The Easy Up Hood was introduced by Morgan in about 2003. It’s a conventional style “convertible” hood, similar to that you find on most modern soft top cars. When it’s down it rests on the body frame behind the drivers head, so it’s always visible, a bit like a pram hood when it’s folded down. To erect the hood the driver only has to lift it up and clip it in place, so it’s easy and quick. This is it’s main advantage, plus it is also quieter and keeps out the rain better than a Traditional Hood, particularly in the Mohair version (the standard is vinyl and mohair costs extra).
The Traditional Hood is the original Morgan hood, used since the first Morgan 4 wheelers in the 30’s. It’s also called a stud hood. To erect it you pull up the metal frame at the rear of the cabin and drape the hood over the frame, fastening the buttons on the roof into the studs on the wind screen and frame. It takes time to do, it’s fiddly and you can hurt your fingers. If you do it the wrong way you can damage or crack the windscreen. When its fitted the Traditional Hood looks lovely as you can see the studs around the screen and the sides. The hood is also slung a bit lower, giving the car more of a rakish look than an Easy Up. When the Traditional Hood comes of, it is removed entirely from the frame and left in the garage or stowed behind the seats, so it can’t be seen and the car has a nice, smooth line. The advantage is that the traditional Hood looks so much more attractive up and down and its the original Morgan hood (but there will be plenty that disagree). The disadvantage is that the hood is cumbersome and awkward to erect and the weather and sound proofing is not as good.
Phew