This Sunday, August 28 is the "British on the Green" show in Granby,
Connecticut. I plan to be there, weather permitting. I hope to see a few
SOL'ers there. Look for me in the (massive!) row of TD's; mine is MG red. I'll
write "SOL" on my windscreen card. You might see me wandering about with my 18
month old daughter in a green "Tough Traveler" child carrier/backpack.
I finally got around to installing the top on the TD this weekend. Not a
terribly difficult task - but tedious. I found the directions that accompanied
the Moss top to be terrific. I followed them to the letter, and obtained a good
result.
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TECH TIP (installing Press Dot fasteners)
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A Press Dot fastener is a circular dome with a tubular protrusion that the
installer must "flare" into the snap portion of the device when installing it
onto canvas. The fastener is typically employed to attach top canvas to the
body tub on our cars. The snap portion (female side) then clicks onto a (male
side) stud that is attached by a screw to the body tub.
Moss recommends purchasing their installation tool to simplify this task. You
can do it without buying the tool. Here's how:
1 - find a small counter-sunk flat head screw (wood or sheet metal) with a
shaft size small enough to fit into the tubular part of the female end of the
fastener
2 - clamp the threaded portion of the screw in a vice, and hacksaw off the
screw head, leaving about 1/8" of shaft remaining on the screwhead
3 - find a C clamp small enough that the round threaded portion will fit
into the snap portion of the fastener. Cover the fixed side of the clamp with
tape or a small bit of wood (to protect the outer surface of the fastener)
4 - punch a hole in canvas where the fastener is needed, and join the two
female sides of the fastener
5 - place the shaft of the screw head into the tubular portion of the
fastener (it helps if you point the tube upright)
6 - place the fixed side of the C clamp on the outside of the fastener, and
tighten the screw side of the C clamp down onto the screw head (it helps to
press the two sides of the fastener tight against the canvas). Keep tightening
until you can go no further.
7 - remove the clamp, and test to assure that the fastener is secured. The C
clamp can be tightened again without the screw head to futher compress/flare
the tube.
(repeat steps 4 to 7 for the remaining fasteners)
This procedure provides a surprisingly nice result, and it is not nearly as
diffucult to accomplish as my lengthy explanation might imply. YMMV :-)
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I'll see you at Granby this Sunday!
-Doug
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"Lethargy bordering on sloth remains the cornerstone of my restoration style"
Doug Phillips (Douglas.W.Phillips@Williams.edu)
1952 MG TD, Member, New England T Register (#11109) and Berkshire
County British Motor Car Club / Williams College, Williamstown, MA
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