BGT Rear Load Cover

As a BGT owner that does use the car for the odd long journey, the issue of luggage on view is always a problem.  Short of removing the spare and hiding valuables under the boot floor, there's not a lot of security in the back.  At one stage I think the MGOC offered a roller blind style pull back cover for the rear load space but this appears to be NLA!

A few of us are also contemplating fully removing the rear seat, if nothing else to at least fit a roll-bar ("boy racers"!).  However, that does mean that the entire back end could be made more secure.  And that has got us thinking about custom rear panels to hide the luggage.

With this in mind, it was fortuitous that just recently a post appeared on the MG Enthusiasts' BBS:

"MGB GT REAR LOAD COVER

Ever wondered why the GT never came with a rear load cover, maybe MG overlooked this one area or it was a cost issue or back in the early production days the risk of someone breaking into cars was quite low compared to today's culture.
I purchased my first GT on e-bay, to my surprise it was in better condition than advertised( great credit to it's owner) It also came with a rear load cover which I had never seen before.

I am always asked where I purchased the load cover, or will I sell it.
Having spent time researching for the supplier and contacting the MG owners club I was informed this item is no longer available.

It appears that I have one of limited number of load covers produced.

So I decided to take the painful plunge of using this one and only load cover to make moulds from.
As I work in the plastics industry it was not hard to find a pattern maker.
After making a difficult decision to have the velvet flock coating removed from the moulds the pattern maker was then able to produce sample moulds to the correct dimentions. The whole process took approximately 2 months with the end results being better than we had anticipated.
With my experience of working with a fibre glass manufacturer and within the plastics industry. I can now offer other MG lovers the opportunity to have a rear load cover with MG logo.

Regards
Ian
For further details of moulds and pictures go to
www.westlancsmg.co.uk Then click onto toolbox, click onto each picture to enlarge.
Alternatively I can be contacted at, ianrobinson61@hotmail.com"

The pictures below were sent to me by Ian, and I hope to get updates from him as he progresses with this project.

Firstly, here's the original from which the mould has been taken, showing it flat and then opened.

This is the complete new assembly, in the unfinished state.

This is the centre section:

As to the options for finishing, either painting or some other type of covering, perhaps.  Of course, for a truly unique, and factory look finish as per the original shown at the top, flock might be an option!  What's Flock?  This is best described on Frost's pages from whence flock can be purchased in kits in differing colours:

"Flocking is like no other finish; it can best be described as a velvet-like surface and can be applied to any solid surface, metals, wood, plastic, texiles, fabrics, glass, etc. with a minimum of preparation. Glove boxes, door cavities, tool trays, facias etc. Paint on the adhesive and in.puffin. the flock onto the adhesive. After drying, brush off the excess to give that original finishing touch. Today's modern flock is made from hardwearing, long lasting nylon and gives a very professional finish."

October 2007

An update from Ian:

"Just a quick update, making good progress with load cover re-production and have finally found a company in the West Midlands who are able to spray velvet flock.  Will send you pictures once trials completed.

Current pictures show basic black gloss finish with leather infill."

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