Jump to content

Recommended Posts

My hood on the 4a was last renewed n 1985 so was looking a bit sad:

 

1/ Very faded

2/ Webbng shot

3/ Front rubber seal shot

4/ Rear fasteners for hood cover were incorrect, (they should have been lift the dot not buttons)

5/ Windows dirty and glazed.

 

The hood is very high quality fabric and I contemplated buying a new one. However, after the suspension/spring upgrades and new wire wheels the kitty was rather depleted. The actual fabric was in pretty good condition so I set about overhauling it. So I stripped it off the frame apart from the front bar. Then:

 

1/ Bought Renovo soft top cleaner and black soft top reviver. I have to say the results are fantastic.

2/ New webbing from Moss

3/ New rubber seal from Moss

4/ New lift the dot studs

5/ A lot of elbow grease with Renovo window polish

 

Results, comments and hints for other people contemplating this task:

 

1/ The results after cleaning and applying one coat of black reviver are FANTASTIC. Far exceeding my expectations. One 1/2 litre bottle is enough for one coat with a little left over.

2/ De-riveting the webbing was easy, just be sure to mark up the new webbing with hole marks using the old webbing as a template and get 2 new rear webbing retainer wires from Moss

3/ The new front rubber seal was a sod to fit into the channel. The main reason was that when the channel was originally riveted onto the frame the guy who did it did a poor job. The rivet heads were well proud of the base of the channel so the rubber would not seat over the rivets. His rivet mandrel was obviously too big. Drilled out and changed these rivets . Warming the rubber slightly helped get it into the channel.

4/ The lift to dot pegs shown in a well known parts supplier catalogue were not the correct type. What was needed were the bolt on types.(also the price of the wrong ones were £3.10 each whereas the correct ones from Woolies were £8 for a bag of 10 !!!!

5/ The Renovo window polish is a marked improvement but really hard work. Does any member have ideas on a better product? However, I may just buy replacement panes of plastic or even shape the plastic myself. I am sure my local furniture upholsterer would be able to stitch them in.

Any one know where I can obtain the clear plastic?

 

All in all I am very happy with the results all at a fraction of the cost of a replacement. I consider myself to have very average engineering skills but I found the work relatively easy and quite fascinating. If any member wishes to do the same overhaul, just get on and do it. If I can I am sure you can, I will leave it or a few weeks and decide if the fabric needs a second coat of Renovo

 

When I work out how to post pictures I will show the result,

 

Car is now ready for the summer roads. A trip to Croatia is planned but the other half is pushing me to put MX5 seats in. Please note that is just after I refurbished and recovered my originals! No wonder the kitty is bare,

`

Hope you found this useful

 

Cheers all

 

Simon

 

PS Woolies are great for trim bits at a really good prices,

 

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

I thought TR4A used Lift The Dot studs across the back to secure the fabric to the rail, with 3 durable dots on each of the side that are released to enable folding. The cars went all durable dot (metal then plastic) at TR250-5-6

 

try

https://www.comdir.co.uk/lift-the-dot-fasteners-eyelet-fixing-stud-type.html

 

Peter W

Edited by BlueTR3A-5EKT
Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Peter

You are very correct. However, when my car was re-commissioned in 1986 with a new hood, the hood was put on with all the fasteners as durable dots. It was not until I could not put the hood cover on did I notice the error. The hood cover has been flapping around for 31 years! When I overhauled the hood I put in the correct lift the dot pegs. Initially I bought the pegs as per the part number in the Moss catalogue. They were the press in type and I could not get them to fit properly through the frame and the fabric so I changed them for threaded ones that secure with a nut. Very easy to fit. I no longer have a hood cover that clips my ear at high speed.

For info just one coat of the black Renovo has worked really well. A quality dark colour with just enough occasional shading to give it a bit of patina. The colour of the hood had become virtually white over the last 31 years.

 

Cheers

Simon

Link to post
Share on other sites

RE:

<<

5/ The Renovo window polish is a marked improvement but really hard work. Does any member have ideas on a better product? However, I may just buy replacement panes of plastic or even shape the plastic myself. I am sure my local furniture upholsterer would be able to stitch them in.

Any one know where I can obtain the clear plastic?

>>

 

I use this which works really well and not too much hard work: http://www.greygate.com/product/plastic-polish/

Supplied and recommended by Malcolm Gammons (MG specialists Brown & Gammons in Baldock) who says they use it in preference to the Renovo version, although they stock all the other Renovo products.

Edited by BrianC
Link to post
Share on other sites

 

RE:

 

I use this which works really well and not too much hard work: http://www.greygate.com/product/plastic-polish/

Supplied and recommended by Malcolm Gammons (MG specialists Brown & Gammons in Baldock) who says they use it in preference to the Renovo version, although they stock all the other Renovo products.

 

As BrianC says this is the best I have found to date.

 

Cheers

 

Mike B)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Please familiarise yourself with our Terms and Conditions. By using this site, you agree to the following: Terms of Use.