Ladies and Gentlemen:
With the return of freezing temperatures to the Ozarks Highlands, I opted
to wuss out and erect the top (hood) on the MGA last night.
I had a pretty good run this spring and summer covering several thousand
miles mostly in southern Missouri and northern Arkansas. I lowered the top
the last time in April and, thanks to our El Nino inspired drought, only
got wet a couple of times. When MGAs were newer (1962), it seems I was
forever raising and lowering the top on my old 1500 without much ado. I
remember that it could be a bit of a challenge, but I like to think that I
became quite adroit at flipping the top up quickly in the face of an
approaching squall.
After yesterday evening's experience I must warn those who would attempt
this maneuver alone to do so in the safety and privacy of your own garage
or backyard (garden). My eight-year-old refused to assist me mainly because
he was rolling on the ground in fits of convulsive laughter. I might have
been having a bad day. I am sure I have done this job many times before
without nearly so much trouble. I finally became amused myself and had to
stop a couple of times to wait while my own laughter abated. Thank God my
nearest neighbor is a quarter mile away through the woods.
It is quite impossible to erect one side and run to the other, hoping the
frame will remain up. When one pulls on the next side the first side just
gives up and collapses despondently towards the floor. If you do not do the
same, you start over again finding that the thing has become totally
unresponsive and indeed has locked itself into the fetal position. Victory
may come at last as you stand on the transmission cover and wrest the frame
straight up as if you were a dentist extracting a back molar from a
reluctant but heavily sedated walrus. That is of course, if the metal hood
bar at the rear doesn't slip out of the cleats and allow the walrus to roll
over into oblivion.
I wonder how many broken windscreens have resulted from this operation?
Oh well, it's up now and apt to stay that way for awhile. The car will get
intermittent duty throughout the winter, but I am switching over to the
MGB-GT. At least I can't get the top down in the first place on it.
Regards,
David F. Darby
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/4598
|