Oxted Half Hood Fitting

[martyn]

Hey,

I've just picked up a Oxted Trimming (Thundersport) half hood.  When ordering they asked me to confirm some measurements of my car...  In relation to the measurement from the centre of the roll bar to the windscreen (which I measured at 78.5cm) they replied "The dimension ideally would be 80cm so you may have to amend your windscreen slightly".  Is this really possible?  What sort of "amendment" could I make?  If they hadn't mentioned about the measurements I would probably just accept the current fit as normal.  However, it is slightly on the loose side and could do with tightening up a little. 

Also..  For the side straps with eyelets that secure through the roll bar bolts, what arrangement of washers have you used?  Im thinking that it makes sense to use a normal washer, then the strap then a spring washer followed by the bolt.

Thanks for you help. 

[Ian Mackenzie]

I've had an Oxted half hood and it was OK....the only adjustment would be to make the screen more upright to give you 80 cm...do you have sides screens as well as a reference? How tight do you have the straps that go down the rear stay of the roll bar, this should tension the hood, though by the sound of it the stitching would not line up.... Post a picture of the hood fitted for comments?

Cheers Ian

[martyn]

Thanks Ian.  I'll get a pic uploaded when I can, it's a little difficult to get the car out at the moment because I've got some furniture stored in the garage as well.

How would I go about making the screen more upright?  Would that just be a case of loosening the bolts then re-torqueing while pulling it forward slightly (i.e. make use of any slack in the bolt holes)? 

[SM25T]

Yup

[Alan Reeves]

Oxted look on this site so perhaps they can add some words?

 

[DJ.]

It might be worth considering fitting the captive nut steel section that are often missing on modern Sevens. By linking the screen rigidly to the chassis, they make it more solid and it will resist the pull of a hood better.

Of course, this won't help if you already have them fitted, but here's a link to the RHS one.

http://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/product.php?id_product=303

Sometimes they are too low and Caterham sell a spacer bar to lift them into line with the holes.

Hope this helps.

Duncan

[pugwash]

Martyn,  I have a soft bits one which may fit slightly differently but this may be useful.

when I was building mine a canvas SB half hood came up for sale locally so I bought it.  When I finished the car and had a go at fitting it it was a bit baggy.  I suspect that it was made for a car with a slightly taller roll bar.  My solution was shorten the straps at the back by wedging a piece of wooden dowel between the metal plate on the end of the strap which sits underneath the roll bar bracket and the bracket itself.  This was just enough to take up the slack and give me a nice taut roof.  It's probably an inch lower over the bar than spec, but it has the little window and not a problem to see out.

not sure how the oxted one fits but this might be simpler in the short term than changing the rake of the screen.

[Thundersport]

Hi Martyn,

Please give me a call on 01883 718530 and I will put you through to the trimmers who can talk you through your options to ensure a perfect fit.

Thanks

 

[martyn]

Thanks Duncan, I’ve had a look and my car does already have the captive nut retainers.  Pretty difficult to see behind the trim panel but they are there.  Still, I didn’t know about these before you mentioned so it’s good to learn more about how my car is bolted together.

[martyn]

Thundersport,   Thanks but I've actually got it to a point now where the fit is acceptable, so I'll run that for a bit and see how it goes.  Haven't actually had chance to drive the car yet, but if it turns out it flapps about too much then I'll be in contact.

Really happy with the hood, but the way.  The quality is spot on and the blue piping trim matches my car perfectly!

Many thanks.

[Thundersport]

Thanks for the feedback.

Let me know if we can help in the future