Hard Top Colour Match

'Am hoping to search out a used hard top this Spring for my recently re-acquired MGTF 135 (2005), as its not had one it its history...

My vehicle is colour navy blue, which I am not changing.

Depending on what I find, I wondered as well as the obvious re-spray to ensure it is navy blue also, are there who like to see a colour contrast between body colour and hood colour? Or maybe that's a no-no (at least for the purists) or just plain daft?

Cheers

Unless you are fortunate in landing one with the correct colour code, I would go for black.
It complements any car unless it’s a black one with a different code & oddly black ones appear less expensive.
A few weeks ago one was knocked down on eBay for 99p & yes you read that correctly, I paid £40 for mine & after fitting a fresh head lining, touching up the odd mark it’s grand.
However had it been much more I wouldn’t have bothered, why have a rag top, put a lid on it & cocoon yourself inside. You also need to store it when normal service is resumed.
Anyway who’s going to appreciate your combover if you don’t allow other road users to see it standing straight up, caught in a swirling vortex, if your totally enclosed.
(If you have a combover & are sensitive about it there is a helpline number you can ring). Or you can man up & embrace it.
M

Airportable wrote:

Unless you are fortunate in landing one with the correct colour code, I would go for black.
It complements any car unless it’s a black one with a different code & oddly black ones appear less expensive.
A few weeks ago one was knocked down on eBay for 99p & yes you read that correctly, I paid £40 for mine & after fitting a fresh head lining, touching up the odd mark it’s grand.
However had it been much more I wouldn’t have bothered, why have a rag top, put a lid on it & cocoon yourself inside. You also need to store it when normal service is resumed.
M

I agree with Airportable. I Bought one for £120 and had to do a lot of work on that one to replace a sagging headlining, repair the (detached) wire to the HRW element and general clean-up scratches etc. I have only used it twice in two years: The main problem is that to fit it you need one person each side of the car, you need an under-cover area to make the change, unless you wait for a dry, windless day to make the change, AND you need somewhere to hang the hardtop when not in use.

I have now "Invested" in a second hand hood with a glass HRW. The poor visibility (through discoloured murky plastic) and lack of HRW was why I initially bought a hardtop for winter use. My wife is no longer able to lift the weight of "her" side of the hardtop, so I now have a hardtop hanging in the garage which I am unlikely to ever use again!

I was going to add that the other benefit of a glass rear window in the softop is the relative speed of changing from "Al-Fresco" to "Protected from the elements". The plastic screen should be un-zipped to prevent it from being bent and cracked/split when cold, which is exactly what happened to my plastic screen when I lowered the hood without bothering to un-zip the screen. Those of us who still have a intact plastic rear screen will be familiar with the (IMO) impossibility of zipping-up the plastic screen once the hood has been raised as a result of an unexpected downpour. I used to have to leave the hood clips un-latched to allow enough slack to allow the zip to be closed. VERY frustrating and damp-clothes on me & wife was always the result of that "brilliant" bit of design. I see that freelacer has "recently re-acquired MGTF 135 (2005)" so that presumably came with the glass rear screen so the comment earlier in THIS paragraph do not apply to you, but WILL be relevant to anyone with a plastic rear screen car, who is considering a hard top to achieve clear rear vision and rain-proof motoring.

If yours previously hasn't had a hardtop on you will probably need to add a hrw switch (in the console) and relay (plugs into the fusebox). Those were the only parts lacking as the loom was pre wired for these parts. Check you have the cable and connector for hrw
at the back under the parcel shelf. Again these were installed on all cars but were usually taped out of the way if a hard top wasn't being supplied.

I've now put my hardtop on for the winter. I'm glad I've got the hard top but it is something bulky that needs storing when off the car. Some claim they can put a hardtop on and off on their own as they aren't unreasonably heavy but they are an awkward thing to carry and position so most would tell you it's definitely quicker and safer with 2 people. The hrw terminals on the glass itself are a bit vulnerable as they can be too easilly knocked against the sides of the (collapsed) soft top frame.

The storage of a hardtop & the physical act of removing it, are the major stumbling blocks of ownership.
You only find out about these shortcomings once you have arrived home & want to go back to ragtop. That is when the wife plays her significant role, not by helping you remove it but by pointing out all her objections to you buying the “thing” have come to fruition.
I have room in the garage above the car into which the top can tuck & I’ve designed & made a pulley system allowing me to lift it off or drop it back, quickly & on my own.
Do remember that if you need to access the engine compartment to do even menial tasks, change the plugs for example, will require its removal. That problem is compounded if you need to have work done at a garage, where the intricacies of its removal & subsequent refitting may not be second nature.
M