• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

M&T manufacturing soft tops anyone?

Share this page

richberman

richberman

Jedi Warrior
Country flag
Offline
Has anyone had experience with M & T manufacturing in Rhode Island for a soft top? Just trying to get real world reviews.
thanks,
rich
P.S. I can take responses as PMs if necessary, or email @ richberman@verizon(dot)net
 
I have been looking the last couple of days for a new canvas top for my BN1 there seem prices all over the map

I would like some reviews also

Cheers

Mark
 
I have had excellent luck with the tops I have bought from AH Spares in the UK.Even factoring in the exhange rate and shipping, usually minimum of $60 but for a top would guess closer to $100. Their quality is excellent. Otherwise the best you can get is from Heritage in Washington state but expensive.
Regards,
Mike
 
The big difference I have noted in the prices of tops seems to stem from obviously the quality of the material, but also how correct to original the top is sewn and seamed. They can vary a lot.
Originally these tops had their darts in the upper rear quarter area taken in with what they call a french seam, which involes a V cut, turn under each edge, and a seperate narrow piece double sewn in place on the inside. This makes for a dart that lies completely flat. Almost all of them today take the cheap and quick route by simply cutting the V, then gathering and either heat welding or stitching the dart closed. This cannot help but leave a little pucker at the top end of the dart, right where it shows worst.
Moss (Robbins) tops do this and they also have a huge rear window as an "improvement". A BT7 top we just fitted has a rear window 3" taller and 2" wider than original, which is a lot compared to original. I spoke to the Moss product development guy and they won't change their pattern.
Is there nobody out there who will develop a top truly faithful to the original and charge the amount needed to make it worthwhile?
 
Hey Rich,
I don't know for sure but my best guess for someone who has an exact top is Heritage out in Washington state and Vancouver-which would be good for you. A lot of concours quality cars use their interiors and tops. I have bought from them before and very impressed with the quality but they are expensive when compared to Moss and AH Spares in UK. But, guess you get what you pay for !
Regards,
Mike
 
richberman said:
Has anyone had experience with M & T manufacturing in Rhode Island for a soft top? Just trying to get real world reviews. thanks, rich
P.S. I can take responses as PMs if necessary, or email @ richberman@verizon(dot)net
Click to expand...

Are you asking for reviews about M&T?
Finding an exact replica top is questionable now. As mentioned, some are modifying the back window to be larger, etc. Some people think that Robbins makes the best as others say Herritage makes the best. My friend Randy, has a Herritage top. He had a professional install it. Randy was told by the shop, Herritage's top was not made correctly and was sent back to Herritage. Herritage sent the shop another one, to find the shop had problems with that one too. Maybe Randy will chim in with more details. My point is, even when we try to buy from the best sorces, we may find their pattern does not fit like the orginal.

I just finished putting on a Robbins Sunfast top. I worked hand in hand with the shop and we had problems with getting a really good fit. But, in the end I am very pleased with the fit I got from Robbins. I will be posting about this project very soon, with lots of helpfull photos.

Cheers,
Roger
 
Roger,
That's a nice top, but the rear window looks HUGE! Not that that's a bad thing.
and yes, I was hoping for an M&T review.
rich
 
I was just looking at the M&T site and for Everflex, they say right in their listings that they are marketing the Robbins line of tops and tonneau covers.
 
richch said:
I was just looking at the M&T site and for Everflex, they say right in their listings that they are marketing the Robbins line of tops and tonneau covers.
Click to expand...

Same goes for the Sunfast, it's also a Robins top.
Maybe they do make custom tops, but from what I read on their site, they are a middle man.

Robbins is the worlds largest seller of tops. You don't get that big without doing things right. I am very happy with the fit of my top.

1. You need the frame to fit the car first.
2. You need a high quality top that is cut/made correctly. Good stiching/glueing of the seams etc.
3. You need to know how, or know someone who knows how to install the top. I could never have installed the top to the quality that the shop can do. I may be able to do it now, that I learned from the professionals how to do it. Everyone says, the Healey top is one of the hardest to install. Take it from me, it is :smile:
 
I *just* ordered a tan sunfast canvas tonneau from Moss, and they confirmed that it would take <span style="font-style: italic">Robbins</span> 3-4 weeks before shipping, as they're made to order.

Thirty plus (30+) years ago, Robbins were just a cut above the more commonly available Ammco tops, but were still simple crushed grain vinyl. I've fitted dozens of them.

I'm not sure when Robbins went high end with rubberized canvas material in their catalog, but I'm looking forward to seeing how the tonneau turns out, as it will probably lead to a new matching top...
 
I recently received a top from the convertable top guys in Rhode Island. They are the outlet for M & T. Their site indicated they had a soft top for a Longbridge healey. I ordered it, unfortunatly it was not the top I expected. Turned out that it was a top for the later 100/6 and 3000 roadsters. I paid about $300 for the top which included snaps and glue. They do not actually make a longbridge top at all even though they havreit listed on their site.. I returned the top I received to the M & T company (EZ FIT) in South Carolina. The convertablr top guys supplied me with a UPS shipping label, While the top was here I can say it was of good quality, seemed to be well made.I am currently awaiting a refund on my CC.
 
It depends on what you want. AH Spares tops and tonneaus are very good. The pattern is right and they are made from the correct material. The Healey was not an expensive car, it didn't have a fancy top.
 
I'll second Derek. Have purchased 3 tops from AH Spares and quality has always been good plus correct colors.
 
We have purchased two BN7 tops (AH Spares) and both were awful. Maybe other patterns are correct but not 2 seater roadsters.
 
I was looking to purchase a new top for my BJ8 and did consider trying to fit it myself.
From the posts on here it sounds like this may be a real nightmare to fit. I know the easy answer is to pay for a professional install but I would prefer to do it myself if possible and as usual, funds are tight.

Whys is it so difficult? Surely 2 guys could install one in a day?

(sorry to hijack the post, maybe I should start a new one?)
 
Hi Jeepster,

I have found that fitting a new top on a BJ8 is no harder than fitting other major parts onto a Healey …. If you take your time and address the details ahead of time. Further, if you follow the instructions listed in the “Technical” section on John Sims www. Healey6.com web site and Roger’s directions for fitting the window seals, I expect you will find the job doable by one person and even easier with two. I would suggest you also read past posts by those that have used heat to help stretch and fit.

Hope this helps,
Ray (64BJ8P1)
 
Have bought all my tops from Healey surgeouns..great fit. Have always done them myself. Agree that you have to take your time. Found my results better than most"professionals"..

Pete
 
Back
Top