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MG TD TF 1500 - TD Bows Fabric Covered?

Were TD bows originally covered with fabric? There is some evidence that this was indeed the case. I'd be interested to hear from any owners with an original untouched set of bows or who have knowledge that theirs were originally covered. This topic was touched on in the 'Original Top' thread. Cheers
Peter TD 5801


P Hehir

Pic 1


P Hehir

Pic 2


P Hehir

Hi Peter,

Many of the more original hoods I have stripped out over the years,
had a tan coloured felt glued to the TOP area of each bow. I suspect this is what the Factory did with TFs at least, to prevent chaffing etc. No evidence
of canvas or hood material.

Cheers
Rob Grantham
TF3719("Aramis"), TF9177("Athos").

Rob Grantham

So we have two differing points. Any others? This would be a great thing to clarify for those doing high end restorations.
Bruce Cunha

Rob: Was this material even visible to the untrained eye?
Christopher Couper

I have not seen any fabric or glue on my TF1500 frame (still in factory paint).

Matthew.
M Magilton

Also, have a look at the photos of unrestored TD23834 in Gallery on The Original MG TD midget website. Pic #5 shows the hood bows.

Matthew.
M Magilton

Pic 88 seems to show what could be the unraveled bow covering that I'm referring to. Also visible in Pic 5. If it isn't the 2" wide canvas type fabric that I removed from my bows then what else could it be?
Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Hi Chris,

The felting strips (fairly narrow) I have seen were almost invisible from inside the car.

I looked at TF9052 relating to the hood bows and admittedly could not
see any evidence of the felt from those photos.

Matt M., has your hood material ever been replaced in your ownership of your original Birch Grey TF1500 ?

Cheers
Rob Grantham
Rob Grantham

Pic 88 shows the rear section of the webbing strap twisted around the bow arm. Note that it has come away from the rear rail.

Rob, my original hood was replaced in 1974 by my Father. I sure wish he had kept the remains. It blew apart during a rally. Hood #2 gradually de-laminated and died about 15 years ago.

Matthew.
M Magilton

Here is a higher resolution of picture 88. I think if you select it with the right mouse button you will be able to download it in it's larger size (1024x768). I cannot seem to find the source for these files in my archives to see if I have even higher resolution ones.

As Matthew pointed out the material twisted around the frame is just the remainder of the strapping from the front. I scanned through each of the pictures of the top bows for this car and none of them show any signs of a covering.

Having said that, this a 1953 and the hood is no longer on the car. But given the rest of the condition I would not see why anyone would have gone to the trouble to remove the frame covers.



Christopher Couper

There is folded bow without a top in unrestotred TD 27489. #88. No wrapping i can see.

http://www.mg-cars.org.uk/mgtd/Pictures/TD27489/Thumbnails/mgtd_gallery_TD27489.htm
Bruce Cunha

I've just received communication from the person who purchased my car in 1962 who says:

'When I bought TD 5801 in 1962 it had a tatty cheap vinyl hood and some awful opaque side curtains. So with some effort I managed to revive the hood, but the side curtains were beyond help. I managed to obtain a set of side curtains off a late model TD (3 bow hood ) very cheaply and with a bit of pushing and shoving they would fit under my 2 bow hood and that's the gear I sold the car with.

I don't think your canvas covered bows mean much, most probably done when the hood was recovered at some time.
All original bows I have seen have been covered in beige felt (I still have a set with the felt in place)'.

I've requested a couple of pics of the original set with the felt covered bows and when they arrive I'll post them here. The owner of TD 5801 from 1962 to 1967 is recognised as something of an authority on T Types here and as such his opinions carry considerable weight. I suspect that the hood frame that I inherited when I bought the car in 1969, may have come from another car as there was no sign of 'the tatty cheap vinyl hood' referred to above, just the bare frame with the ancient looking canvas covered bows shown in the pics above. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

A further update from the previous owner referred to above. Pics are unavailable as the bows are buried in his shed. However he offers the following:

'There has been quite a bit of chat about hoods in a recent Sacred Octagon (Dec 2017) and there are references to and photos of well preserved ORIGINAL TD 2 bow hoods. Frustratingly there are no pictures of the bow coverings but perhaps some of your US friends(who would undoubtedly be members of the NEMGTR) could ask for some follow up pictures. The original hoods shown in the pictures look in far better condition than anything I have got.' Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Anybody from the NEMGTR able to chase up these pics showing the bows with felt covering? Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

They're in there, Peter. But, that's TSO copyrighted material. You should contact David Sander, dsander (at) aol.com. Bud
Bud Krueger

I would never intentionally infringe on copyright Bud. All I'm seeking is confirmation that the bows actually left the factory with felt covering, apparently beige and possibly only placed on the top as Rob suggests. Any other restorer able to confirm this? Ideally by providing pics. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Here is a picture from the inside of an unrestored 1951 TD.

Note you can see what looks like a bit of a narrow fabric padding near the corner of the rear top bow. This sort of sounds like the felt material that Rob called out above.

I zoomed into the picture and the material looks frayed like it was woven vs felt which does not fray. It could be that MG used whatever was on the floor for padding if anything.



Christopher Couper

Chris can the owner confirm if that is felt on top of the rear bow? If it is and it is ex factory I can see why it wouldn't survive in situ for very long. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Note how the fabric appears to terminate at the webbing strap. It may even run over the top of the strap which would make it a seam or cut end of the rear hood panel.

Matthew.
M Magilton

Matthew, Rob and Chris, what do you make of the piece of fabric on one of the bows in pic 17 on the Craigslist barn find post? I'll also post this on the other thread. Reproduced the pic here. Cheers
Peter TD 5801


P Hehir

Cant quite tell if its fabric or just dust and crud.
I am fairly sure the hood frame has been repainted cream, I think I can see paint on the thumb screw threads too? The wood for the wind screen rail is new timber with no tack holes. I suggest the frame has been got ready for a new hood cover at some stage. I don't believe this car is in its factory paint although some of the upholstery is still factory. Just my thoughts.

Matthew.
M Magilton

Photo #2 seems to show a colour match for the hood bows against the body (as best as I can tell under the yellowing skylights) suggesting they used left over paint for the bows maybe.

Matthew.
M Magilton

Hi Peter,
The bows on my TD4224 [Nov7/50] do not have any type of cover on them. They are still the original factory paint only.

George
George Raham

George were you the original owner? Can you post a pic of the original factory paint on the bows please? Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

Hi Peter,
Yes, I am the original owner. The car is tucked away in winter storage right now, how ever spring is in the air and as soon as I can, I'll get a picture the bows as requested.

George
George Raham

I've just had confirmation from yet another highly respected source that TD and TF bows did indeed have felt on the top of the bows and that it was almost certainly invisible from inside the car. This could well have been intentional so as not to distract from the sharp lines of the assembled hood when viewing it from either inside or outside. The canvas wrapping on the bows on the car when I purchased it must have been added post factory and the severe deterioration of the webbing shown in my pic in the first post, due purely to the bows laying about in the rear of the car in all weathers, which led me to believe that it was possibly original. The car had a black non original full tonneau when I purchased it in 1969 but it was a long way from waterproof. In the year and a half that I drove it, it was always parked outside in all weathers as I had no access to a garage. It was also owned by someone who showed the car little respect between 1967 and 1969. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

If anyone has done a reproduction of the felt on top of their bows. I would be interested in the width and the color.
Bruce Cunha

Hoods are not cheap to purchase and chaffing on the bows will quickly compromise even the most expensive items.

The die hards wont like my solution however it saved my hood. Available in the marked place is high density adhesive backed foam. Careful cutting to size and placement on the top face of the bows make the addition of this protection invisible to the eye.

Graeme
G Evans

Bruce I have been told by someone who has an original set of bows unused and stored for decades and the felt was definitely grey. Cheers
Peter TD 5801
P Hehir

This thread was discussed between 13/03/2018 and 30/03/2020

MG TD TF 1500 index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG TD TF 1500 BBS is active now.