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To tonneau or not?

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M

MtnMGB

Freshman Member
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Hello everyone!

I've been thinking about getting a tonneau and was looking for your advice.

First, will a tonneau, ordered from say Moss, fit without modifications to my car? Does it use the same 'lift dot' pins as my top cover?

Second, are they more hassle than worth?

My main motivation is protecting the car from sun (and my bum from the hot seats!) and keeping leaves, bird bombs, etc. out. She will always sit in the garage on rainy days, unless the weatherman really screws up.

Thanks for the input!

Also, would you recommend a cover from anywhere else?
 
One of the first purchases I made for my other lbc was a tonneau cover and I just love it. You can quickly cover up the cockpit when you arae away from the car and then just as quickly uncover the cockpit when you return and it is still attached at the back unlike the soft top. I use it all summer long instead of the soft top unless it's raining of course. And yes, it requires no modifications.
 
The tonneau is the first accessory I bought for my B. I haven't had my top up for months, because I ALWAYS pull the tonneau over when I park it, whether it's in on the street, in a parking lot or in the garage.

Keeps the sun off the seats and the carpet, keeps stuff from blowing in, keeps the neighbor's cat from sleeping in the footwells.

A tonneau also keeps out all but the heaviest rains (it will leak through the center zipper, although using a tonneau bar alleviates that.)

I usually drive without a passenger, so around town I just leave the passenger side covered with the tonneau. When I park it, it's a cinch to just pull the driver's side over the steering wheel, zip it and snap it. A heck of a lot easier than a cockpit cover.

As far as I know, though, most good tonneaus come WITHOUT the fasteners attached. This is a good thing, because then you can match them up with your car exactly. (There's nothing worse than having a top or tonneau that doesn't fasten to the car correctly.) The fasteners aren't hard to put on. You just want to take your time, work on it on a warm day, and leave yourself a little slack, since they will shrink a bit.

Just use some chalk on top of your existing studs, then pull the tonneau into position on top of them. Press the tonneau down on top of the studs, and the chalk will mark the underside, showing you where the "Lift the Dot" fasteners should go.

[ 08-27-2003: Message edited by: Kim de B ]</p>
 
Actually, every tonneau I've purchased came with the hardware attached...I swap them from Mg to MG all the time & every one fits - unless its shrunk! Go ahead & buy one from Moss or whomever - it'll fit!
&, its the best thing to have for those quick trips when you're gonna be leaving the car parked for a short time & don't want to put the top up...slip it on to keep sun, water, bird drops, etc off interior!
 
Hey Kim de B what is a tonneau bar and where does one purchase/obtain one. Mine also sits alot in the sun with a possibility of rain here in Va. Does this bar really help keep rain out? Thanks for the info.
 
Jerry...tonneau bar is that crooked set of metal sticks that goes in the slots in the top mechanism...it holds the tonneau up & gives an edge for folding down to the snaps on the front dge of the battery box....you can buy them new (expensive) or get them from a guy like me...I think I have several sets (know i have 3 - maybe more0...without them, the tonneau won't toss water off its rear portion but will allow it to run down towards the headrests & enter the car between the zipper teeth
 
My car came with one when I bought it used and I used it so much I wore out the zipper. I really miss it because of the fact that you don't have to mess with the top. Just unzip and fold back the drivers side to go to work and the same coming home.

The only problem I had was the dash cracked where the zipper came across it. But a new plastic dash cover corrected that.

I had the zipper replaced in the small town I used to live in but the guy used a zipper that was too small and it didn't last. Now that I live near Orlando, I might be able to get it fixed properly.
Bob
 
Bob...tonneau is the only thing I ever have on my '79 Vermillion Red car....oh, go to a marine upholsterer...he'll be able to replace the zipper with one from a large boat!
 
I keep my tonneau on all the time. I use my tonneau bar that I got second hand for $15 bucks! I got a brand new tonneau when I bought my new top, and it had the lift tabs and the snaps in a little bag that came with it!! It has been soooo dry this year that I have no idea how it stands up to rain, but anyone I ever had before was great!!
 
You already have a lot of good responses, but I'll add mine -- I've got a Tonneau for my MGB (debating getting one for the Miata now too) and it's terrific. It's a great alternative to putting the top up and down if you're worried about a brief shower, or just to keep the dirt and sun out of the car.

It's also pretty neat to drive solo when it gets cold; just leave the passenger side zipped up and go on your way. Keeps the wind down a lot, and the heat inside the cabin but still allows the top to be down.

The only negative comment I can make is the Tonneau is naturally more bulky than just a boot cover. It's supposed to snap down behind the seats, with a lot of the material folded/rolled and stored under the top. Nothing wrong with that, but it does take up more room than the regular boot cover.
 
Don't know if a tonneau on a Miata would be worth the effort, since you can probably put the top up quicker than you can fit the tonneau! Of course, that situation is reversed on an MG!!
 
I love my tonneau...my car came with a heavy one that was ripped and I bought a lighter one on ebay that had a bad zipper. I got them both repaired by a friends mom and used the lighter one all the time and plan to use the heavier one for longer term storage. I bought a new top this spring (happy anniversary, Honey) and have only had it up once when we got caught at Friendly's in a shower.

I bought the bars on ebay too...one pair was rusty and old (seller is no longer a member) and the other pair was like new and have worked great to raise the center and keep the rain out It makes the tonneau look better over the folded top.

Both tonneaus fit the same hardware as the top quite well, even though the heavier one has shrunk and is a tight fit to the dash stud.

One thing that I don't like about the tonneau is that, when open, it doesn't cover all the hardware next to the door like a Boot Cover does and the excess gets in the way of the speakers sitting on my battery deck...but that is life
grin.gif


Bruce

[ 08-27-2003: Message edited by: Bruce74B ]</p>
 
I like using mine too but it becomes a pain in the *** when the front window pillar snap comes off from flapping in the wind...makes it such a hassle that I got tired of using it. I tried squeezing the snap a little to make it oblong but that didn't help. Anyone have any suggestions?

-Jeff
 
Jeff...go to your local upholsterer...there are snaps that'll only go on or off in 1 direction...he can replace the one on the dash & the one in the tonneau so the wind won't affect it...
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Jeff M:
I like using mine too but it becomes a pain in the *** when the front window pillar snap comes off from flapping in the wind<hr></blockquote>

Mine sounds different. I have a single "lift the dot" post in the center of the dash and on each pillar I have a rectangular shaped post that swivels - the tonneau has a square grommet that fits over the post then the end of the post twists 90° and locks it in place.
 
I ended up by putting two snaps on the door!! The flapping was driving me crazy
crazy.gif
I figgered it was only a matter of time before it tore ore something. It holds it waaaaay taunter now too!!

[ 08-27-2003: Message edited by: Gary Lloyd ]</p>
 
I had the window pillar snap problem with my Midget, and Dad's B does as well. Consequently he hardly ever uses it to cover the pax side when driving. Saved me once this summer when a shower blew thru when I was five minutes from home-I just reached back behind the pax seat and covered up (while sitting at a stop sign, of course!). I liked the tonneau on the Midget so much I got one for my '96 Miata. I use it a lot more than I thought I would, too.
-William
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by tony barnhill:
Bob...tonneau is the only thing I ever have on my '79 Vermillion Red car....oh, go to a marine upholsterer...he'll be able to replace the zipper with one from a large boat!<hr></blockquote>

Thanks, Tony, I'll do that.
Bob
 
Tony, I guess I am having a repressed Midget life. i have never seen the bars you guys are talking about. i do have a cover and it seems to work real well. I also have the same problem as several others with the front snaps being hard to work due to shrinkage. My front center never seems to stay snapped for long so I am afraid to have it commected while driving. will keep an eye on this post to see some of the solutions. Thanks again for this great web site. By the way I am driving a 79 Midget.
 
jerry....ooops! We're all talking about MGB tonneau's - totally different world with Midget tonneau's! Midget tonneau's come new without the lift-the-dot fastners atached...don't think they have the crooked tonneau bars either (gotta look in one of my Midgets)....maybe you told us you drove a Midget & I missed it, sorry!
 
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