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full length tonneau cover
Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:47 pm
by RED93
Is anyone out there running a full tonneau cover , are they good or bad , easy to get on and off , where did you get it , how much did you pay , I see that some attach from brackets underneath the mirrors is this good or bad ,are they easy to fit , and anything else I need to know like am I better off importing one or getting one made here ?
Re: full length tonneau cover
Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 10:52 pm
by Mr Morlock
you have to ask yourself what purpose do they serve. Older brit sports cars used them because soft tops were often hard to put up but MX5's are easy and quick. Tonneaus on MGs etc were attached with lift the dot type fasteners and these fittings are not on MX5s and do you want to drill and fit them? I reckon the half tonneau works quite well but even this has to be removed to erect the soft top. A tonneau does not give any security- you merely unzip them for access.
Re: full length tonneau cover
Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 2:29 am
by coolabah2002
they look cool!
I will be interested to find out more as well.
Re: full length tonneau cover
Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 12:01 pm
by 93_Clubman
These are popular but quiet expensive, & the ones I've seen have mostly been in the US, with the very occasional one coming up for sale here. Not in the spirit of buying Australian, but you'd probably pay less importing one.
Re: full length tonneau cover
Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 12:34 pm
by bruce
Had one decades ago for a 90 MX5. Cost $500? It was OK but you had to put the seats in full recline to put the cover on. Clipped on dash with dzus fasteners, under side mirrors by clips, rear is just like soft top boot. Put the side glass up and you couldn't do up the side mirror clips.
I would rate it 7/10.
Re: full length tonneau cover
Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 6:02 pm
by RED93
Yes you are correct the soft top on the MX 5 is very easy to put up compared to the Sunbeam Tiger I had years ago ( B.K before kids ) but having suffered one breakin already with the subsequent slashed top and allied damage I would rather have the low lifes unzip the tonneau and rumage through than lose another top it took ten weeks to repair the damage last time , I never drive with the side windows up anyway so thanks for the thoughts maybe getting one made to get around the seat position thing is the way to go ? food for thought.
Re: full length tonneau cover
Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 6:52 pm
by 93_Clubman
depending on what you're trying to achieve, there's also a cover available from NZ or the US which goes from the back of the parcel shelf & over the windscreen. it's much cheaper than the full tonneau cover & some of them are weather proof to a point.
Re: full length tonneau cover
Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 8:44 pm
by TwoHeads
We had one of these on our 72 MGB we owned for a long time. Didn't use it after we put the roll bar in, but before that we only ever used it if we were parking the car out in the street on a sunny day so the seats weren't too hot if you were wearing shorts (ouch!!!). As the 72 B had headrests there were "pockets" in the tonneau to accommodate them so we didn't have to put the seats forward or back to fit under. Overall it was a useful accessory, but by no means a must have.
Two Heads
Re: full length tonneau cover
Posted: Fri Aug 27, 2010 4:08 pm
by FMS01
a lot of the prod sports racing cars use them (better aero with the roof off). Go along to a race meet and ask around.
Cheers,
Julian
Re: full length tonneau cover
Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 9:02 pm
by colster3
I used to have an NA racer (ex Nick & Matilda car) and the tonneau was custom made by a boat trimmer - don't know who but it was fantastic! It had velcro to accomodate the roll bar parts. A couple of fasteners on the doors and 2 for each side at the front. I drove the car as fast as I could - EC straight at about 160+ kph and never even looked like blowing off...
I am sad that I can't get one to easily fit my NC

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