and all of them bar none have head gasket problems even if looked after perfectly (rover used plastic pegs in the original cars to hold the head in place before you bolted it on and these can move so even head alignment is a pig). The Hydragas suspension is now old enough to cause major problems and the one manufacturer who still made the units stopped after Rover disappeared. It is also way to complicated despite its technical merits. The car leaks because they decided open cell foam would be fine to make seals. The rear PVC windows are crap on all of them. The coolant system is a nightmare, I could go on and on.
I only have one because my father in law got a company car and gave it to me. It was his pride and joy but he has no technical skill, or much mechanical sympathy, so kept on driving while it was overheating which is a big nono.
It is a lot more fun than my Honda Logo which was killing my soul to drive though. I can just tinker away on it when I can so that is fun as well as the fun driving it. As long as it does not cost too much I will just keep it going.

In short, save yourself the heartache, buy an MX5, an MR2, an S2000 or just about anything else. I am getting an MX5 when I get finally rid of the MG.

I've heard all about the head gasket problems. A radiator hose went south on my dad's 1996 MGF and it was $700.00 to replace it. It had special bends and joiners, which meant it had to be 650 dollars more than a regular radiator hose!

I've looked at the MX5, but it's not really my bag. The MR2 has similar problems to the head gasket issue of the MG, the S2000 is over-priced everywhere I look...I think I'll just end up settling on the 2006 RX-8 Type S. It's probably the most technically needy of all of them, but looking after it is half the fun!

Fred99

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#1038442 7-May-2014 16:06

AFAIK the head gasket problems with the MR2 are cooling system related - compounded by mid engine plumbing needs and poor maintenance and servicing (bleeding properly is crucial), so not so bad. The K series rover, as well as what's mentioned above with locating dowels, has wet sleeve cylinders in an alloy block, and alloy heads subject to softening and subsequent damage from the loose cylinder sleeves. AFAIK redesigned head gasket and steel locating pins which are available aren't a cure-all. My mechanic had one - and has nothing nice to say about them mechanically.
I'm surprised that you say that MGF (or TF with VVT) is so much fun to drive, but are blase about MX5s, as performance of the Nb 1.8 is similar to the VVT MGTF of the same era. A "well set up" MX5 (which means more-or-less completely stock and untampered) are one of the most neutral well-balanced road cars I've ever driven. I say un-tampered, because some of the ones I've driven have aftermarket mags, heavy and probably with the wrong offset, much wider tyres with very low profile tyres, then because this has started to turn a beautifully handling little car into a pig, the owner "upgrades" the suspension to something way too hard to try and fix it, and ends up with a car that feels and behaves like it's running on wooden wheels. S2000 is like an MX5 on steroids, instead of hitting a rev-limiter at 7000-7500rpm depending on MX5 model, the early ones pull through to 9000rpm. They weigh 20% more than an MX5, yet have 50% more HP. Very impressive engines. MX5 engine is more-or-less "from the parts bin" - to keep them cheap. Similar setup though - 50:50 weight distribution, some MX5s share the same 6 spd Aisin gearbox and Torsen diff (ratios presumably not the same) as used in the Honda. Of course the S2000s cost more. They cost a lot more new, with that much more power, everything else (brakes, suspension components etc) also costs more - MX5 makes do with pressed steel suspension arms to keep costs down, S2000 uses alloy etc.

lxsw20

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#1038483 7-May-2014 17:03

What version MR2 has head gasket issues? The older SW20s die of oil starvation if not maintained but other than that a pretty reliable car.

Fred99

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#1038525 7-May-2014 18:41

lxsw20: What version MR2 has head gasket issues? The older SW20s die of oil starvation if not maintained but other than that a pretty reliable car.

I think it is SW20s. It's not a head gasket issue as such. It's a potential problem with many cars - if you let the coolant level get low - or replace coolant without bleeding - then you run the risk of air-lock in the head. It's not like the old days with filler cap above the level of the head, and a return tube back to the filler cap.