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Correct alignment of BN6 side screens
- Thread starter BN6_2197
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andrea
Jedi Knight
Offline
Hi Volker
Observing your Photos I have see that your sidescreen rubber seal are up from the door upper step
see this early 3000 sidescreen
and BN4
sidescreen rubber cover the step, and probably from the interior of car you can see the aluminum end very close to the doors end, my "IMPRESSION??!!" is that your SC are fit a bit more high
sorry for limited help, but my sidescreen are always on the bag- and I haven't fitted the SC mountin plates- I have pressing trouble on my car to afford excessive steering hard and new plates and immatriculation
Cheers
Andrea
Observing your Photos I have see that your sidescreen rubber seal are up from the door upper step
see this early 3000 sidescreen
and BN4
sidescreen rubber cover the step, and probably from the interior of car you can see the aluminum end very close to the doors end, my "IMPRESSION??!!" is that your SC are fit a bit more high sorry for limited help, but my sidescreen are always on the bag- and I haven't fitted the SC mountin plates- I have pressing trouble on my car to afford excessive steering hard and new plates and immatriculation
Cheers
Andrea
Volker, just my 2 cents regarding previous comments:
wing mirrors - my understanding is that most wing mirrors were dealer installed, not factory. I have a BN6 and the mirrors are just over the front wheels, so I guess there is no designated "correct place". The concern I see is that the bottom seal on the side curtain overlaps the base of the mirror.
soft top shape - In order for the side curtains to close properly against the soft top, you would expect the shape of the opening in the soft top to generally match the shape of the side curtain frame. In your photos, the top of the soft top openings angle downward front to back, rather than the ~horizontal top of the side curtain. Likewise, the rear of your top openings angle front of vertical compared to the rearward angle on the side curtain. It's been a long time since I put a new top on my car (maybe 1984??), but I remember having a lot of trouble. In my case I finally discovered that the ends of my top frame were rusted and deteriorated (the part that sticks into the hole) and were actually ~1" shorter than they had been originally. This caused the frame to sit too low in the car and could explain some of the mismatch if your car suffered the same fate. However, even after fixing this, my fit was still far from perfect. I chalked it up to the 2-seater's top design being a bit "hinky" to start with.
Rich
wing mirrors - my understanding is that most wing mirrors were dealer installed, not factory. I have a BN6 and the mirrors are just over the front wheels, so I guess there is no designated "correct place". The concern I see is that the bottom seal on the side curtain overlaps the base of the mirror.
soft top shape - In order for the side curtains to close properly against the soft top, you would expect the shape of the opening in the soft top to generally match the shape of the side curtain frame. In your photos, the top of the soft top openings angle downward front to back, rather than the ~horizontal top of the side curtain. Likewise, the rear of your top openings angle front of vertical compared to the rearward angle on the side curtain. It's been a long time since I put a new top on my car (maybe 1984??), but I remember having a lot of trouble. In my case I finally discovered that the ends of my top frame were rusted and deteriorated (the part that sticks into the hole) and were actually ~1" shorter than they had been originally. This caused the frame to sit too low in the car and could explain some of the mismatch if your car suffered the same fate. However, even after fixing this, my fit was still far from perfect. I chalked it up to the 2-seater's top design being a bit "hinky" to start with.
Rich
British_Recovery
Jedi Warrior
Offline
Volker,
Do you have a picture showing the full top? Inside as well? It appears that the angle of the top's rear vertical opening edge is incorrect. Maybe something is wrong with the frame or the tabs holding the rear bar. Originally the top frame had adjustable bolts in the post to raise the bow unit upward. I noticed that you don't have the "hide 'em" strip on the front bow so your top is probably affixed incorrectly. This might be a good thing if you need to move the top to the rear and up since you probably have extra vinyl wrapped over the wooden bow. I agree that the mirrors are in the way a bit. If you are stuck with the top the way it is, used side curtains are relatively cheap and you can modify them to get a functional set, rather than modify these. If you Google "healey side curtains" and click on images, you can see some interesting mods.
Good luck, Bob
Do you have a picture showing the full top? Inside as well? It appears that the angle of the top's rear vertical opening edge is incorrect. Maybe something is wrong with the frame or the tabs holding the rear bar. Originally the top frame had adjustable bolts in the post to raise the bow unit upward. I noticed that you don't have the "hide 'em" strip on the front bow so your top is probably affixed incorrectly. This might be a good thing if you need to move the top to the rear and up since you probably have extra vinyl wrapped over the wooden bow. I agree that the mirrors are in the way a bit. If you are stuck with the top the way it is, used side curtains are relatively cheap and you can modify them to get a functional set, rather than modify these. If you Google "healey side curtains" and click on images, you can see some interesting mods.
Good luck, Bob
Hi Volker,
Our BN7 has a similar problem, although less severe than yours. I agree with the others that your mirrors aren't helping the situation.
There are no adjustment bolts in the frame on our frame (there may have been at one time), but the top is really tight already, so they wouldn't help anyway.
I'm attributing the poor fit on our car to a pattern that's not quite right at the manufacturer.
This top was installed in 2006, and we've just lived with it. Looks like things haven't gotten any better over 7 years...
I'm planning on having a local upholstery shop trim back the top at the back corner.
Good luck with yours,
GregoryW
Our BN7 has a similar problem, although less severe than yours. I agree with the others that your mirrors aren't helping the situation.
There are no adjustment bolts in the frame on our frame (there may have been at one time), but the top is really tight already, so they wouldn't help anyway.
I'm attributing the poor fit on our car to a pattern that's not quite right at the manufacturer.
This top was installed in 2006, and we've just lived with it. Looks like things haven't gotten any better over 7 years...
I'm planning on having a local upholstery shop trim back the top at the back corner.
Good luck with yours,
GregoryW
DerekJ
Luke Skywalker
Offline
Volker. I think you have a couple of problems. Firstly, the front cross bar of the hood frame is not in the correct position. It should be higher so that, when viewed from the side, the top rises at an angle from the windscreen to the first cross bow. There is a photo on my website here https://www.healeysix.net/BN46port.htm Secondly, your top is not original and may have been made up by a previous owner to fit what he had. I do not think it is the correct shape although you would have to see what it looks like when you have the frame in the correct position. Wing mirrors did not come with the car, they were fitted as an after market item, often on the front wings, although they are pretty useless in that position.
Just to add to the side show mirror discussion, my BN7 came with left and right mirrors that mount in the forward holes intended for the side curtains rods. They work very nicely, but they must be removed if the side curtains are installed. Since I now live in Florida, I intend to leave both the top and side curtains in storage. I also have a fitting issue at the top rear of each side curtain as shown in a couple of the photos, with a tendency for the side curtain to overlap the fabric. By the way, my mirrors are stamped Harley Davidson on the shafts. A very neat way of dealing with mirrors that was done by a PO.
British_Recovery
Jedi Warrior
Offline
Gregory W.
Just a thought before you cut int the top. I've used different height turnbuckles at the lower corner on occasion to compensate for top shrinkage. Leave the Tenax and turnbuckles undone and raise the top frame in its holes and see how much you gain. You could shave down the aluminum flange on the side screen also, if it's close. Do this in the hot sun and the top will stretch a lot. Might be worth a try since the top looks good.
Bob
Just a thought before you cut int the top. I've used different height turnbuckles at the lower corner on occasion to compensate for top shrinkage. Leave the Tenax and turnbuckles undone and raise the top frame in its holes and see how much you gain. You could shave down the aluminum flange on the side screen also, if it's close. Do this in the hot sun and the top will stretch a lot. Might be worth a try since the top looks good.
Bob