BN1 Soft Top installation - need advice!

hello all, I bought a new Robbins soft top for my '54 BN1 and I'm having a heck of a time trying to figure out how the front top bow (angle iron/wood) should be wrapped with the vinyl sent with the Robbins top. Two of the attached pictures show the top frame with the wood attached to the front bow; the other three pictures show the vinyl that is supposed to be wrapped around the iron/wood front bow. What I can't figure out is what the flap sewn to the vinyl is used for - the flap is approx 1 inch wide and it spans across the length of the bow. I'm tempted to just remove it, but surely Robbins put there for some reason. Has anyone on this forum with a BN1/BN2 installed a Robbins top? if so, can you offer some insight as to what that 1 inch-wide flap is for? I'd sure appreciate some advice or a picture or two showing how you wrapped the front bow on your top frame.
thanks in advance, Charles

Charles--

Many years ago Doug Reid and I installed a new Robbins top on my BN1. I cannot now recall the specifics and what we wound up doing and unfortunately Doug is deceased, but I do remember that things did not make sense to us either and we wound up improvising the installation so that it worked. I wish I could be more helpful and perhaps Robbins is now a better resource for assistance than they were then. I can only suggest that you install it in a way that makes sense to you.

Thanks Michael. Talked to Kent Lacy yesterday about the flap on the bow wrap, my understanding was that
the flap was not on the original tops and was added by Robbins to drape over the weather strip joint.
Charles

It was meant to give the front edge of the top where it meets the windshield a more finished detail look. It actually looks very nice although not original.


Kent