[Tigers] Tiger Hardtop Restoration Project

[Jay Laifman]

You are stretching my memory.  But yes, all those differences sound like
the differences between the tops.  Yes, the tabs are exactly what you said.
 There is a neat strap that comes up from under the vinyl cover, and hooks
on to those tabs, keeping the vinyl up and flat.

On one top, the strip went all the way around.  On the other, it was cut at
the corners.

There have been issues with the corner rubber being too thick.  What I
don't know is if one of the tops worked better with the thicker rubber.
 Hopefully someone can chime in.  To the extent only the thicker rubber is
available, it may be better to go with the top that works better with the
thicker rubber.  I spent a lot of time trying to get the thicker rubber to
work on my hardtop with the tabs, and I have yet to be fully successful.
 But, I don't use the top anyway.  This is for my Alpine.  On my Tiger, it
fits perfectly.


On Tue, Mar 11, 2014 at 10:41 AM, <genepadgett at comcast.net> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
>
> First a bit of background and then the question.
>
>
> I have two hard top shells I am trying to rescue by repairing the
> rusted-out sections. I will be trying the electrolysis derusting method
> (small kiddy wadeing pool for container) priming what is left (weld through
> primer and then cutting out and having new metal welded in, and then
> repainting everything. Probably treat the hollow areas with Eastwoods
> internal chassis cavity rust preventive product.
>
>
> I have just stumbled on a slight difference between the two tops. One has
> two "L" shaped brackets along the lower area under the rear window for the
> rubber straps that hold up the soft top cover flap to hook into. The other
> does not. I am thinking the latter one must be for an earlier series
> Tiger/Alpine that had the metal lids over this area rather than the soft
> cover flap.
>
>
> The outer shells on both tops are in really excellent condition, even at
> the rear corners and across the back under the rear window opening. The
> inside of the bottom rear sides and bottom of the corners and part of the
> side window rails in that area are in need of major metal replacement.
>
>
>
> I have just noticed the area in the rear corners where the heavy rubber
> pads attach seem a little different between the two tops. Both tops have
> one corner with the remains of what looks a metal plate that was used to
> attach the corner pad to the top. There is enough metal left on these
> corners to somewhat trial fit new pads I got from Sunbeam Specialties.
>
>
> On the presumably older top, it appears the pads would fit well, with
> several, if not all, of the predrilled holes in the pad lining up with the
> holes in the top.
>
>
> When I look at what I am calling the newer top, I see the metal plate is
> much narrower and has small strip of the U channel metal running along side
> of it. The plate and U channel together take up about the same space as the
> larger plate on the older top. The only way I could see the rubber pad
> fitting there on the newer top is if the pad was cut out so the U channel
> piece would stick through. I can envision that a short piece of the sealing
> gasket that runs along the sides of the top might help seal the hollow area
> of the corner pad where the metal plate fits. But I am also wondering if
> this is just something the previous owner was trying on his own.
>
>
> The question then becomes does anyone else's hardtop have a piece of the
> gasket material that goes under the side and across the back of the top
> also in the cavity of the corner pads? If so, was the corner pad notched
> out to allow the U channel to protrude into the corner pad cavity between
> the top and the car body?
>
>
> Many thanks for any help anyone can give. Any other tips or suggestions
> from others that have done this sort of thing would also be gratefully
> received.
>
>
> Gene
> _______________________________________________
>
> tigers at autox.team.net
>
> Donate: http://www.team.net/donate.html
> Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
> Forums: http://www.team.net/forums
> Unsubscribe:
> http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/tigers/jay.laifman@gmail.com