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MG MGA - removal of cowl vent trims ????

Hi All

How does one remove the two large oval engine bay vents beside the bonnet. I recently broke the MGA strip out of one and want to replace it but am dammed as to how to get at the spring "speed" clips underneath. They are fairly new clips I installed about a two years ago and they where a bugger to get on then.

Any help appreciated.

Ralph
Ralph H .

Ralph
They are a pain to remove. I just turned the clip while pulling up on the vent. It worked fine for one but not the other which I just ended up breaking off. On the new one just thread the stud and put a lock washer and bolt on it for next time.
Kris
Kris Sorensen

No need to go to the extreme of threading the posts. For the last four years on my roadster and prior to that, ~10 years on my coupe, I have run with no clips at all. They set just fine without them. And then, if necessary removing them is an easy task.

Chuck
Chuck Schaefer

You can also put a vaccum line cap on the post to help lock them in place and they are easy to remove
JEFF BECKER

Small diameter rubber type tubing works quite well also. Marv
Marvin Stuart

Small hands and thin wrists can reach the underside, but it's a real pain.
Joe Cook

My cowl vent trims and the Octagon MG motif on the boot (trunk) lid came supplied with dome headed hard plastic sleeves. Is that what we are talking about here or are there other supplied clips? The ones on the vent are for ever coming loose and the trims rattle.

I have just bought a replacement badge set for the boot as the current bits are getting pitted. The three parts came with no clips of any kind. I am running threads down the pins and intend to secure with nuts. Ok with the easy access there but as Joe says you need small double jointed hands in the cowl area.

Steve
Steve Gyles

I always used a little blob of clear silicon RTV on the studs as I inserted them, then after it dried, trimmed with an X-Acto and peeled of the excess.

Larry
Larry Gray

Steve,

The clips that came with mine (from Moss) were blackened metal. They are essentially just a flat piece of metal with a hole in the center and a tab formed by cutting a small piece of the clip and bending it upward slightly to make a friction connection.

HTH, Joe
Joe Cook

Hi All

Well after much nashing of teeth and skinned fingers the darn things fell out of the car in about 30 sec. What was I thinking? The repro clips barely held the trim pieces in place and offered no resistance to my fiercesome attack.
I then used a dab of Goop (wonderful stuff I use it everywhere) and stuck them back in. All is well with the world again particularly with my new starter motor.
(See new thread)

ralph
Ralph H .

This thread was discussed between 29/05/2005 and 01/06/2005

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.