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Top+Sidecurtains

Last post 07-28-2009, 10:36 PM by Dick Mason. 1 replies.
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  •  07-22-2009, 11:53 PM 20365

    Top+Sidecurtains

    Hey everybody,

    after I finally got my car back on the road (done repairing the gearbox) I figured its time to install a new top and do the curtains. The roof I had up in no time and it fits nicely, but the curtains/panels are a hunk of junk I have to say.... They came with the car when I bought it last year as well as the top. Both are Califonia-made....So all I was supposed to do is to srew the panels to the metal frame/brakets "at the wright position". And thats just it....since the contours of the car are just the way they are, and the fact that the frames are only to be mounted in ONE way, these panels that I got are a total mess. Beside the fact that they don't close at the top, the brain who created them tried to be helpful by sewing around the window cutout...the result being stiching holes right through the window !!!! I can't even fix them since that idiot did mark those seams (the ones that shouldn't be there) from the good side (outside) of the panel. So even by removing the thread, cutting out the damaged window + replacing it....I'll still have ugly markings on a tan panel that doesn't even fit the body .....

    So all this said I was wondering if any of you guys and girls had similar experiences and wanna give me some feedback on this...

    And just so u know before responding..... I am a professional car-trimmer and run my own shop....so I think I know what I'm doing.

    Greetings,

    Marc

  •  07-28-2009, 10:36 PM 20451 in reply to 20365

    Re: Top+Sidecurtains

    Marc:  Looking at your photo, you've got a TD, but I can't tell whether it's got a 2-bow (early) or 3-bow (later) set of "hood sticks" - top frame.  The reason I mention that is because the side window frames are different.  If you've got the wrong set, things just won't line up well.  The early side frames have a 90 degree upper aft corner, the later 3-bow set have radius corners.

    Two restoration books have detailed "How-to" descriptions on mounting the side curtains to the frames.  Malcolm Green's "MG T Series Restoration Guide" has some information of general use (p. 124,125).  The better reference is Horst Schach's "The Complete MG TD Restoration Manual".  He has an entire chapter on installing the top and side curtains.  Pages 194-196 detail the side curtain steps, and he does mention being careful to position the interior seam so it does not fall inside the framework, as the stitching holes will show when trimming the cloth away.  I highly recommend Schrach's book to anyone working on "T"-series cars.