BJ8 Rear Trim Rail

[AUSMHLY]

The rear trim rail gets screwed to the drainage channel.
There is a rubber strip that goes between the two pieces. The rubber strip is curved on top. It seem to mirror the inside of the trim rail.

It would seem then that the trim rail presses down against the top of the drainage channel, or is the rubber pressed against the sides of the trim rail and drainage channel.

When I line up the screw holes in the trim rail with the holes in the drainage channel, the trim rail top does not press against the top of the drainage channel. It's about 1/4" away from each other.

I maybe putting the carriage in front of the horse.

The top material is attached to the trim rail with 36 clips. Where are the clips attached to the trim rail? Does anyone have some photos showing where the clips are pressed on?

Thank you,
Roger

 

[AUSMHLY]

Hi Guys,

This post is moving down the list, and I thought I'd bring it back up to eyeball level.

Can anyone tell me if the rear trim rail gets pressed down against the top of the drainage channel, or is there a gap?

Where do the clips that hold the top material get attached?

Thank you,
Roger

 

[bob hughes]

Roger,

Following discussions with a guy who trims Healeys for Rawles ( Healey specialists in Hampshire), I believe that the trim rail would press down on the rubber seal and the drain channel( we can not get the special seal here and just fit the rail to the channel)and and that the hood is folded around the edge of the 'hockey' stick of the trim rail and is then clipped into position, then the whole lot is screwed into the side of the channel. I guess any extra material would dress down between the trim rail and the rubber seal. I will be in the same boat as you shortly so I am also reasearching this and the hood installation. I have no photos as the PO just used double sided sticky tape and also folded and flattened out the trim rail - a real bugger muddle

By the way, where did you get your seal from?

Bob

 

[Legal Bill]

This thread covers two of about 10 reasons why I gave this job to a professional shop that has done 10 or more of them in the past. Get any one step wrong and your top does not fit properly or leaks or both. Unlike hard parts, soft parts ain't that easy to remove and refit. They tend to get buggered up if you don't do it right the first time. Since the materials cost more than the labor, I decided to open up the check book and hire a professional. My list of concerns:

1. Ensure that the metal frame is operating properly with proper spacing and no pinch points.

2. Alinging the metal frame to the car and the wooden pieces to the frame.

3. Lining up the top to the frame and the car.

4. Cutting and gluing the top to the center rail of the top frame.

5. Tacking the top to the front frame rail.

6. fitting the top to the rear trim rail.

7. Sealing rear trim rail to the channel.

8. Fitting the sides of the top to the wooden window frame rails on the sides.

9. Fitting the cloth straps to the frame rails.

10. Fitting the seal and hidem strip to the front wooden frame rail.

I've seen MANY BJ8 tops that do not fit correctly. My hat is off to those that do this themselves and get it right.

 

[AUSMHLY]

By the way, where did you get your seal from? Bob

Hi Bob,
It's available from Macgregor coachtrimming in Canada. 1.877.77.6381

 

[shorn]

When attaching the back of the top to the trim rail, use new clips (326-185) and plenty of them (36 required). The person installing my top reused some of the older clips and did not use enough of them. It was a pain in the you know what to replace them.

 

[AUSMHLY]

This thread covers two of about 10 reasons why I gave this job to a professional shop that has done 10 or more of them in the past. Get any one step wrong and your top does not fit properly or leaks or both.

1. Ensure that the metal frame is operating properly with proper spacing and no pinch points.

2. Alinging the metal frame to the car and the wooden pieces to the frame.

I've seen MANY BJ8 tops that do not fit correctly. My hat is off to those that do this themselves and get it right.

I could not agree with you more Bill.

The prior top was installed by another top shop about 4 years ago. That top looked great when up, but I could not get it to seat well. It was too hard to press it down into the cavity behind the seat. Over time the treads at the bottom of the side window started breaking from the too tight a fit to get it to the down settled position.

last Thanksgiving someone sliced my top...OUCH. Well that solved that bad fitting top problem. I'm now with a different top shop, and I've been working on this project four months now. (I took the car out of his shop after 3 days, because we are having problems with the metal top frames. He needs the space, and I'll figure out the frame situation and bring it back to him).

The problem is the frame, or frames should I say. I'm tying different frames and find they all fit differently. The top shop tells me, to get a great fit, you have to have the frame fit the car first. I'm working on the first two bullets, and other things associated with that. Once the frame is set up correctly, then it's off to the top guy to let him do his magic installing the material.

Soon enough I will be one very knowledgeable Healey top guy, and will pay it forward here.

Thanks guys for your help.
Roger

 

[tahoe healey]

Roger, please excuse my ignorance but I cannot find the rubber part you are referring to in the Moss cataloger. Is it part number 52 on page 136? It does not look like what you posted. Very sorry to hear about your slashed top. That really sucks. Where they trying to break in or just being vandals?

 

[AUSMHLY]

Roger, please excuse my ignorance but I cannot find the rubber part you are referring to in the Moss cataloger. Is it part number 52 on page 136? It does not look like what you posted. Very sorry to hear about your slashed top. That really sucks. Where they trying to break in or just being vandals?

TH, yes that is the item in the Moss catalog. The drawing in the Moss Catalog, you can tell what it looks like? Oh yeah, your an Optometris. :cooler:

Man you should have seen the look on my face when I noticed the top had been cut. I never leave anything in the interior. I always put things in the boot, turn the battery off and lock the car. My guess, young punks.

 

[Keoke]

Hi Roger I have been quiet because I could not figure out what your problem is. However. on the larger issue of fitting a top to the Healey Can;t you find or ship the car to BCS Or Absolutely British COZ obviously those bloke you got don;t know sod about a Healey top---Keoke

 

[AUSMHLY]

Hi Roger I have been quiet because I could not figure out what your problem is. However. on the larger issue of fitting a top to the Healey Can;t you find or ship the car to BCS Or Absolutely British COZ obviously those bloke you got don;t know sod about a Healey top---Keoke

Hi Keoke
Thanks for jumping in. My situation is my car has been in a couple accidents somewhere in it travels with previous owners. Throw in I don't know if the top frame that came with the car is the original. I now have 3 top frames and all of them fit the car differently. What?

The top shop I'm using/working with does concours quality work. He figures each car out when it comes in and does the work. He's telling me my frames have issues. And he's right. We tried to fix the top bow in his shop on my first frame. After all that, concluded that the sides of the frame were not coming out to the sides of the car enough to meet the side glass. The frame I just got at BCS, the frame sides come out to where they should.

I actually got the last complete top frame from BCS. I drove my car up there with both of my frames and tried on 4 of BCS frames. (I spent 7 hrs there). Old frames have problems and they all fit differently and some did not work on my car at all. BCS is a great shop and David spent a little time with me. We took measurements of top frames and of my car to figure out why things are off. I looked at the finished work that BCS has done on installing tops and they provide a very nice job. I'm a guy who strives for and will for perfection.

As an example of how much shimming I have to do to get my top to fit, I have two shims on the passenger side of the car and 5 shims on the drivers side. 5 on the two forward bolts and 4 on the single rear bolt. That's a lot of shimming!
Anyway guys, there are so many areas that need to be adjusted for a great fit. Top frame, windows, wood, aluminum, windscreen. I'm getting close to figuring it all out. If I was doing this back in the 60's, with a car that was not in an accident and was installing a new top frame, I don't think I'd be having to back engineer these problems...I mean challenges

Cheers,
Roger

 

[elrey]

Man alive! I'm feeling better about having a roadster all the time.....==elrey

 

[Keoke]

Man alive! I'm feeling better about having a roadster all the time.....==elrey

YEAH!!! till it rain---Keoke-- :laugh:

 

[elrey]

Should be coming to the end of those 50 days of measurable rainfall soon, I hope.

--elrey

 

[Keoke]

Should be coming to the end of those 50 days of measurable rainfall soon, I hope.

--elrey

Well it ain't gonna be this week end you can make book on that-- :banana:

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Hi Roger I have been quiet because I could not figure out what your problem is. However. on the larger issue of fitting a top to the Healey Can;t you find or ship the car to BCS Or Absolutely British COZ obviously those bloke you got don;t know sod about a Healey top---Keoke

Hi Keoke
Thanks for jumping in. My situation is my car has been in a couple accidents somewhere in it travels with previous owners. Throw in I don't know if the top frame that came with the car is the original. I now have 3 top frames and all of them fit the car differently. What?

The top shop I'm using/working with does concours quality work. He figures each car out when it comes in and does the work. He's telling me my frames have issues. And he's right. We tried to fix the top bow in his shop on my first frame. After all that, concluded that the sides of the frame were not coming out to the sides of the car enough to meet the side glass. The frame I just got at BCS, the frame sides come out to where they should.

I actually got the last complete top frame from BCS. I drove my car up there with both of my frames and tried on 4 of BCS frames. (I spent 7 hrs there). Old frames have problems and they all fit differently and some did not work on my car at all. BCS is a great shop and David spent a little time with me. We took measurements of top frames and of my car to figure out why things are off. I looked at the finished work that BCS has done on installing tops and they provide a very nice job. I'm a guy who strives for and will for perfection.

As an example of how much shimming I have to do to get my top to fit, I have two shims on the passenger side of the car and 5 shims on the drivers side. 5 on the two forward bolts and 4 on the single rear bolt. That's a lot of shimming!
Anyway guys, there are so many areas that need to be adjusted for a great fit. Top frame, windows, wood, aluminum, windscreen. I'm getting close to figuring it all out. If I was doing this back in the 60's, with a car that was not in an accident and was installing a new top frame, I don't think I'd be having to back engineer these problems...I mean challenges

Cheers,
Roger

I've seen a lot of BJ8's taken apart and never that many shims!!
Where's the "flat" shims at(not those washers)? Patrick

 

[Keoke]

Yeah Patric , sumpin funny goin on here. Previously a new top had been put on the car by another shop and according to reports on this forum it was great!! Now these blokes have to use a mountain of washers and still can't get it to fit.????--Keoke

 

[elrey]

:shocked: With that many washers, I was a thinkin it was the laundromat option! --elrey

 

[AUSMHLY]

[/quote]I've seen a lot of BJ8's taken apart and never that many shims!!
Where's the "flat" shims at(not those washers)? Patrick [/quote]

Shims=washers

 

[AUSMHLY]

Yeah Patric , sumpin funny goin on here. Previously a new top had been put on the car by another shop and according to reports on this forum it was great!! Now these blokes have to use a mountain of washers and still can't get it to fit.????--Keoke

You've been doing your homework Keoke.
To set the record straight. The previous top looked great, when in the up position. The two problems were:

1. It would not seat into the resting cavity without a lot of force and that ended up ripping some of the seam treads.

2. The top of the drivers glass was hitting the aluminum trim rail. I now know that's because there were no shims, where I now find 4-5 are needed to get the required gap.

So these blokes are addressing all the fit areas, as the other shop did not.
Clear as mud now?
Cheers,
Roger