Theo Smit wrote:
> Hi Listers,
>
> Took the hardtop (of questionable ancestry) apart, since the windows give a
> permanent English weather outlook (grey and dim), and the rubber parts have
>the
> texture and resilience of concrete.
Sunbeam Specialties has their own custom molded replacement for ALL the rubber,
including those pads, and I recommend you get all new.
> The headliner is a foam-backed medium brown
> (not all the same shade, but smooth grained) vinyl, stitched into a
> diamond-quilt pattern, with the diamonds being about 2" on a side. Is this
> original?
No. The original only has stitching at the cross bow supports. Also available
in
black or white at S.S.
> Also, the lower rear window frame is rusted through on the inside,
> while the outside shows no bubbling or any real evidence of corrosion. The
>lower
> corners have a fair bit of surface pitting on the underside where the
> concrete^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hrubber body pads screw on. Is this a reasonably typical
> rust pattern for a hardtop? Or does it mean I'll find the entire thing
>crumbles
> to pieces when I take it to get dipped?
Will bet you will find 'swiss cheese' after a dip. New formed steel parts are
available for these areas, are very well made by Rob Martel, in Canada, but they
are very dear. before they are welded on. If rusting is severe enough, you may
want
to shop for a top that is good to begin with. Hard to do, outside of
California,
as these areas are very prone to rust.
There is also a large rubbery vibration seal sheet adhered to the center of the
roof panel, and some old jute padding. Replacement "Q" pads are available at
most
auto paint supply stores, and work well in the doors too. Aluminum sided
insultaion, with multi-colored padding, work well for the pad, as well as under
the
dash or carpet.
BTW: There were two versions of Tiger tops made. One for the MkI and another
for
the MkIA, MkII with the soft boot cover. There is a small bracket on the
inside,
below the window, on the later models. There was also a change in the rubber
body
seal and rear tip rubber, in that the bottom seal is one piece soft spongy idoor
seal type rubber that fits in the same slot as the harder wide flat pieces, put
is
continous, rather than three pieces. A small diagonal metal retaining strip,
like
the originals on the sides and back, is in the corners to guide it around. I
feel
this is a superior design from a scrubbing and sealing point. The older corner
rubber must be cut down to fit as I haven't found a source for the newer design.
SS has both seal types. The tops fit either car.
Steve
--
Steve Laifman < One first kiss, >
B9472289 < one first love, and >
< one first win, is all >
< you get in this life. >
_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/
_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/
_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/
_/_/_/_/_/__/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/
_/
_/_/_/
|