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For you guys with tonneau covers, what do you do with your tops? Do you detach them from the car or are they tucked in the space behind the seats?
Vicenç - (bee sense)
Pembroke Pines, FL
1986 Aston - BCW Model 52 - "Montse II"(1983 FiberFab MiGi II - "Montse")
You should be able to go both ways. The top should fold down and then be covered by the tonneau. If the top is removed you obviously would have more room.
Bill Ascheman
Fiberfab Ford
Modified 5.0, 5sp., 4:11
Autocross & Hillclimb
"Drive Happy"@billnparts – The problem that I have is that the when the top is folded down, it doesn’t tuck into the space behind the seats, it hangs over the back of the car by about six inches. It seems to me that your top doesn’t do that (I think the same is true of @edsnova’s and @schu’s). What I’m really wondering is if I have to go with something custom made. I don’t want to order something from mgmagic and then have to pay the restocking fee if I have to return it.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by
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This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by .
Vicenç - (bee sense)
Pembroke Pines, FL
1986 Aston - BCW Model 52 - "Montse II"(1983 FiberFab MiGi II - "Montse")
Vicenc, I think that you will be happiest if you have one made. Jack tried fitting my Daytona Migi tonneau to his BCW and his Fiberfab. —- Not even close!
You should, first, decide what you want it to do for you. I, whenever top down cruising, always have my tonneau installed, even if only covering the storage shelf behind the seats.
Fit over the collapsed top and bows? I recommend this method, even if the tonneau would have to be built to overhang the rear a bit.
Zipper or Velcro? I prefer a good sturdy zipper.
I like a tonneau with a centerline zipper running almost the whole length of the tonneau. This allows you to drive solo, with the tonneau installed and covering the passenger seat area. The next time I get a tonneau it will also have a zipper running approximately across the top of the drivers seat so that the tonneau fabric that normally covers the gauges and drivers seat when secured, can be completely removed and stored elsewhere – rather than crammed behind the drivers backrest. One more pointer: Due to the Mae West (aka Marilyn Monroe) “humps” atop the dash panel, the rain will tend to accumulate along the centerline of the tonneau. You can fabricate a small tent pole like piece out of pvc to go vertically above the seats and raise the center of the tonneau higher – everything inside will stay nice and dry.
One last piece of advice: Make sure you know which steering wheel you want before getting one made. And if you are planning on installing Brooklands racing screens do it before getting your tonneau made. (..yeah, I know, that’s two last pieces of advice.)
@royal – I like the way you think. I am pretty sure that I will go the route of having one custom made to avoid hassles. I’ll start by checking with KDI Customs, @edsnova used them to make his door panels and they look really good. I’m pretty sure I’m not going with Brooklands since my windshield doesn’t fold down but I guess I’ll have to make a decision about the 15″ banjo wheel before I start with this process.
If anyone else knows of a possible tonneau cover maker in the Eastern PA, MD, DE area that I could check out, I would appreciate it.
Vicenç - (bee sense)
Pembroke Pines, FL
1986 Aston - BCW Model 52 - "Montse II"(1983 FiberFab MiGi II - "Montse")
Vicenc: I’m sure Tim Miller (KDI) would love your business. You’d have to leave the car with him though, pretty sure. Tell him I said hi if/when you call him.
He was working out of his parents’ garage when I contracted him. The door panels were an easy thing, since I had already cut the backers & had clear pictures of what I wanted the finished thing to look like. I also bought him the vinyl.
@edsnova – Sounds great, Ed. Will do.
Vicenç - (bee sense)
Pembroke Pines, FL
1986 Aston - BCW Model 52 - "Montse II"(1983 FiberFab MiGi II - "Montse")
Vicenç
I’m curious about your comment that the top hangs down…over the rear of the car.
Are you folding it up correctly? The various manufacturer roofs are all a bit different, but in general…
On my Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess….
Loosen the top, unsnap it from around the sides and fold the sides up over the top (leaving it attached at windshield and rear will make that step easier).
Then release top at windshield, pull the bars together, then release the last snaps from the rear of the car and wrap the entire roof around the two bars.
That should give you a relatively compact package that will rest on the top of the bodywork when you lay it down.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
I agree with Paul. If you look at some of the pictures in my profile you can see that the folded top of my Fiberfab fits inside the body shell. I have only had my top up a few times but it is complete and deploys correctly.
Since we do have kits, perhaps the frame was not fitted or assembled correctly, or replaced with something “non factory”. Interesting.
@pmossberg @kall – As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. The builder fitted the top frame so that it would overhang the rear of the car and no matter how the top is folded it will not fit inside the body shell because the bows extend beyond the shell.
Vicenç - (bee sense)
Pembroke Pines, FL
1986 Aston - BCW Model 52 - "Montse II"(1983 FiberFab MiGi II - "Montse")
Vicenc, didn’t we talk about this once when we first met at Carlisle? I believe that your top bows are not mounted where most/many are. This can be somewhat compensated for by adjusting the length of the bows. You might do well to examine closely some of the other Fiberfab member’s bow installations. (The tubing that typically is used for the bows can be purchased at most marine places (eg: West Marine) and it can be bent to whatever shape you need. I believe that your rather severe overhang can be “fixed” relatively inexpensively.)
But it could be that I just remember wrong. My memory (or at least, my confidence) is failing.
@royal – You are right, we talked about this at VA Beach last year. I don’t doubt that you are right about the relative ease of “fixing” the overhang, my doubt is in my ability to “fix” anything. Things usually end up more “fixed” when I try to fix them.
Vicenç - (bee sense)
Pembroke Pines, FL
1986 Aston - BCW Model 52 - "Montse II"(1983 FiberFab MiGi II - "Montse")
I should clarify…
The Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess top does not fit inside the body. It rests on top of the body when folded. But it only overhangs an inch or two, so it would be easy to have a tonneau cover made to fit over it.
The bow hinges mount to the top of the bodywork also. So there is no way the top would drop within the body. The bars are as wide as the body.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
I have a Tonneau Cover and rather than use the snaps from the kit, I think I’ll use Lift-the-dots. And use Lift-the-Dots on the convertible top on the rear, sides and door panels and use the snaps on the windshield frame. I also highly recommend a good cleaner for the Tonneau and the Top.
Allen Caron
VW based 53MGTD - "MoneyPenny"
"If one thing matters, everything matters" - from the book The ShackWhile we are on the subject of tops, is it recommended to put the top up when short term storing, i.e a few days to a couple of weeks, or, as my top is as old as the car; 10+ yrs, is it ok to leave it down?
I’ve had three convertibles in my lifetime and been told ALWAYS put the top up when its not being driven to keep the top from shrinking, but, I have a boot the top fits into and it’s a small chore to get everything tucked in when I drive.
Also, I am in the drawing board stages of making a hard top and would be taking the soft top off for an extended period; 2-3months, and need to know if it would shrink over a the winter.
Amor Conquista Todo
I have left the tops on my TDr and on my ’65 Plymouth down for months at a time with no problems.
If you find it a bit snug when you raise it, sit the car in the sun for a while. The vinyl will warm up and relax.
Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
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