Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) erecting the leather hood

Hi everyone,
I have just become the owner of a lovely 1988 +8.
I am having difficulty erecting the leather hood and I can't seem to find a ' how to '.
Can anyone help me?
Also, is there a knack on getting out of the car with the hood up as it seems to be a bit tight.
Many thanks

Erect the hood frame and throw the hood over the frame. Fasten the rear hood fixings first and then along the side.

Next come the fastenings to the windscreen frame; start in the middle and work your way fixing the outer ones.

It helps if the hood is warm as it will give the hood material greater flex and 'give' during assembly.

As for entry and egress, each to their own but I tend to enter one leg first, slide and bring the other leg into the car.

Enjoy your Plus Eight with or without hood erected!

Thanks, will give it a go later but does the frame stay up on its own?

Mine does not stay up on its own, you need to hold it up whilst you put the hood over it and then as you fasten the hood make sure the frame is still pulled up into the correct position.

Good point Rog!

Throwing the hood over the frame will help keep the frame erected.

Before and after fastening the windscreen studs, make sure that the individual frame hoops are not touching the clear panels or caught across a seam. You should see evidence of where it should sit on the frame hoops.

This all sounds overly complicated but it isn't really. Rather like telling someone how to open and close a car door for the first time - don't get clothes, fingers and seatbelt trapped, close firmly, don't slam, etc, etc, etc.

Cheers guys

You will find that buying a pair of the John Taylor swivel hood pivots makes the whole job much easier. Put the hood on, do up the fasteners, swing the hood frame up, rotate the swivels to tension the hood.

You can also tighten the nuts enough to make the frame stay up on its own.

i have found out to be the easyest way : fix the hood in the rear and front but not on the sides. Then pull the frame up under the hood and last fix the sides.
That way i can do it without having to pull with much effort.

I won't explain how i get in & out with the hood up... part by part

My hood frame doesn't stay in place so I use a short bungy cord from the front frame piece to my mirror. My mirror is not the type stuck to the screen but on the slide bar screwed to the scuttle and clips over the frame top...Simmonds made them. The bungy ends are easy to hook on and unhook and the bungy is long enough to not be tightly stretched.
Passenger can hold the frame as an alternative.
Swivel levers drop the frame to allow some slack in the hood...a MUST unless the hood is warm and flexible!
Rear fittings first, side fittings second, front lift the dots last starting from centre out.