Any advice on installing new soft top?

[Drew_Sylver]

After a three year sit in my garage I've pulled my 1979 mgb out of dry dock. A new top is on order made by Ez on. Any advise for the install would be greatly appreciated.

 

[tony barnhill]

Return the EzOn top & get a Robbins! I've never been able to put an EzOn on easily, i.e., getting all the wrinkles out.

Maybe I just didn't let them get warm enough....roll the car out in the sun & lay the top over the bows for an hour or so before you start installing....make sure its exactly centered on the car...start at the reare & work forward.

 

[DrEntropy]

Robbins DOES make the best replacement top. The other ones seem to have a "rumple" at the left quarter-light I've never been able to defeat.

 

[dklawson]

In 2005 Classic Motorsports had an article detailing their installation of a new convertible top on their project Midget. Presumably the steps for the MGB would be about the same.

So Robbins is the best. Aren't they also quite a bit more expensive than the EZ tops?

 

[DrEntropy]

Not sure how to define "quite a bit" but: I put a Robbins on the Alfa in 2000. In Florida. Not garage kept, the rear window is ~still~ as clear as the week I put it on th' car, with exception of a few light scratches... only "treatment" is with mild soap and water and a chamois. Never saw that with the EZ top. They yellow and crack in a year or two down here. I'll admit it has started to crack a bit at the folding points of the tan vinyl now, but after eight years of Florida UV exposure I'm kinda amazed. Oh, and a week ago a treelimb fell on it DEAD CENTER and punctured it. Small 1/2" radiused "wound". Patched but shortly it'll be time for replacement.

I've fitted dozens of Robbins tops to all sorts over twenty-five years... Recommended with no reservation. :thumbsup:

 

[tony barnhill]

"quite a bit" - depends on where you buy, I suppose!

 

[PAUL161]

Only advise I'd say is, make sure it's straight and check for tightness before you cement it in place. I use spring loaded wood working clamps across the front header to position it and mark it. I also make sure it's in the warm sun while stretching it. Works for me.

 

[WA1KWA]

A cheap top is like a cheap Jaguar.

There is nothing more expensive.

Colin

 

[tony barnhill]

A cheap top is like a cheap Jaguar.

There is nothing more expensive.

Colin

Good one, Colin - think I'll steal it for use!

 

[WA1KWA]

Sure, Tony.

Actually got that from the Studebaker forum. No such thing as a cheap Avanti.

Expierence here, also. Bought a Prestige top just 2 years ago. Now, they do have more expensive tops, so I don't know about those, but I bought the cheap one. Back window is already pretty much fogged (it's in a garage)material seems thin. Will have to replace it in a year or so & buy a Robbins. So, in essence, the Robbins top will cost much more.

The Aamco top I replaced lasted 20 years. Those were a good value.

Colin

 

[Number_6]

A cheap top is like a cheap Jaguar.

There is nothing more expensive.

Colin

Hey! How did you know? Says the man that, to date, has put about $30 grand into a not so cheap Jag.

 

[ronzet]

Ya know, guys....

I absolutely agree that a warm sun will provide a pliable and maleable material during an installation....

However, I installed a top a few years ago in one of those balmy 85+ days in San Diego... material was flexible and stretched very nicely. The installation went realtively smoothly....

However, the only time I put the top up was when it was cold outside and the material was back to its non-warmed state... and that took a <span style="font-weight: bold">Herculean</span> feat of strength to pull the top to the windscreen and clamp it....

So, make sure it is warm and not HOT when you are installing the top on the frame... :smirk:

 

[WA1KWA]

Ron,

Good advice. I think most of us have done the exact same thing somewhere along the line!

Colin

 

[ronzet]

Colin,

This is one of those -- 'well, shoot, it worked a minute ago' that we all go through.... :smirk:

 

[dklawson]

Tony, your reply prompted me to Google to find convertible top vendors. You're absolutely right. Depending on the vendor, the Robbins tops can be purchased for only slightly more than the EZ On tops (perhaps 10% more). The prices I'd seen previously for the Robbins tops were from what turned out to be "more expensive" vendors. Thanks for prompting me to look.

 

[WA1KWA]

Ron,

That was actually my first MG 'lesson'; even before actually owning one. The guy who got me interested had a B & he put the top on as you describe, so, if it was under 100F, you had to be a gorilla to muscle the top closed.

First MG Lesson Learned!

Colin

 

[ronzet]

Colin,

Well now....

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:] even before actually owning one. [/QUOTE]

And you actually bought one afterwards..... You deffinately need help... Wait a minute... Maybe we ALL do... :smirk:

 

[Bruce74B]

Colin,

Well now....

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:] even before actually owning one.

And you actually bought one afterwards..... You deffinately need help... Wait a minute... Maybe we ALL do... :smirk: [/QUOTE]

HEY! I resemble that remark! Hmmmmmm, but what does that mean about those of us who have bought several of them over the years? LOL

 

[DrEntropy]

Simple masochism.

 

[ronzet]

Bruce74B,

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]but what does that mean about those of us who have bought several of them over the years [/QUOTE]

What it means is we are way beyond help...... :smirk: