Installing a New Top on a 1955 BN-1

[TodE]

I saw Dave Russell's great link to "Installing a new top on my BJ8". Is there information on installing a new top on a BN-1? Also my old top is just stapled to the wood front piece? When you read correct restoration books it states "tacked"? Without pictures its hard to guess at what is correct. What kind of tacks (copper, furniture, brass?) If somebody has good pictures or a good tread for correct restoration or if thay could take some close uppictures of their car it would be very helpful.

Tod Emeigh
tod6@juno.com
(302) 542-2788

 

[zblu]

Hi TodE,
Can get some pics off mine in a few days, one thing I should have done was probably fix a piece of flat bar to the wood under the fabric so as to stop it flexing and lifting off the windscreen at speed /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif

 

[Dave Russell]

Hi Tod,
See if this helps. since the tacks don't show, I think standard upholstery tacks of the proper length would work ok.

https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcforum/u...4279#Post374279

You may need to draw a couple of pics to see the assembly sequence. Especially the front corners. The original tops had triangular metal stiffeners embedded in the front corner flaps.
D

 

[roscoe]

Tod,
I just did the top on my BN-2. The -1 and the -2 were the same. Although I think they used plain steel tacks originally, I used regular Arrow staple gun staples, 5/16ths of an inch, and fabricated a new front wood bow out of oak. I think staples are just as effective if done properly, and easier than using tacks. I looked at all the photos I could find of how the front was done and you see differences that are fairly major, even looking at early photos. I ended up by wraping the front edge of the fabric over the top of the wood and slitting it where the screws were and then feeding it under the wood. I could then pull it snug and tack it (I used glue) to the back side of the bow so I could undo the side latches and tighten the countersunk screws to make the whole wood bow into a clamp for the front edge. I then made a weather strip from extra top material that has a stiffener sewn into it that is stapled across the front of the bow to cover up the chrome frame. The "Hide-em" strip is then stapled on to cover up the edge of the weather strip and all the staples. My original top was only stapled to the forward side of the wood, and not wrapped around. The above only gets done after you have set the metal stffener into the hold downs on the rear shroud, and set the proper spacing of the rear metal bow. When all this was done I took some duckbilled vice grips covered with tape, and pulled the sides snug, marked where the Tenax fasteners were, and installed the metal grommets in the top. I'm sorry I havn't posted photos. I was planning to do that, but haven't done it yet. I just used some closed cell foam weather strip glued on over the countersunk screws to seal the windscreen frame to the top frame. This was my first top job and I'm happy with how it came out. It was definately one of those jobs where at the start you get to the point of saying "this will never fit, I'm gonna have to send it back, they must have cut it too small". Hope this helps.

 

[mjobrien]

To keep this in the same thread, does anyone have the dimensions for the side monting holes for a BN1.

These are the bolt locations on the frame sides. I forgot to transfer them when al the welding was going on....

 

[Dave Russell]

I only have a pic with the hardtop J bolt anchors, but the soft top mounts use the same holes. Note the dimensions are from the bottom of the alum. cockpit surround & from the back edge of the aluminum door trim plate at the positions shown. Pic attached.
D

 

[mjobrien]

Thanks this will help a lot, and nicely done illustration I might add!

 

[zblu]

rather than using the original vinyl material which shrank/stretched depending on the weather and for reasons on longetivety I used the same fabric as used on SAAB's and BMW convertibles, costs much more, isnt original etc, but I consider this to a part that is a consumable rather than an essential as regards originality/concourse