Surrey Top Mounting in Chicago?

[rlich8]

Hi All,

I really do not want to try and fiddle with mounting the surrey top on my car. Does anyone know of any place in Chicagoland that could perhaps mount the surrey top on my car? It's doubtful, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Royal

 

[poolboy]

What happened to that competent body man you mentioned earlier ?
Whoever you use, be prepared that the holes in your car may have to be enlarged to match up with the studs in that particular backlight frame. .
I say may, because I know of a situation where that was necessary.
Microplas took that into consideration on their frames, so I guess you could modify that frame of yours with the Microplas type adjustable studs...more or less an eye bolt running along a glassed in metal rod.

 

[Andrew Mace]

You might try (if you haven't already) contacting folks in the Illinois Sports Owners Association, which is the VTR Chapter in your area. They are a great bunch of folks, many of them extremely knowledgeable about anything and everything Triumph.

 

[rlich8]

What happened to that competent body man you mentioned earlier ?
Whoever you use, be prepared that the holes in your car may have to be enlarged to match up with the studs in that particular backlight frame. .
I say may, because I know of a situation where that was necessary.
Microplas took that into consideration on their frames, so I guess you could modify that frame of yours with the Microplas type adjustable studs...more or less an eye bolt running along a glassed in metal rod.

Andrew,

I showed my body man the parts and I could tell that he was overwhelmed. He said that he didn't want to do it.

I admire that - that's commendable - it shows he knows his circle of competence and his real talent lies in straightening body panels, body work, and paint work.

If I have to mount this thing by myself, I certainly will, no worries, but I was figuring if I could have someone mount it for $300-400 it would be well worth it. I'd love to see this thing on the car...they look really cool with the surrey option...

 

[TR4nut]

Do you need to mount the rear glass in the frame? In my mind that's probably the most finicky part, everything else should be easy.

 

[rlich8]

Yes, I need to do that. I can do that no problem.

I don't think the rest is as easy as you think. There is a lot of [censored] here. There's rivets, snaps, seals, etc. There's some modifications that need to be done to the windscreen rail (which are not hard really).

There's just a lot of parts here. I just hope everything lines up properly once I start fiddling.

 

[Silverghost]

Option 1: This place deals with a lot of quality cars and may be able to help:

https://www.thelastdetail.com/location.html

Option 2: This place is about 4 miles from The Last Detail

https://www.northshoresportscars.com/

Option 3: This place is about 5 miles from Northshore Imports

https://www.jaguarsunlimited.com/

I've been to all three, they all seem to have decent reputations. I've not purchased anything or had any work done at Northshore Imports, but their cars are very nice.

Hope one of these can help!

 

[doughairfield]

I retro-fitted an original surrey top to my 64 TR4 roadster and it honestly wasn't that difficult. The soft top trim pieces all have to come off, as well as the scaffolding and covers. I did have to enlarge the holes in the body tub to get the backlight to fit in nice. All in all, it was fiddly but not to difficult. I think on a TR4A, you'll have to replace the top cap on the windscreen, which I didn't have to do.

If you decide to take it on yourself, shoot me a PM and I'll be glad to chat with you about it one evening.

 

[rlich8]

Yoda -

I actually never thought of those places. Thank you for the suggestions. Norb Bries who owns Northshore is a really nice guy. I will for sure call him up. Also good to know there's a Jag shop - never knew they existed!!!

Doug -

I will consider doing it myself still - thank you for offering to lend a hand. It's much appreciated!