Soft Top Boot Cover - BJ7

[BG 62AH]

Guys,

Just bought a new vinyl boot cover for my soft top. This cover has some lining sewn into the inner area, I presume to protect it from tearing.

The issue that I am having is that it seems to be an extremely tight fit...At Best, and almost too small. It doesn't seem to me that this lining can be removed, but it does seem to restrict stretching the material so it can be attached properly.

I was wondering if anyone else has run into this, or has any suggestion on how to get it to fit.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.


Thank you

 

[ozhealey]

Bill,

I recall when I first fit my boot cover on my BJ7 it was very tight. At first I struggled to even understand how it could fit at all until I figured out how to fold the top down properly. The result had the soft top around an inch lower when folded. I unzip the window and fold it in first, and then carefully “push” each fold down and neatly in as far as possible. Once I did this, the lower top made the job achievable. The fit was still tight but definately much easier. Tight is actually good in my opinion as you dont want any “flapping” when underway.

The horse hair or coarse padding is actually very good and makes for a much higher quality finish. You can get boot covers and tonneau covers without this padding, however they are not as good quality or fit (in my opinion). I am advised this was how the came from the factory. My tonneau also had this coarse layer of padding and a bright steel heavy duty zip and I loved it. Unfortunately when I converted to RHD, I could not find a munfacturer who produced this quality tonneau. My RHD tonneau is very well built, however has no padding and has a thin black plastic zip.

Cheers
Tony

 

[Bob_Spidell]

I still have an original hood boot for my BJ8. It fits tight as well, but it helps to expose it to warm sunlight for a few minutes before trying to snap it down. Maybe a hair dryer or heat gun would help if it's overcast, but I haven't tried it.

As an aside, I've noticed that none of the aftermarket boots seem to fit too well; the one the Wheeler Dealer guys fitted to the BJ8 they flipped was atrocious. For that reason, I've made do by having the rips and tears in mine stitched-up many times.

EDIT: Adding that yours looks to be a pretty decent fit and good quality; would you mind sharing the source as mine will likely fly west somewhere down the line? Also, it appears your new boot did not come with snaps fitted; presumably because they were likely fitted somewhat willy-nilly at the factory.

 

[bluegrass john]

I think the cover for your top looks like a good fit......................I wish mine fit that well!!
Who did your cover?

John

 

[BG 62AH]

Thank you very much for the suggestions. I took Tony’s advice and really folded the soft top as neatly as possible. Helped a little. I’ve been working on it during commercials at the British Open. Not done yet, but it seems to be working out a little better than I expected.

 

[BG 62AH]

Btw,I got it from Moss during their upholstery sale. Was not inexpensive, but the quality seems pretty good.

thank you once again for the suggestions.

 

[mickdaly]

Did you add the snap fasteners yourself?