HARD TOP PROJECT....

Most of the time I love to drive my +4Supersports with aeroscreens to get the full wind in the face experience...



However I have also had a hankering for a hard top to complete the "race car" look as in the original 201 launch brochure for the P4SS..




Every body said "rare as hen's teeth " to get a good top and I was quoted more than £4000 for a bespoke carbon item !!!

So eventually I was able to locate a new unfitted still wrapped carbon composite fully trimmed top of 2001 vintage destined for a LM62 model Morgan..lucky me !!!

Light as a feather and very strong..I tried it loosely on my car and overall it was a good fit....so far so good !!!



Lots still to do but very promising.

To be continued.....

So the brief to myself was to make the top fit without any major mods to the Supersports.

The hardtop came with the LM62 fittings but no body fittings.

The front of the hard top locates onto modified windscreen blades but I didn't want to drill holes or extend my original items so I had to make something that would do the job …

First purchase from Ebay was an industrial sheet metal folder ..£15 bargain.



I found by chance at a car boot for £2 four door push plates that were the required length,width thickness and even colour !!!..the thickness is important so the screws that locate the windscreen frame do not crack the screen.

There is a complicated z bend on the windscreen bracket but the folder managed it with ease.


The made brackets were covered both sides with 4mm neoprene and adjustable catches replaced the oe system.

Its going well !!!!

Ok up to date now...most of the body fittings are on and the hardtop is firmly fixed..

Neoprene seals?

Sorry posted same picture twice !!!!





Took the car out for a blast without side screens and the top held fast thankfully !!!!


I found adjustments would be needed to the sidescreens by a small amount to lower them in the door fittings.in order to avoid catching the top.

I didn't want to modify the original sidescreens and found a pair of nearly new mohair covered screens that I can get modified....possibly a machine shop job .

I found these from an old project of mine..cockpit vents which should complete the Race look




To be continued...

Looking terrific KevFitz

Where do the cockpit vents go?

Great work. Well done

I think Kev's ability to source rare parts is way more impressive.

And we have two of those round tables...……...

Stewart

The vents fix in the fixed part of the sidescreens being careful that they don't obscure the side mirrors. you need a 83 mm hole cutter and a steady hand !!!

Tables are highly recommended Dave..its where I have my breakfast every morning in my Morgan Onesie signed by Charles Morgan !!

Those pictures look brilliant Kev. Are you going to wait til it rains to check the seal or aim a hosepipe at it and sit there for a while with fingers crossed???
Ps where do you get the neoprene tape from please? We have large gaps at the back of the doors which really draw the air in when roof is up and I suspect neoprene as a seal could be the answer!!!!
Thank you
HB

Nice how this is progressing, like DW already pointed out you have great skills in resourcing materials!
Stupid question: do you expect more/similar /less noise in the cabin with the hard top compared to the soft top.
I can imagine that the smooth surface of the hard top results in less noise, whereas the hard confined space may be more prone to resonance effects. Whatever, your hard top looks great.

HeadlessBlue..got a large sheet of 4mm self adhesive neoprene for £10 on ebay...lots of use on a Morgan to eliminate draughts.

When I get the side screens modified ( next month?) I will try water tests...used to leaks so not the end of the world if there are afew dribbles..every Morgan enthusiast carries a towel in the cockpit !!!!

BertR...The hardtop has a quality deep headlining so it will be interesting to see what happens...many cars I have driven with fiberglass/unlined hardtops can give a drumming noise...I have a side exhaust near my right ear so maybe that will drown out any other noises !

It would look nice painted chequered flaggish.

Try COH Baines......

Thanks DaveW- will check the suggestion out
HB

Wow that looks superb, well done, if I was in the UK I would flop mould a few off that, carbon components are not a problem here with Emirates Team New Zealand next door.

I think it should have two yellow lines down the centre to match the rest of the car!

Good idea Graham...it might stop pigeons parking on my roof !!!

Just as an aside would any enterprising person wish to take a mold/3d scan I wonder ?

HeadlessBlue...If you have DaveWs overhyped book there is a list of material suppliers in the back !!!!

xx

Very emotionally deep was the picture with the hardtop that fascinated me so much about the P4SS in 2011. The hardtop made it so special and uniquely attractive.
Now you have the car in the way it was promised to all of us, thanks to your skills. Congratulations!

It might encourage the pigeons by offering a landing strip

But on the other hand, it'll stop people parking on it...

Just realised the rear window is glass..made by Tyneside Toughened with the Morgan wings stamped in it.

Didn't do much today but strip down spare set of sidescreens and cut 83mm hole ready for cockpit vents.

Will probably have to drop screen by a few mms by increasing length of channel..but will offer up when all body fixings in place.

Thanks Kev- I do and will have a look. Looked at the website proffered earlier but was unclear what I was looking at with loadsa weird shaped “outlines”. No rush so am confident will get there
Ciao for now
HB

You have done well, Obi Wan..

It looks fantastic, our Kev...!!

Why do seagulls in York have large wings..?

To beat you to the tip, apparently.

Look harder HB, they do a self adhesive sponge seal on a roll........1001 uses!

what does the Team think of this option for sidescreens ?






Has anybody seen Rob Wells race car in the flesh..the sidescreen lower section appear just to be a fabric cover ?

I'm not keen Kev, though I have toyed with the idea of making some one-piece perspex sidescreens, because I think the cars look better without the fill between the door and the sliding window section at the top but SWMBO doesn't like being a passenger with no sidescreens. Problems would be making them rigid enough and not being able to open them, which you might want to do with the roof up. The aircraft vents you're using would certainly help with ventilation. I bet there's someone out t here that's already done that?

You can get Lexan 8 or even 10mm thick so they would be rigid

I think the lower section would quickly get scratched.

I like the Perspex lower screen. I’d buy a large sheet and renew them now and again. I wonder how it would look with a horizontal hinge halfway up, as on the 2CV?
Could someone photoshop that?

SFG..spooky..that was also an option I considered !!!

I have a blank canvas as the oe sidescreens will be kept untouched.

Don't know how to photo shop that but would love to see it !!!

I have a large sheet of 6mm lexan which I used for a aeroscreen option...great to work with.

I think this is the way to go Kev.

It should look really 'special' with the hard top fitted too......

James

How about the lower sidescreen section in painted ally to match the paint job?

https://tm-img.com/images/2019/07/11/solid-sidescreen.jpg

just a rough visual

Well the team from just north of Stamford say.... ooooh we like....👍👍
HB

Very nice!

Thank you jbk..nice work !!

Great work Kevfitz, looks fanastic

Very nice Kev, I like it well done

I would call it medium rare, just how I like it.

Progress to date …(hope you're not bored !!!!)

NO FEMALE CONTENT OR COMMENTS ON WOMEN IN GENERAL !!!

It is only when you undertake a project like this that you realise how each Morgan is different in measurements ..even on the same car from side to side !!!

I have not made any changes to the top itself and only fitted 2 removable body fittings as per the LM62 fittings.

So I had to modify the spare pair of side screens .

Simply had to strip the screens and elongate the slots in the stainless steel fittings.

As I'm sure you know stainless is not easy to drill so I bought a 10mm Dormer bit (£8),measured many times,drilled a hole with lots of lubricant and then using an angle grinder (my favourite tool!) elongated the slot


So far so good !!!..Its actually great to drive around without the lower half in this warm spell.

I have decided to make some removable lower parts from shiny shiny aluminium .

Thoughts on cardboard template please ?

Notice fitted cockpit vents.

I don't have a cardboard template to give you my thoughts but IMHO it would look nice in white.

Looking good. Yes I think white would be good.

Looks good Kev. I also think white might look better than shiny aluminium. Maybe you could make them in aluminium then paint them if you're not happy with the look, after all it's you that you need to please more than us (and you'll never get a consensus, that's the beauty of being able to mod. Mogs. to our own taste).

I'd go for body colour whilst maintaining the integrity of the racing white circle, to me it will look unbalanced otherwise IMHO as Steve says though it's your choice only.

The roof itself is looking really good.

Remember the two colour rule..!

Old English White roof, so that roundel needs changing to match, and either match the lower window to that or match the body colour.

But shiny aluminium..? Who on earth would have THAT on their car..??

Agree, body colour or ivory to match the roof and change your roundels to Ivory (or whatever that creamy colour roof is)

Jobs a good un

Yep. I reckon body colour but with the roundel picked out to match the door roundel.

that looks great Kev. - very impressed so far

re. the cardboard template - not sure it would stand up to the wet weather; maybe aluminium sheet would work better.....

James

I really like that Kev.

You've also made me miss my Plus 4 SS even more...

Thanks Gents for your encouraging (except JBW OF course!!! ) comments.

Remember the original car in the brochure had yellow roundals which might be an option also.

Simon can you remember the series number and the colour of your P4SS ?


Regards

I'm not that old

Car 60/60 and it was Iris Blue.

It ended up with another forum member but I'm not sure if he is still active on TM.

Haa haa

Thanks I now have info on 32 of the 60 cars produced.

Depending on how much info you are keeping - it was fitted with the track pack (cage, belts, fire system, etc) from the factory.

Aluminium sides with engine turning / perlage would look fab IMO Hhhhhmm, might has a stab at that myself :-)
The hard top looks fantastic by the way !!

Oh, somebody mention engine turned, of course hailing from the peoples republic of South Yorkshire, mine are of course stainless steel

Making provision for elbow room was mentioned by a couple of the Collective....

Found this on the back of a scrap washing machine....what do you think ?

The washing machine was a Hotpoint Turbo 2 …..would this mean I could claim to have a Turbo P4SS ?


Answers on a post card to ….

It needs an engine turned finish

You could take it out for a spin.

Your're all washed up you lot !!!

My head's in a spin.

did someone say gin?

TM Collective the final post on the Hardtop saga....

150 miles in heavy rain today York to Newcastle and back...

Very cosy with hardtop on..two drips on header rail (just like soft top !!!!) and a few drips round the door tops mainly when parked.

No quieter or nosier than soft top..all fixings held well.

The side exhaust sounds a deeper note for some reason..not an unpleasant sound by any means!!!!

I think it was Robert Duval in Apocalypse Now that said "I love the smell of neoprene in the morning " and I have some self adhesive strip which should seal the modified sidescreens,

Not sure what to do about header rail..not a big problem as any Morgan Enthusiast travels with his own body weight in towels as you all know !!!

I have gone with home made aluminium screen bottoms for the moment...both of which are quick release for those warm days.

All in all I like the looks of the car and the extra option...can anybody be ar*s*d to calculate all the driving permutations: aeroscreens/tonneau cover/standard screen/sidescreens on /off etc !!!



Thanks for your comments..

Next project convert into a camper van !!!

Looks really good Kev

Great work.

Re the header rail leak
1) How close is the profile of the heater rail on the hard top to that of the windscreen and can this be adjusted?
2) Is it worth the effort?

Don’t forget - now you have a hard top, you also have the option of a roof rack or top box - capable of carrying many more towels than with just the hood or aeroscreens.

Fantastic job, well done indeed.

Well done glad you are happy with it, be a good lad and put the Aero screens back on though as you get far less summer up there than we do on the "English Riviera"

To seal the header rail on my hard top, I used a length of 3 mm rubber extrusion. Works perfectly as it stops the water creeping up & over the screen. I also lubed the header rubber with silicone grease. Both suggested by a member TM.

Looks great, nice job I especially like those circular vents.

Very interested in the camper van thing - thats missing on mine as well;-)

Ahem..

Space for your bike too..

You're welcome.

I was thinking more like this !!!!….

Had you down as an overtaker not an undertaker for Uncle Melvyn.

Needs more neoprene.

Bit of a change from aeros only. Well done.

Nice work Kev!

Like this?

That's a beauty you got there Bob

You have done an amazing job there Kev. What are the aerodynamics like compared to the normal soft top? Apologies if you’ve already commented on this....
HB

Thanks, Rich. Still getting used to the driving.

It must have been a bit of an epic journey from down South I would think, is it suiting J now all round I hope so.

I never had you down as a German Star driver

We are trying it out this Monday for three days down to Darlington to see her Dad. I'll let you know how we get on.

Ok final final picture before I remove hardtop and enjoy the last few hours of summer !!!

Got it well secured and reasonably water tight ( as good as the hood anyway !!!)

I do like driving with it on..nice and cosy and a different look and sound.

If I was rich like the famous author DaveW I would buy a second Supersports to run with normal roof/aeroscreens !!!

In fact might be marginally cheaper to buy another P4SS and do that rather than part/ex my car for a new +6 !!

That does look great. Well done.

Forgot to mention 159 louvres now ...but who's counting !!!!


Goodbye x

Kev...

Looks beautiful...a thing of purpose at rest...

Good job, mate.

I like the continuation roundel on the aluminium...…..I almost suggested that.

So yesterday, MrsW was buggering about as usual...…….can't remember exactly what...…..

So I said "Just stop buggering about and get it sorted"

Then she says...…………."I bet you wouldn't say that to Kev"

"Kev who?" I said.

Cheeky...

Anyway I just can't stop folding metal with my ebay purchased folder !!!!

Nothing straight in my shed anymore !!!..including me !!!

I wish somebody would borrow it !!!!..anybody need it for a project in Yorkshire !!!

Got enough ali left so will make another pair of lower sidescreens and paint them body colour for another option.

Saw this at autojumble at weekend for £50..off an MGB..wonder if it will fit a shiney bonneted Roadster ?

Brilliant, Kev!
I'd love to do something like that with Tarka, but two stumbling blocks...

Tarka is wider than a Trad, so even if I could find a hard top it wouldn't fit. So a custom manufacture would be needed.
The Easy up hood would have to be removed. OK, that would mean the spigots on the hood rail could be used to secure the rear of the hood.

So, for now it is a concept... but I urge you to get the hood 3D laser scanned so further examples could be made!

Peter

Looks like a Bermuda hard top
.

They looked alright on a B if you had to have a roof on it.

The Omnibob was the best hardtop for MGs...………

The Bermuda was top heavy to look at...….I had two Omnibobs and one Bermuda...….

I had an MGB GT but got rid in 6 months it was heavy and too slow for my taste. Mrs R thought so too after the GTE.

Nice work Kev, looks good

That roundel is nicely aligned too