Hey there! I work on a '69 Spit (I sold it to my girlfriend, who is
still speaking to me... what she SAYS is another story... <g>).
Anyway, the heat problem. If your '80 has the damn compressed cardboard
(the finest British cardboard) transmission tunnel the '69 has, there's
your problem. The flange attaching it to the firewall wears out with
repeated removal and installation. The P.O.s bodge for this was duct
tape and a peice of wood in the engine compartment (no, this doesn't
really work, and adds a strange clunking noise to the "engine"...)
I purchased an ABS plastic tunnel from British Miles at the Carlisle
show. The flange is big and screws into the proper holes in the
firewall. After putting this in and installing a new inner gearshift
boot, no more hot air!
I also put on a top (what is that brand... Armco?)... it is the
low-budget vinyl but it looks fine. The normal "list" prices on those
tops from TRF, Victoria British, etc. are in the $150-$200 range, I
thought. I got mine for $75 at Carlisle... seems to be A-OK, but was
misordered by an MG-only shop. I haven't seen the cloth tops in person.
One consideration is temperature sensitivity... the vinyl tops shrink and
expand quite a bit with temperature.... so you have either a loose top in
summer heat or a real bear of a top to put up in winter (I go for the
latter, with a touch of summer looseness). I imagine the cloth tops
would be less sensitive.
Of course, none of my cars are intended for concours, so straight
historiocity (??) is not required.
John M. Trindle | jtrindle@tsquare.com | Tidewater Sports Car Club
'73 MGB E Stock | '69 Spitfire E Stock | '88 RX-7 C Stock
"'Assembly is the reverse of disassembly' is like buying house plans that
say, 'Building your new home is the reverse of blowing it up with dynamite.'
-- Peter Egan, January 1994 Road&Track --"
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