For the door pulls on my 57 TR3, I used braided picture frame hanging wire
in combination with a thick walled rubber hose of approximately 3/8"
outside diameter. I made a loop on each end of the wire and crimped a
farrel to hold the loops in place. I cut a length of the hose slightly
shorter than the wire, such that when I pulled the wire through the hose,
the loops extended beyond the end of the hose on each end. I had a local
upholstery shop wrap the entire length of the wire/hose in vinyl and sew
it. The seam remained on the outside. I punched small holes in vinyl so
that the door latch post and front attachment screw could pass through the
loops. To cover the front attachment, I used old style convertible top bow
tips. These were used on many older American converible tops. The vinyl
tucked under this tip. I sewed up the back end a bit neater since it is
exposed and not covered like the front end is. The strap is installed with
the seam pointing down.
The wire provides the strength, and the rubber hose gives a good feel to
the pull strap. I thought this produced a pull which looked much like the
original ones I've seen.
The door pulls were covered with the same technique used to cover the
"windhose" door seal used on the front and real of the door. The early
TR's used this instead of the fuzzy door seal used on the TR3A.
John Reed
Ann Arbor
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