At 12:03 PM 9/30/98 -0600, you wrote:
>Hi all,
>
>I have a hardtop of questionable vintage and ancestry that I'd like to use with
>my (mk1A) Tiger. The hardtop has stamped-steel over-center latches at the
>windshield header. These things don't seem to fit correctly into the windshield
>frame catches, and the over-center action (when I can get it to engage)
pops the
>catch back off again, while putting enough stress on the stamped-metal part to
>bend the end of it.
>
>Was the stamped-metal latch standard equipment on hardtops? Is it possible to
>refit the cast ones used on a soft top (I have two spares)?
>
>Thanks in advance,
>
>Theo Smit
>tsmit@novatel.ca
>B382002705
>
Theo,
The latchs on my Tiger II and Alpine 5 are identical both for hardtops
and rag tops. The trick is that the latch is held with a couple of 10-32
screws in slots. I have to readjust the position of the latches every so
often when I swap tops amound cars.
Sounds like you simply need to adjust the latch position, as yours
is too tight (too far away from the lip of the top).
Get a screwdriver that FITS the screw slot or phillips hole.
If these screws haven't been loosened in the last 25 years, you sure
don't want to round out a slot with a poor tool. Use PB Blaster or
equivilent to minimize twisting the screw in two.
First try loosing the latch's screws a bit
(so they can be moved a bit, but not sloppy loose) and then seeing if the latch
will clamp and hold OK. Tighten the screws a bit and try again. If they
still fit, then tighten well and you are done.
James Barrett Tiger II 351C and others
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