Sidescreens are the removable side windows fitted to the MGA roadster doors when the hood is raised, providing weather protection in place of the wind-down windows of the coupé. Three principal types were used across MGA production, each with its own mounting hardware and fitting arrangement, and the original sidescreen stowage envelope behind the seats often requires renewal too. This category covers the sidescreens themselves, the mounting hardware (sockets, studs, knobs and screws), the storage bags and the lift-the-dot fasteners that retain them.
Sidescreen Production Changes
The standard sidescreens on 1500 models and early Twin Cams are the
flap type
, with the lower part of each sidescreen being a signalling flap held in place by a spring-loaded closing device. The flaps also give access to the door release pulls when the hood and sidescreens are erected. The frames are covered in Vynide matching the hood colour. The 1500 sidescreens were modified at chassis 10501 (November 1955).
From the start of 1600 production (and Twin Cam from chassis 2193), sidescreens were changed to the
sliding type
, with a two-part perspex window: the front half is fixed, while the rear half slides forward inside the front half and is fitted with two perspex blocks for finger purchase. The frames are still covered in hood-type material, now in grey, beige or blue to match the Wardle's Everflex hood specification. The flap on the rear edge of the sidescreens was deleted from chassis 96269 (August 1960). A small dating detail: the front sidescreen was held tight by a half-wing nut on 1500 and early Twin Cam roadsters; from the start of the 1600, this was changed to a round knurled dome nut.
This is a quick way to corroborate whether a car is a genuine 1500 or a later model.
Aluminium Sliding Sidescreens (Weathershields)
Aluminium-framed sliding sidescreens made by Weathershields were available as an optional extra and were always supplied if the hard top was fitted. Two different types were made: one for the original aluminium hard top and another for the later fibreglass hard top. The aluminium screen set is offered as a complete pair where the original Weathershields units have been damaged or are missing.
Sidescreen Mounting Hardware
The sidescreens are held in place by two tan-painted brackets per side, the rearmost with a peg fitting into a socket with a chrome-plated bezel on the door trim roll, and the front one attaching to a stud on the inside door trim. Reproduction sockets, stud plates, knobs and the relevant nuts and screws are stocked individually so that mounting hardware can be renewed without disturbing the sidescreens themselves. The seal kit (SEALS FOR XTS) covers the rubber seals between the sidescreen frame and the body that prevent draughts and water ingress at the join.
Sidescreen Stowage Envelope and Storage Bags
All roadsters were originally supplied with a sidescreen stowage envelope hung in the tonneau area behind the seats, a metal frame covered in leathercloth coloured to match the trim, fixed with three lift-the-dot fasteners to each rear quarter casing. The envelope was modified at chassis 78249 (1600) or Twin Cam 2540, fitting above rather than in front of the battery access hatch to give more rearward seat adjustment. The envelope was rather inconvenient, the hood was stowed behind it, requiring removal each time the hood was raised or lowered, which is why many surviving cars are now missing it. Reproduction storage bags in grey, red, black and biscuit are offered to replace damaged or missing envelopes, with matching lift-the-dot retaining hardware sold separately or as a kit.
Lift-the-Dot Fasteners
The full set of lift-the-dot hardware used to retain the stowage envelope and various other sidescreen-related fixings, sockets (sets and individual), plates, posts and the stud pegs with wood-screw or clinch-plate fixings, is stocked individually. These are normally renewed in matched sets when the envelope or sidescreens are being refitted, since worn or missing fasteners often allow the envelope or screen to come adrift in service.
Ordering Considerations
Three points should be confirmed before ordering. First, the sidescreen pattern, flap type (1500 / early Twin Cam to chassis 2192) or sliding type (1600 onwards / Twin Cam from 2193). Second, whether the car carries the standard Vynide-frame sidescreens or the optional Weathershields aluminium-framed sliding type (which goes with the hard top, if fitted). Third, for the stowage envelope and its lift-the-dot retainers, whether the car is from before chassis 78249 (envelope in front of battery hatch) or from 78249 onwards (envelope above battery hatch), this affects which fixing positions on the rear quarter casing should be used.