Fix old top for $100 or buy new top for more?

Poll added, should I pull the trigger on the JCW top?


I currently have a black top which I expect is original. Back about 12 years ago I had a slice repaired with some hand stitching. Now the little clip which just slides in by the driver's door has ripped off.

The local alteration shop says they'll need to remove the top from the frame and then drill out the rivets on the part as it tore so close.

All of my windows are hazed and cleaning them does not seem to help, though I haven't tried in a decade or so. Also, the last time I tried to open my rear window via the zipper, it took a long while to get it to zip back up as the clasp thing kept popping off.

All the above being said, if the local alteration shop wants an estimated $100, I am considering just replacing the top for $300. What does everyone else think?

If you use it fairly regularly (the top), I'd say get the new one. Mine is in similar shape, but I'm a fair weather driver (last time I had the top up was two years ago). However, now that I'm retired, I'm starting to think about some weekend trips and that may require reconsideration of getting a new top.

Replace it, not only are the windows hazed and the seams ripped, it has also shrunk. A new one will eliminate those gaps above the windows you don't even realize are a problem until you replace the top.

Jef, u know what u have to do...price around u can get one for less than 3 bills.

Thanks everyone for your input.

I could not find a new top on Moss' website. The convertible top & toneau section only had a toneau and no tops.

On VB's site, was priced somewhere at or around $400, which I'd rather not go that high for a new top.

I see some on eBay for as little as $270 shipped, but those are not OE with no zip out rear window. I also see them priced closer to $300 shipped with the zip out rear window... that seems like the route I should possibly go.

Thoughts?

Get new. The material of the top has aged. Sun etc. These things are meant to be replaced every now and again. If you get 5 years of daily driving you are doing well. repairs always look "right stitched up' and you'll be doing another next year. A new top will refresh the whole car.
I got them to leave out the corner windows on mine, like the RV8. Quite a few people do this. the big advantage is that it makes it very easy to put the top up and down. Just unclip the two main clips and throw it back. There is a very slight reduction in rear visibility, but unless you have a bung neck you won't notice it much.

Nothing lasts forever, especially fabric items. Even tho you would "fix" it, it is still OLD, as Peter and others have said. If you fix it now (OE you think) you are fixing it at the tail end of its life. If you get new, even from JC Whitney, you at least get the best years of its life, not its last gasp. Pretty true for a lot of other parts as well. FWIW

Moss still has tops:

http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=59208

Look under Weather Equipment

Managed to find a discount code for JCW that gave me $48 off, total is $297 shipped.

Does anyone have any experience with their tops? Should I pull the trigger?

Poll added, let me know what you think!

Other's notes are dead-on.

Check with Gordon at the B'Hive, installed two of his tops with no problem. You can easily do this yourself on a Saturday morning with a helper.

Check with Chris.
Moss at a discount and no sales tax.

http://www.roopsmg.com/

Here's a Robbins zip out for $289.00 shipped
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MGB-71-80-Convertible-Top-W-Zip-Window-Black-Vinyl-New-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQfitsZModelQ3aMGBQQhashZitem3360bd8e41QQitemZ220666367553QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Tops Online has a 5 year warranty too.

The Ebay price is apparently a sale as their tops are listed higher on the web page.

https://www.topsonline.com/index.php?CarmodelID=878000

http://www.topsonline.com/index.php?DepartmentID=100&CarID=9500&CarmodelID=878000
http://www.ezsofttops.com/p-604-1963-1970-mg-mgb-convertible-top-with-three-plastic-windows-folds-behind-seatzipper.aspx

link doesn't work, just click around the site, you'll find it

Thanks for the suggestion Peter. I think that for this first replacement in 30 years, I'm going with a relatively inexpensive top. If it works out and needs replacing in a few years, I'll trade up to a better one.

Just can't justify 340 or so British pounds for a top right now.

Also, guess I'm smart to wait till spring to install it, so I've got time to even buy one.

Edit: Just read the advertising rules and don't want to get into trouble.

I had a JC Whitless top years ago (back in the 90s) and it was a good top, but not spectacular. The Original Equipment tops were pretty decent, and most Moss, Roadster Factory, Robbins, and others of that ilk that I have seen or used are better made and of better, heavier materials. A JC Whitney top is NOT a bad top, just an inexpensive one and for the money not a bad investment for a short term. However, if well taken care of and treated well with routine maintenance, any top will benefit, but one that starts off life on a better footing will simply last you longer. If "longer" is not in your plans, then it probably is a pointless exercise to worry about which is better. But if you plan on keeping your car for quite awhile, a better top, well taken care of will prove cheaper in the long run. As the old adage goes "you get what you paid for". Or, as my old man used to say, "Buy cheap, you (generally) get cheap." JMO

I put a JCW top on the VW Cabriolet my wife had. It was a Kee brand, and just ok quality...nothing to get excited about. It did hold up as long as we had the car.