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Hardtop Wall Storage Rack

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Lin

Lin

Jedi Knight
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Hi folks,I think someone on this Forum or on the Healey email list made the hardtop storage rack pictured in the attachment. I apologize, but I forget who it was. I like it and would like to build one BEFORE I remove the top from my car. So, I am wondering what the angle of the cut is on the bottom brace? Failing an answer from the creator, I suppose that I could just extend the lines in the photo and put a protractor on them to estimate the angle. :smile:


Thanks.


Lin
Big Healey Hardtop Rack.jpg
 
Why not just use something like this . No need to man handle it onto the wall rack . Lift it straight up out of the way . It would need some adapting to suit a hardtop but Iā€™m sure you could make it work .
 

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If you take the original photo, select pictures on Google and drag the picture there ... you might find the original source

I think the hardtop will rest on the frontrail. The angle is not that important, as is the hight (lower rear window to upper front)

The hight should match the distance from the wall. Secure the top to the wall (strap)
 
Healey Nut, I have one of those dual pulley lifts. I use it for a bicycle. Difficult to use and cheaply made. Not a well engineered product, IMO. I don't think I would trust it with a valuable hardtop.
 
nevets said:
Healey Nut, I have one of those dual pulley lifts. I use it for a bicycle. Difficult to use and cheaply made. Not a well engineered product, IMO. I don't think I would trust it with a valuable hardtop.
Click to expand...

I donā€™t think I would use that particular one as Princess Auto stuff is not that great , kind of Harbour freight in the US quality .
Having said that someone with some fabrication skills and a welder could make something similar and maybe use two of them so there are four support points . As long as the hooks extend long enough to wrap over the hard top edges for support and protected in some way so they donā€™t damage the top or lining etc I think you could get it to work quite well .
Maybe once I retire I will design and sell all you guys with hard tops a version of it . (Patent pending) :encouragement:
 
Not a wall mount for sure but the best way I've found to store and move mine.
 

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I installed an overhead lift for the hardtop on an ex-wife's BN7. I cannot recall whether I purchased it or pieced it together but there were four pickup points that all came together at one central point and the lift was operated by ONE wall-mounted winch. Once the lengths of the four lines were adjusted so that balance, etc was correct it was a cinch to operate. However placement of it in a garage with standard ceiling height and tracks for overhead doors meant that one had to walk around rather than under the top when it was stowed. Still, once properly adjusted it was a one-person job to deploy/remove the top.

Personally I feel that the best way to handle R&R of a hardtop is to n ot do so and leave it on the car all the time.
 
I use a roll around stand like Rob G - bought as a cosmetic second with one very small paint chip for $70 on eBay....
 

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I see all the ideas look great, even keeping it on. The winch looks to be smart, but with an electric door opener, then what? Rolling rack good two people if space my benches wood tools stacked tool boxes little wall space.
OK, sorry, I am a TR6 guy and I have ordered a backlight with built-in roll bar and surrey top and hard top panel from UK. Surrey will go in boot; a flat hard top will hang like a picture. Picture to follow when installed. The backlight is a glass window like your car's, but the flat section comes off. It was an option on TR4, but TR6 same tub so works also. All your cars are beautiful!

Madflyer
 
As said in post #7 it was possible to place the overhead lift between the rails of one overhead door (obviously at the very limit of the door's travel). In order to deploy/retrieve the hardtop I would back the Healey all the way into the garage which placed it under the lift and about even with the end of the door's travel.

Yes, placement and installation of the lifting rig was time-consuming but once completed the job was done and its use was a cinch easily--if carefully--performed by one person. I don't believe that can be said about a rack-stored top as aside from the top's weight it is a bulky object requiring the strength and placement of two persons to remove and replace it.

I should also say that the top for my 4-cylinder car--made by NICAL in the UK--is a very light shell weighing no more than 25-30 lbs and it is a totally different animal than the much heavier factory tops for six-cylinder cars. Though I prefer to have an assistant if only to avoid any scratches it is a simple thing for me to mount/unmount my top alone, though it has lived probably 99% of its life deployed and doing its job.
 
13ft ceilings and direct drive door opener so no height issues for me or tracks to worry about .
I will be going with an overhead hoist version so it can be a one person job when needed .
I intend to leave my factory hardtop in place but if it needs to come off for any reason it will be easy .
 
I'm like Michael. I have an electric hoist, have to back in to use it, and leave the top on almost all the time.
 
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