The "new-style" Morgan hood looks and performs very well. However, owing to the design, it is impossible to keep it looking good when finished in mohair. If the roof is kept down for long periods the fabric is damaged by chafing against the hood frame and against itself, producing whiteish marks. When the roof is up, the front edge catches the worst of the road spray which eventually discolours the fabric (no doubt this would happen to a Simmonds hood as well).
The bonnet-style catches used to retain the rear of the roof are also poorly thought out. They are greased at service time which transfers to the tonneau as it hooks around the catches. When the tonneau is folded for storage the grease transfers to the top of the tonneau leaving black marks.
Simmonds are developing after-market over-centre catches to replace the bonnet-style catches whilst retaining the original Morgan hood.
Personally, I think the absence of a rigid frame to the edge of roof on the Simmonds frame must make access to the car a lot more comfortable as I'm constantly catching my head on the Morgan frame. Despite this, there's no way I'd pay to replace the factory hood with a Simmonds one, although I wouldn't specify mohair on the factory hood.
Last edited by uvk33n; 29/07/09 07:08 PM.
