Just a couple of questions re Aero hard top.

1. How good is it? fit/weather proofing?

2. Is it easy to fit on and off?

3. Is it worth having?

4. Whats it look like on the car?

Question Questions

1. How good is it? fit/weather proofing?

I don't have one but spoke with Andrew about his and he said when the factory first fitted it, he had a minor leak (I believe from the side window seal). However, he had it re-fitted and I believe it seemed better/water tight.

2. Is it easy to fit on and off?

Not sure but as I said, Andrew had his fitted by the factory, so perhaps it needs to be set to the car in the first instance and then can be fitted by the owner subsequently?

3. Is it worth having?

I'll let you know after I use my Aero in the first heavy rain

4. Whats it look like on the car?




I'm sure others will have more information but that gives you a start,

Thanks Simon

It looks pretty good on the grey car, I will have to see what santa brings.

Andrews car was done in the same scheme as the Aeromax, Gunmetal outside and a nice 'cognac' coloured leather inside. It did look very nice and the hardtop really set it off.:thumbs:

Are you planning to use the car daily? Because if not, the hardtop may be overkill.

In no time you'll get used to the cold and end up having the top down a lot more than you expect! The heater is very good and if you wear a nice heavy coat, the only thing that gets cold is the top of your head/ears. (a hat would solve this but I'm worried about ruining my most fashionable male status by wearing a biggles-like flying cap! )

I am more worried about the cost of re styling my wife's hair every time I put the roof down, I prefer the brighter days as we are having now for top down driving with the heater on.

I just wondered if a Aero with a hard top could be a poor mans Aeromax!!!!!!!!! I wish.

Does anyone know if these are available on the Series I (ie narrow body) cars?
(was the GTN a narrow body car or was it a Series II as I assume they had hard tops...)

GTN was a narrow body series I car but I'm not sure if they only made enough for the GTN's. As a GTN owner I find the top quite useful but like most Morgans it leeks and they didn't get the seals quite right.

Thanks GTN.
I'm sure I could get one made by the factory (if someone made them for the GTN then they would I'm sure be able to make more...) However if it leaks I may as well stick with the soft top. Leaves more money for performance mods instead!

Oh away with you all - you're all soft!

I have no problem with the wind affecting my hairstyle

Andy

Though Andrews car does look so good with the hardtop!

I have an Aero 2002 MK i
When i brought the car from Mole Valley (Aug 2006) I was told that i could have a hard top, so I asked them to order one. About 3 weeks later they told me that you could only have one for a 2003 car or later so I was out of luck, a little anoying I may have waited to find a 2003 car if I knew befor I brought one. I think as the 2003 is also a MKi the diffrence is how the hood fits to the windscreen mine has a big bit of Ash attached to the hood with 2 metal spikes that clamp through the metal bar on the top of the windscreen I think the 2003 has some diffrent type of fitting. I have just asked Mole Valley to tell me if the screen / hood can be changed to alow a hard top I am waiting for there reply. I drive the car a few times every week in all weather and the last few weeks I have got a little few up of having a wet arm where rain drips through the door/ hood join.

How convienient they did not know until after you had bought the car!!!!!!

Neil,

Have you spoken to the factory about this? Or just via a dealer?

Simon

Hi Chaps
My feeling on the hard top - it looks great, improves the car's lines,cuts down on wind noise & makes the car safer although it's only 99.9% water tight. It comes on and off well enough with a couple of fiddley bolts in about 5 mins and it's reasonably priced. If anybody has any detailed queries let me know. Hope to see some of you at RT drinks next week.
Andrew

Have not had too much time to talk to the factory at the moment but plan to. Also going to speak to a second dealer and see what they think. It was very convenient that mole valley didn

2002 Aero - gap at back of side window, & gap above side window at > 70mph !!
Provides a cooling breeze to dry my Left leg from the leak from the heater vent!!
Part of the character - much better with roof down

Hi Neil

I think Steve Simonds sail he was developing a new Aero hood he may be worth a call.

I've ordered a hardtop so will be interesting to see how well it fits and the ease of use. Many years ago I had the knack of removing the hardtop off a Mercedes 350SL I had on my own, not recommended but always managed it fine until one day ...............

Put a nice deep gouge in the boot paintwork. Never did it on my own again!

Andrew's car did look great with the hard top fitted: -

There is a solution: a hardtop lift.
Unfortunately this is a German web site only but the pictures are more important than the words and I'm quite sure Germany is not the only country where this kind of lifts are available:

Hardtop Lift

Roderich

"For the man who has everything"

...but enough hands for the hardtop

Roderich

Just read through this for the first time, i have an early narrow bodies series one and a hard top! :shock: i know haha. Dunno how my car came about having it though. But its pretty much atertight bar a tiny gap at the front edge where water can drip between it and the window right onto your right knee

Although, the top wasn't built to fit the glass windows and had race pollycarb windows, so i now have to go and make a few bits of fiberglass to bond onto the hard top to follow the curve of the window, so i get a proper seal.

James, as a guess, I'd say that your Aero 8 has a top fitted that would be very similar to the Aero 8 GTN. These were produced for the Aero 8 LeMans / Race prepped Morgans before being marketed actively to customers.

Yeah i think it is a race one. Just a shame they didn't make the wondow curve the same as the GTN, but will soon re do that!

hey!!!!
that is part of the Morgan tradition
seems like you have a "TRAD" version of an Aero

love that car, hope to see irl once
(scotland????)

Funny thing is, when i had my trad it never leaked there haha. Or at all really, just in the boot bit.

Yeah mate definately! If your ever over here (before the lap) give me a shout

hmmm, a bit far from Brussels, maybe next year...april fine for you????

april is good haha, will give a shout if im over your way too lol

BMW offered a hard top lift as an accessory for the E46 3 series convertible including M3.

It might still be available.

I collected my car with the hard top fitted. The design of the rubbers did not look condusive to being watertight. The windows press against the rubber and the rubber seal where it meets the windscreen piullar was on a slight downward slop, perfect for water to sit and then work its way through the join.

Sure enough some water got in. Took it back to the factory where they changed the rubber seals completely so that the window closes into a groove and the hardtop became totally watertight.

Removing it was easy although to be on the safe side I got someone to help me lift it off the car and carry it to the garage. It is a lot lighter than the old steel hardtop on my SL!

As yet, I haven't tried refitting it. Will wait until November time.

I bought and fitted window rubbers to mine as it didn't have any being a racing hard top and its great, removal and fitting is so easy and can be done by one person, always easier with 2 but as it weighs as much as a mouses fart, its easy, 2 bolts along the back, 2 nuts on the windscreen top and 2 self tappers, one either side. Takes a total of 5 minutes to get off and on and is really watertight

It think there is some company that could "mold" a perspex rear window to the shape required for your particular application. not saying it will be cheap though

Ach none of that! Just make it myself Pollycarbonate is very easy to work with and mould to the shape you want. Perspex or acrylic not so much as its very brittle when cutting and can snap pretty easy.

Although just re-reading your post, what is it exactly rear window wise im needing? The only bit that is leaking is the edge between the front corner of the side window and the hard top, there is a slight gap their.

I did however make and fit a new pollycarb rear window to my aero hardtop as the last one had holes drilled in it for racing.

ok, I didn't see you had replaced it already

for your leak can you not adjust the window mecanism (mechanical or electrical side) so it rise a bit higher?

haha its only like a 1 mm gap, but unfortunately no as they are pollycarb race windows til i get the wiring loom for the doors again.
just needs another wee bit of seal to fit in the gap

ok, it was a well set up track car then! didn't realise that.

haha yeah its ridiculously stripped lol.