>From George
| I'm gonna restore my 1965 TR4A next winter and there is one part which will
| be hard to replace. The car has a Surrey top (fixed rear window, Targa-like)
| complete with the original SOFT top. Since the hardtop panel is too big to
| stow in the car when removed, I leave it home, making the soft top essential
| here in the Northeast. The original soft top is torn and stiff and shrunk. I
| have never seen a new Surrey soft top offered anywhere. Has anyone seen one
| of these advertised? Has anyone ever needed one?
If you have the top-bows and an old top you shouldn't have a problem.
Over the last 20 years I have had three of these made by upolstery shops, the
first
copied from a factory original, the second copied from the first, third from
second. I just got the third car back a few days ago. The top still fits as
well
as it did new but that is not as good as the original did. A good shop should
be able to make you a good copy. They are simple enough that it shouldn't be
too expensive.
A couple of years ago I remember seeing an advert for these but can't remember
where (Roadster Factory?). If you find where please let me know, I may be back
in the market for one. /Dick
|
| ------------------------------
|
| Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1993 07:59:51 -0800
| From: Ron Tewksbury <ront@twg.com>
| Subject: Chevy powered Jags
|
| My neighbor owns an XJ6 with a Chevy 307 in it. I asked him why
| he didn't put a 350 in it. He said that a 350 was too powerful
| for diff mounts to handle - that it would rip them up.
I've had and evaluated both the Jag diff and the Corvette diff for swaps.
Both are commonly used in the street-rod world along with their respective
rear suspensions. The Jag housing is actually larger then the 'Vette. They
are pretty strong too. /Dick
| ------------------------------
|
| Date: Thu, 28 Jan 93 12:48:55 -0500
| From: William Hartwell Woodruff <woodruff@engin.umich.edu>
| Subject: spit differentials
|
|
| A friend of mine is rebuilding a spitfire differential. To
| determine to correct amount of shims to use when replacing the pinion
| and pinion shaft, you need to make some measurements using special tool
| %$^#$!!. From the pictures in the Bently manual, it looks like a dummy
| pinion shaft - except being a little longer. Does anyone have experience
| doing this or know how to avoid it?
|
| woodruff@caen.engin.umich.edu
This is one of the worst jobs in your car. I've too many. It can be
done without the proper tools by using lots of blue dycum, many assemblies
and many disassemblies. Don't try it unless you are very confident of your
skills and very patient. If you don't get it shimmed just right your new
gears will last a very short time. I recently saw the proper tools advertized.
I think it was in one of the RoadsterFactory cats. /dick
|