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Tips
Tips

soft top question

ekamm

Jedi Warrior
Offline
I will soon be installing my tr3 soft top soon and it all looks pretty straight forward, except the front. The tenax fasteners are easy but what to do with the flap? I searched the site and didn't see anything to help. A good pic would help
Thanks Eric
 
This has come up before. The flap goes between the front of the top and the windscreen. Holes must be made in the flap to allow the Tenax pegs to pass through the flap to the fasteners in the top. The diameter of the holes is a little bigger than the hex heads on the pegs. Sometimes they are oblong holes.
 
My new top had no such flap, just a sewn on furflex strip that runs across the top and sits against the seal at the top of the windscreen. My old Amco top didn't have "the flap" either although Don posted photos of his ISTR.

I recently installed my new top.

One install detail I missed slightly: When marking the center line of the top fore and aft, also take into consideration the topmost LTD peg at the top of each b-post to be sure that the "ears" that snap closest to the door are also centered left to right. I got one ear longer than the other. So this means that although the centerline was correct, my top was actually rotated slightly to one side.

The entire install probably took a combined time of 8 hours. After each snap install, I reinstalled the top, marked the next and removed the top to punch and install the snap. It's tedious work to get it right and tight. Adjust the top webbing as you go to fit the seams of the top.

Also if you have side curtains, this is the time to get them lined up too. Mine required a little adjustment.
 
NutmegCT said:
(And a man with *two* sheds is indeed a man of reflection.) Cyning sceal manega sceada daelan!

T.

And obscure and a dawdler, too!
 
I see said the blind man! I was reading the old post while everyone was posting. Just didn't search it correctly the first time. My top is not new and I assume that my dad didn't know that the flap needed holes. He being the consummate instruction reader that surprises me. I will put holes in the flap before erecting the top.
 
The new tops with the flap come with no instructions - or at least there were none when I ordered and received mine in 1989. Still looks like new. Buy a bag to keep it clean and protected. If you only plan to drive on sunny days, it will be stored in the bag in your trunk for years like mine.

Peter - Here is a photo of the front "fur-flex" trim edge of my original top which came with my 1958 TR3A. It only shows a bit because the top is over 51 years old and I used some of the material from the top to repair my hood stick cover. The colour matched perfectly.
 

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In the photo above, the fur-flex has become un-glued from the rubber "tubing" and my fingers show the rubber by pulling back on the fur-flex.
 

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An old top is great for making repair patches. btdt before I opted for an entire new top. The Amco was still good and the windows clear but had a couple of split seams.
 
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