• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

TR5/TR250 Surrey Top Problem

Share this page

Got_All_4

Got_All_4

Luke Skywalker
Country flag
Offline
I've had this top on my TR250 since 2006. Had minimal problems where the front of the top would pull out of the windshield cap. Recently it has been happening more often. The other day I tapped down the edge of the cap and lengthened the bows. Had to take it for a good ride as I just it back from a shop where I had the rear hubs rebuilt and re-degreed the cam. Anyway traveling between 65 and 70 mph it was holding for 10+ miles until a truck went buy and the entire top was blown off. The only thing holding it on was the 2 bolts in the frame. It also popped out the top of the rear window.

I've heard of others having this problem and wanting to know what the fix is. I am planning on taking the car to 6-pack in 2 weeks and that's about a 5 hour drive and mostly highway. Someone at the TRF Summer Party years ago said he sprayed glass cleaner in that channel to lubricate the top which enabled him to push the front edge of the top in easier under that front lip. That worked for years but now it's not. Any ideas?
 
Got_All_4 said:
I've had this top on my TR250 since 2006. Had minimal problems where the front of the top would pull out of the windshield cap. Recently it has been happening more often. The other day I tapped down the edge of the cap and lengthened the bows. Had to take it for a good ride as I just it back from a shop where I had the rear hubs rebuilt and re-degreed the cam. Anyway traveling between 65 and 70 mph it was holding for 10+ miles until a truck went buy and the entire top was blown off. The only thing holding it on was the 2 bolts in the frame. It also popped out the top of the rear window.

I've heard of others having this problem and wanting to know what the fix is. I am planning on taking the car to 6-pack in 2 weeks and that's about a 5 hour drive and mostly highway. Someone at the TRF Summer Party years ago said he sprayed glass cleaner in that channel to lubricate the top which enabled him to push the front edge of the top in easier under that front lip. That worked for years but now it's not. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
I sold off my surrey a few years ago, but just a couple of thoughts:

The front lip has to be completely seated- if you don’t think it is then I’d say that’s the issue.

The rear stretcher bar doesn’t have any adjustment so I don’t think you can do much there - but you might try adjusting the back nuts on the main top assembly to see if you can spread it slightly and get more tension on the top. If the front flap is seated and the metal inside that flap is still there I don’t think there is much else to adjust.
 
How much tension should there be on the bar that goes between the windshield and backlight frame? I brought those nuts out a bit. Now wondering if there is too much tension on the vinyl top and is working against me and helping pull the front off. I never liked the height of the top and thought it was too high.
 
Got_All_4 said:
How much tension should there be on the bar that goes between the windshield and backlight frame? I brought those nuts out a bit. Now wondering if there is too much tension on the vinyl top and is working against me and helping pull the front off. I never liked the height of the top and thought it was too high.
Click to expand...
Honestly I don’t know - I was thinking your top was loose and that could be the problem. But it may be worth trying the opposite and lowering the frame. I can’t think of any other adjustment, and normally if those metal strips seat deep in the front that should be enough to keep it in place
 
Other thought to add - the front channel should be a tight fit where you have to push the top strip in place. If it’s loose you might try and gently close the gap with a wood block or something
 
Ya I actually did that. Used a block of wood and a dead blow hammer. I even inserted the top and tapped it down with it in and checked the fit to make sure I could pull it out.
 
Yes mine was always a problem too. In the end, the cap must be tight and the top set into it with a wooden
tool and a knockoff hammer. This is assuming the vinyl is properly fitted and the bows are not loose.
If it is still prone to lifting off, the center metal strap can be removed and bent to a curve more like the
windscreen frame. The ultimate fix would be a one piece strip that was curved just so ....
Mad dog
 
I should get the top back today from the upholstery shop doing repairs on it. I'll work on it over the weekend. Worse case scenario I'll hammer the lip down over tops edge very tightly then put some Gorilla tape on it to flow the air over the lip. Then use some Flex Seal on the back glazing and then I can submit my car for a commercial. LOL.
 
I use a 'rear retainer bar' from a regular soft top & bolts through the top of the windshield frame
to clamp down the front lip of the Surrey top.
mossmotors.com

REAR RETAINER BAR, convertible top

REAR RETAINER BAR, convertible top
mossmotors.com mossmotors.com

If I understand correctly, you push the lip of the Surrey top under the polished aluminum windshield cap?
When the top came off, did you not have the 4 snaps across the center bar done up?
 
Not related to the problem,
I made a frame to hold the top taut in the off season.
It hangs upside down from the rafters, by the 'gutters' on each side (green 'hook'),
to relieve stress on the snaps & keep gutter stretched evenly.
 

Attachments

  • Surrey jig.jpg
    Surrey jig.jpg
    54.7 KB · Views: 39
I wonder if your top front cap is riveted tightly, or properly. Nothing should be crammed under lip causing interference and there should be no vertical play. Is your current top and lip component original TR equipment?
 
Purchased from The Roadster Factory 2006. The cap seems tight and no hint of being loose. That last drive I took and on the way to 6-Pack it worked fine. As stated above i took a block of wood and a dead blow hammer and tightened up the front edge of the cap. I then use the same hammer and block to tap the edge of the top under the lip. It is holding. going to be a while before I get to drive it. Going in next month for double knee replacement so more then likely it won't be till July before I get to drive it.
 
Do the upper sides, right where the window seal at the windshield is created, have those little hooks to secure the top?
 
whey wouldn't prevent the top from sliding off the cap. I think they are there to keep that flap tight that the window rides against when the windows are up. They got ripped off when the top blew off and the upholstery shop didn't have any way to match them so they put snaps on them. Actually a much better fix then factory.
 
I had a poor fitting one many years ago. In fact, there was a sharp bend in the steel lip insert about ten inches from the left side. But that top never blew off. I was impressed by how the tuck and lip worked. it sounds like maybe you’ve got it fixed now, and you’ll know once you get back on the road. Let us know.
 
Back
Top