Half Hood Vs Full Hood

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

Yep, I've got the SBfS shower cap, too. It's excellent, though it is more tailored to the car, compared to the enveloping Walker St Claire style, which is also excellent.

[BugMan]

Update SBFS have turned my order, which matches AdgeC's in just over 3 weeks, so its due Wednesday just in time for my longest trip so far to the coast with my local group

[Mooch]

1 hour ago, Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Secretary said:

As long as you can get reasonable tension on the hood, (nothing excessive, just reasonable), I doubt with the much taller MSA roll bar and the higher windscreen and sidescreens, that roof bars would actually be needed, for all but the most bizarely tall

 

I have the Westfield half hood and an MSA roll bar.  As a 6 footer, I find the roof bars are essential even with the greater headroom offered.  As you say, the novelty of the roof flapping on your swede soon wears off....

 

[Vogalogue]

Great information here, cheers chaps!

On a  slight side note my old toneau isn't must use anymore either as I not have headrests and will have harnesses...

I was thinking of going Soft bits for the lot... has anyone here fitted a soft bits boot cover to a kit style Westfield? As I'm discovering, basically everything listed, ever, is for the ZK. (like my wind deflectors that don't fit!)

 

Does the soft bits boot cover flat at speed from the leading edge?

[Mooch]

2 hours ago, Vogalogue said:

I was thinking of going Soft bits for the lot... has anyone here fitted a soft bits boot cover to a kit style Westfield? As I'm discovering, basically everything listed, ever, is for the ZK. (like my wind deflectors that don't fit!)

 

ZK or FW body style shouldn't affect the fitting of your wind deflectors as they use the same scuttle.  

 

[B.RAD]

I have a soft bits for sevens half hood to suit an RAC bar to windscreen, with the plastic channel, going surplus to requirements. I only used it twice but it's a fantastic bit of kit. Comes with the waterproof bag that attaches to the roll bar too. If you're interested, make me an offer.

Cheers, Barny.

EDIT - NOW SOLD.

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

42 minutes ago, Mooch said:

ZK or FW body style shouldn't affect the fitting of your wind deflectors as they use the same scuttle.  

 

he meant, I think, the earlier  style kit bodywork compared to ZK, not the FW. With Kit bodywork, while it looks just like the ZK bodywork, there are subtle differences, and the nose, bonnet and scuttle in particular are all a slightly different design and different size to the later ZK type.

[BigSkyBrad]

That hood is really nicely taut and smooth, are you sure you want to lose it (and the bows)? I've seen some baggy and ill-fitting ones - this one's a good'un. Has anyone had a half-hood made to suit the full-hood bows - that was going to be one of my winter projects, so that I can still swap-about with the full hood?  We use the full hood quite a bit, the heater demister vent keep the screen clear and have got quite slick at entering and exiting the car. I'm also thinking that using the bows would lessen the flapping of a half-hood.

I'm also seen someone use a single bow that was a three piece slot-together affair (two uprights and a horizontal) that was slightly higher than the lowish RAC-type bar and a few inches forward, which shortens the distance from the screen to that point - lessening the flapping. That was my other option - make a half-top and full top using one bow, or better still a full-top that unzips to a half-top.

As an aside, I have a couple of stiff plastic window blind battens kicking around that I reckon would make good stiffeners for a half-hood, especially slipped into sleeves like a boat sail - pull them out to roll up the top.

[Onliest Smeg David]

I'm with Brad here...... Having started with a full hood myself then being forced to move to half hood due to fitment of an MSA rop.

The full hood was far better at keeping me dry and warm during the colder months, and I had very minimal issues of misting due to liberal use of RainEx & RainX Anti Fog. Misting up most likely to occur in more humid conditions and it helps if there is ambient air flow into cockpit, something DaveE has successfully solved with air to heater reroute.  It was really great to be able to 'slot' into the Westfield in minimal clothing and slope out the other end of the journey dry. I didn't use the pram frame with my hood, but fabricated a single bar which attached to the mounting points in front of the rop hoop.

The 1/2 Hood is very good and I prefer it in warmer times for dealing with odd showers. In prolonged rain/heavy showers, I still have to wear waterproofs due to blow back of water into cockpit from sides and rear. Sometimes getting out with wet road grime over head and back of neck.

As Dave E said everyone's works differently so preferences vary on this and use to which Westie is put. Airflow is effected by all sorts of things - exhaust side/size, door/deflector type/shape, rop height, body etc etc which impact on how waters enter or not.

If you can pick up a 2nd hand 1/2 hood at right price (Barny's above) to try out and compare, then you could have both to hand depending on weather forecast.

[BigSkyBrad]

Another job for the winter is to stop the water coming up under the sidescreens (doors). Despite having mudflaps, bubble-doors and adjusting the door strap to bring the door edge tightly against the body, I’m still getting a wet elbow in decent rain. I’ve seen a rubber weather-strip used on Rab (McWestie)’s car so will experiment with that. It’ll stick to the body just off the edge of the door and hopefully prevent water being wind-forced under it. The trick is going to be putting a curve in the strip to match the shape of the leading-to-under edge of the door, and making it all look like a factory option. We always use the doors when roof-less, so the strip shouldn’t be too obvious.

[Alan Cutler (Adge) - Dorset AO]

@BigSkyBrad be interested to see how you get on. Currently I use the simple option of putting a microfibres cloth between the door and body panel to keep my elbow dry. Keep forgetting its there though, open the door, cloth drops into inevitable muddy puddle! Please keep us updated, thanks.

[Vogalogue]

Thanks for the replies all!

Barny, I've sent a PM -  Maybe I can take a more modular approach and keep both.

BigSkyBrad, thanks, it is a  good tight fit (its's actually really hard work getting it on if its cold) it doesn't flap at triple digit speeds. does steam up well though, I have heard 12V hairdryers are a thing, maybe one of those and a load of Rainex is the answer!

[Skypeller]

I tried to order my half hood yesterday but they’re out of stock and going to email me once they’re back in .... might order a shower cap thingy today though, got a rac roll bar & standard screen widebody

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

The shower caps are really handy  to keep in the car. 

If it’s the Soft Bits half Hood, then they’re normally pretty good at getting them back into stock again, can often be quicker than expected. Well worth the wait though!

[Vogalogue]

Hello, this again!

Does anyone have any pictures or information of how the half hood rear straps are mounted if you don't go for the "toggle" option?

In all the pictures I've seen, the strap just vanishes under the boot cover.

Thanks!