I will ask for the the unfitted hood when the time comes and will be interested to see the outcome.
Regards
Mike
As the hoods are fitted to the car, you may find it is of no particular use as it won't necessarily fit another car. It will be of no use to cars having an old style hood as they don't have holes for the bonnet-style catches at the rear. As the new style hood is fairly new, there won't be many owners needing to replace theirs, even if it would fit. Factor in your choice of colour and the liklihood of selling it is probably quite slim. Once you have the Simmonds hood fitted it won't fit your car so you may as well throw it in a skip. Something of a Pyrrhic victory methinks.
The factory hood is of equal quality to the Simmonds one. It has disadvantages but so does the Simmonds hood. Having examined the Simmonds hood at the open-day on Saturday, I believe that on balance the factory hood is the better of the two. However, it is undoubtedly a good bit of kit for someone who has a traditional style hood. As you're probably going to have to pay for it you may as well try using it.
I would echo Boshly's sentiments about not wanting to spoil the great atmosphere when you visit the factory. If you are unhappy about the prospect of having to pay for a hood and not being supplied with one, you can always buy a second-hand car or another marque. Charging for leaving things off isn't unknown.
This completely echoes my thoughts, I am on my seventh Morgan and I have taken delivery of quite a number of them direct from the factory and I have always found everyone at the factory to be more than helpful. My Series I had a multiplicity of problems which were dealt with by the factory without any problems, including fitting a completely new hood under warranty; amongst other issues.
I'm sure that if we want to get into a pi$$ing competition about cars with problems I, and I am sure most of us, can quote many examples. In my own case, a new XJ8 (new back-axle within the first 700 miles) and Mercedes CLK430 (electric gremlins that were never really completely sorted during our ownership), etc, etc, to name but two! I feel that it's the quality of response to a problem that makes the difference and from my experience MMC can't be faulted on this aspect of customer service.
With respect Mike, it seems that you want to set a trap for the company and human nature being what it is I feel that you will be the only one who is disappointed in the long run. I would get a ruling from the factory on the hood when you order your car, and then you know the situation and as uvk33n says, you can then decide whether you want to proceed on that basis or order another marque or buy a second-hand Morgan.
