> So, I bought this tonneau cover for the TR3 and no matter how
> I try to stretch it out it comes up a good half inch too
> short.
That has been pretty much my experience as well, with covers from both Moss
& TRF. Generally I can just barely stretch them enough when they are new,
but then the vinyl shrinks with exposure until it literally rips the zipper
apart, or bends the studs. It's not clear to me whether the problem is that
the patterns used have shrunk (or eroded) over the years, or whether there
was really that much variation in the cars; but I suspect that both are
true.
I also believe at this point that there were at least 5 and maybe 6
distinctly different patterns for tonneau covers. If you check the TRF
"Glove Box Companion", it was a write-up of 4 variations, but none of them
seemed to match TS39781LO or my current TS13571L. Amusingly, the Moss
website has a photo of a cover that does not properly fit the car it is
installed on (doesn't cover the front corner studs).
Also, Charles loaned me his custom-made tonneau cover for a test fitting;
and it was a full inch larger in both length and width than my car is! The
doors were taken to bare metal during the second respray and there were no
signs of the holes having been relocated, so I believe the locations are
original to the car. It was also the wrong pattern (as expected), but
Charles' late TR3A is clearly slightly bigger than my current late TR3 (and
previous early TR3A).
Here are some photos I took, if anyone is interested. The little orange
squares mark the stud location under the cover.
http://tinyurl.com/k6ktcwh
(click on the little magnifying glass in the lower RH corner to zoom in for
a better view).
My conclusion is that the only way to get a proper tonneau fit is to make
one to fit the car (or have it made). I approached one shop who did not
seem interested, so my current plan is to make one. Won't be cheap
(especially since I bought the wife a new heavy-duty sewing machine as part
of the deal) but hopefully I'll wind up with something that actually fits,
and a pattern to ease the work the next time I need a new cover.
-- Randall
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