1980 MGB Trunk Lid

[Guest Hillock]

I am currently restoring a 1980 MGB, and the trunk lid is torqued (for lack of a better word). It appears that this happened becasue over time, someone must have repeatedly leaned on the unsupported side (the right side) of the lid, causing pressure on the side with the support (the left side). We will get it straightened out so it fits better, but I wondered if anyone has seen this before, and knows of anything that can be done to try to prevent it from reoccuring?

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

MJH

[Dave@Moon]

I'd be willing to bet what you're seeing is misaligned trunk hinges along with a bent lid, possibly from a heavy weight stored on one side of the trunk (like a waving passenger in a parade, or a stack of heavy snow tires for years on end). If you leaned on the lid as it is supported by the factory extension arm you'd be much more likely to bend/break/dislodge the arm than to bend the trunk lid itself.

You should remove the lid and check the alignment of the hinges. If the lid is bent/twisted at all it should be replaced. New/replacement lids are easy to find for these cars(about $600 at The Roadster Factory, although used lids are still plentiful). If the new lid doesn't sit straight replacement hinges are in order, again easy to find for these cars (about $65 new at TRF). If after that you cannot get the lid to sit straight you'll need to properly align the hinges somehow, either through shims or through physically moving/bending the hinge mounts.