Dave
I believe the tops that fit poorly have the rear flaps too high so
they will not snap down and I also believe that the side drip rails did not
extend forward far enough. There maybe other problems I'm not sure.
The story related to me by Tiger Tom was that it took many years for
all the Sunbeam parts dealers, Tom, Rick, and Curt to get AMCO and I think
there was one other convertible top vender, Robins(?), to cut and sew the
tops correctly. I believe it was late 70's or early 80's when they finally
convinced those vendors that their convertible tops for the Sunbeams were
wrong and did not fit correctly and the vendors finally made the correction.
I believe all the convertible tops on the market now are the correct fit.
Check with your parts vendor to make sure of this.
Ron Fraser
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-tigers@Autox.Team.Net [mailto:owner-tigers@Autox.Team.Net] On
Behalf Of DJoh797014@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, October 28, 2004 12:31 PM
To: tigers@Autox.Team.Net
Subject: Different soft tops
Listers
Food for discussion. 20 years ago I needed to replace the original top on
my MK IA (B382002668). The orginal top was the black pinpoint vinyl. I
ordered the top through a glass/ top dealer from AMCO. When it arrived I
discovered it did not fit. It fit fine front to back, but side to side the
top was at least two inches short. Try as I could I could not figure out
how to lower the frame.
The dealer checked his book and found it listed two velcro tops. One for
the MK IA and one for the MK II. So since my car was so close to a MK II
number, he ordered that. When it arrived it fit like a glove! When we
compared the two tops besides the width difference, the MK II top had a
small snap on the inside flap that snapped to a stud on the rear wheel well.
I have checked some MK II's and they all have this snap, while earlier MK
IA's did not.
Could it be that Sunbeam changed the frame heighth and thus
the top. One of the enhancements that the MK II heralded was more head
room. I know then changed the angle of the steering shaft to raise the
wheel. But did they also make the frame taller? It would be an eay way to
give more head room and whould explain why the MK II has a different part
listing in top dealer's catalogues.
Comments anyone?
Dave Johnson
PS. TE/AE has a good tech tip written by Dave Reina on how
to install a new top yourself. Requires a hot sunny day.
Too late in the year for most of us.
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