The MGA cockpit is finished with a series of trim rolls, capping pieces, panel sets, fixings and seals that together complete the interior to the level expected of a quality British sports car of the period. Renewing this trim is a significant interior project, typically undertaken alongside the seats, carpets and door trim, and benefits from working through the components systematically. This category covers the seals around the door and cockpit openings, the capping sets that finish the cockpit edges, the interior panel sets that line the cabin, the trim fixings and finishers used throughout, and the trimming vinyl for re-covering or fabricating components.
Original Trim Construction
The MGA's cockpit edges are finished with trim rolls, long padded sections that run along the door tops, the rear quarters, the top of the facia and the front edge of the rear tonneau panel. Until mid-1956 the underlying bases were all-wood; on later cars the rear quarters and the front end of the door trim rolls were cast aluminium, with wood retained elsewhere. The trim rolls on the door tops and the small curved rear quarter pieces were covered in leather, while those across the top of the facia and the front edge of the rear tonneau panel were finished in Vynide leathercloth. Each trim roll carried piping towards the outer edge, with colours matching the seats and seat piping respectively.
Reproduction trim sets follow this original specification.
Cockpit & Door Seals
Rubber seals around the cockpit and door openings keep weather, draughts and noise out of the cabin. On the roadster, the principal seals run along the rear edge of the cockpit and along the door top edges where the sidescreens locate. On the coupé, the door seal runs in one piece right around the door opening, split at the front bottom corner, with retaining and protecting strips fitted over the seal along the sills. The coupé additionally carries rubber sealing strips on the door hinge pillars with a separate small sealing pad above the top hinge, and chrome-plated finishers around the upper part of the door aperture and the wing piping. Reproduction seals are made in the original profile to ensure the doors close cleanly and the bodyshell remains weathertight.
Cockpit Capping Sets
The capping sets cover the trim rolls along the cockpit edges. These are supplied either as individual pieces (where only one section requires renewal) or as complete sets covering the door tops, rear quarters, facia top and rear tonneau front edge. The leather and Vynide combination of the original specification is reproduced, with piping in the original outer-edge position. The colour of the seats and seat piping fitted to the car determines the correct combination, the cappings were always colour-matched, so a seat re-trim and a capping renewal are usefully tackled at the same time.
Interior Panel Sets
Interior panel sets line the cabin behind and beside the seats, taking in the rear quarter casings, the panels behind the seats and (on the coupé) the cabin side panels and rear quarter areas. On the roadster, the door casings are hardboard with door pockets in millboard, all covered in Vynide leathercloth matching the seat colour, with each casing carrying a centre panel of four horizontal pleats surrounded by piping. The coupé has different door casings with no pockets, plus separate rear quarter casings with detachable cappings, originally colour-coded to the trim, but uniformly off-white on 1600 and later coupés. Sets are supplied complete or as individual panels.
Trim Fixings, Finishers and Trimming Vinyl
The small fixings used throughout the cockpit trim include lift-the-dot fasteners (retaining the sidescreen stowage envelope to the rear quarter casings), turn-button fasteners (on the cockpit trim roll), chrome finishers (around the door aperture and wing piping on the coupé), and the screws, washers and clips that secure each component. Replacement fixings in original-pattern finishes, chrome, black-painted or stainless, keep the period detail consistent. Trimming vinyl is also supplied by the metre or yard for fabricating or re-covering trim items, in the original Vynide leathercloth specification and the principal MGA interior colours.
Ordering Considerations
A cockpit trim renewal is most efficiently tackled with the seats and carpets out, working from the bottom up: panel sets first, then capping sets, then trim rolls, with door cards and seats fitted last. The seat colour and piping determine the correct colour combination throughout, capping, panel and trim roll colours were always matched to the seats, so confirming the seat specification before ordering keeps the finished interior consistent. On coupés, body-style-specific items (one-piece door seal, chrome aperture finishers, separate rear quarter cappings) must be specified rather than substituting roadster components.