Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Aero 8, 2012< Plus 8, SuperSports, Coupe & Aeromax Series 5 Hard Top

Anyone have any comments positive or negative regarding the Series 5 Aero 8 hard top. Just wondering if it makes the car a better touring car having the space for the soft top freed up and potentially lower wind noise?

Not sure if anyone has one - London Morgan have one in stock - worth a phone call

I talked to a S5 owner at Prescott. He said that the hard top was quieter than the soft top, but adjustment of the top to the car, or is it the car to the top, is critical if it is to be waterproof.

From talking to S5 owners I got the feeling that a properly adjusted "Easy-Up" hood is more waterproof than the one on the S5, fabric or hard....

I must be very lucky with my Aero S5 with respect to it being watertight. Drove through the worst downpour I have experienced going into Italy back in July, fully expecting to find water in the car and the boot but honestly, not a drop was found, I did have to reduce speed to about 25 as it was difficult to see but pleasantly surprised nonetheless. I did find the soft top to be a pain and because of variable weather decided to leave it up most of the tour so wondered if a hard top would give any benefits and forget the soft on long tours.
Thanks for the feedback.

Hi Ron

My hardtop will be off to Williams/factory for fettling - Peter's right, it's a bit of "fit the hood to the car" & "fit the car to the hood" - either way, it's beyond the tolerances I can manage.
But it's never leaked.
It does rattle, but it doesn't leak.

I need a polishing cloth folded around the trailing edge of the hood to stop it rattling: the boot clamps it tight shut.
I think it's that I've not got the two shoulder-height clamps working properly - maybe they could be tighter.

With that cloth, it's definitely quieter than the soft top - but in turn that relative silence got me to line my floormats with dodo sound proofing, to reduce the road noise, and let the side exhaust sound come in from the er side (rather than underneath).

And the hardtop changes the airflow to produce a pressure point in the door - by your hip. There's a definite draft (but it's dry). It's the same on both sides. Some rubber in the closure would sort it.

====

Neither hard nor soft top leak.
At all.
Through all sorts of light mist through to heavy welsh rain.

====

But both my doors do leak - even when the car's stationary, the carpet gets wet.

And both roofs could do with better lining - which would make both quieter.


Will

Hi Will,
Sounds like the hardtop is still a work in progress. Overall, would you say it has been a worthwhile addition? I wondered about trying to get a hardtop together with seeing if the bulkhead behind the seats could be made removable, assuming it’s not structural, to provide more accessible storage space for longer tours.
Interesting point about the sound deadening, do you notice any difference when using the soft top?
Has anyone tried to fix your door leaks yet, I recall you mentioning leaks in a previous post. Do you have a process for drying the carpets out or just leave them to dry naturally?

Regards Ron.

Hi Ron

Just back from the jet wash...

The hard top allowed half a dozen drips each side, at the point where the top's seal meets the header rail.. Other than that, the roof didn't leak.

I've got some fluid that feeds & expands rubber seals, so I'll try that in that area and see if it stops those final drips.

Now that Williams have fettled the fit, it doesn't rattle. Once I've got some sound deadening in the headliner, I won't have the wind noise that starts at 45mph or so.

On a damp, greasy day like today the hardtop makes the car much more useable.

Although the roof sat around all summer, I'd now say I'm glad that I have it.

Will

Hi Will,
Thanks for the up-date, I'm tempted to see if it is possible to order a hard top and give it a go. I'll check with the folks at Williams.

Thanks and a happy New Year of Aeroing in 2018.

I just post here since it's not worth to open a new thread.
I remember somebody posted a video (or a set of images) explaining how to remove and store the Aero 8 Series 5 soft top but I cannot find it anymore.
Can somebody point me in the right direction?

let's see if I can remember...

1 person method
1 while in the car, unclip the header rail catches, open the boot
2 get out of the car :-)
3 open the passenger door & pull all the poppers on the roof canvass
4 fold the roof over itself, twice, from the rear to the front, undoing the velcro wraps on the hinged crossbar
5 allow the hinged crossbar to drop
6 lift out the removable crossbar (I put it on the seats for now, and later drop it between the folds of the canvas, where it won't rattle)
7 in one movement... pull back the header rail, lifting slightly from the rear of the rail to slide free the catches. On a good day, reaching under the canvass & supporting its weight will allow both sides to slide free at the same time
8 you're now holding the roof by the end of the header rail in one hand, and have the canvass resting on your other forearm
9 take two steps back, and insert the far end of the header rail into the far corner of the storage area (which you pretty much emptied before you started all this, didn't you?)
10 lower the header rail & canvass into the slot, taking care to keep the canvass folded flat; with a bit of a shimmy the near end of the header rail will drop into the slot.
11 carefully place & straighten the folded canvass in the slot, to avoid creasing the rear window.
12 now slide the lift out crossbar that you earlier put on the front seat in-between the folds of the canvass
13 remove the two window rails, put them in their covers (so that they don't rattle) and place in the slot.
14 fix all the poppers on the storage slot cover: start at the middle, where there may or may not be an easy to identify different coloured popper stud
15 close the passenger door
16 close the boot
17 step back to admire your handiwork & the car's lines
18 Get back into the Aero & drive :-)

Believe it or not it's quick & simple once you know the sequence - less than two minutes.

+ one day I must check if the roof fits into the rear/bottom space that runs across the boot. I've been wondering about that all winter.

Will