ron88 Posted December 11, 2010 Report Share Posted December 11, 2010 About 10 years ago I bought a surrey top, which included a metal hard top and a canvas rag top. Now, I have to admit, I'm thinking of selling the whole thing and moving back to the original convertible my car originally was. I miss the full "top down" feeling. I had everything on the surrey nicely restored at Enginuity, but I never use the hard top, and although I find the surrey nice, it is nothing like having the top completely down. Before I go ahead with this, I have a few questions. I have the original stick frame with my old rag top on it -- can the frame be repainted, or a new one purchased? Also, who makes the best rag tops? I've seen some attractive canvas ones, but do they fold down well enough, and small enough, to allow a cover on top? Has any member gone from rag, to surrey, and back again? Lastly, is the best place to sell the surrey kit eBay? Thoughts welcome! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stoker Posted December 11, 2010 Report Share Posted December 11, 2010 Ive just got my hood frame back from TR Trader, having been refurbished and powder coated, and very nice it looks too. Obviously you will need to strip all fittings first, but the outcome is a frame that looks like new. Highly reccomended. Just one more tip. If you go online to a parcel firm called Hermes you can print off a bar coded address label and arrange to have the parcel collected from your home on a day to suit you. All for the cost of £8-53. Can't be bad. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trelfin4 Posted December 11, 2010 Report Share Posted December 11, 2010 you could sell on E-bay but if you have a price in mind im in the market for one just pm me to discuss Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ron88 Posted December 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 Ive just got my hood frame back from TR Trader, having been refurbished and powder coated, and very nice it looks too. Obviously you will need to strip all fittings first, but the outcome is a frame that looks like new. Highly reccomended. Just one more tip. If you go online to a parcel firm called Hermes you can print off a bar coded address label and arrange to have the parcel collected from your home on a day to suit you. All for the cost of £8-53. Can't be bad. John Good suggestion..thanks for that! Ron Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tr4Tony Posted December 12, 2010 Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 A complete backlight, hard top and surrey top assembley in good condition and ready to fit is worth a lot of money. TR Bitz sold a red one on ebay a year or so ago for well over £2000 so if the right buyer is out there you should get a good price on ebay, certainly enough to buy a hood and frame plus all the fittings to go back to wind in the hair mode. Regards Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
saggy Posted December 29, 2010 Report Share Posted December 29, 2010 Tis true... I bought it! £2,250 I should add that it came with the soft top and sticks as well as the lid in lightweight alloy and all was in perfect condition. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tr4Tony Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Well Saggy, in fairness even if you had bought the very best fibreglass reproduction one, trimmed it and painted it etc. etc. with all the bits you'd have spent £2,500 plus vat so you probably got a good deal there. And moreover, its the real thing and a good one. Scruffy hardtops take a huge amount of sorting, so very much like overdrive gearboxes for the TR series cars it pays in the end to start with the right thing, otherwise you just go on spending money trying to make something wrong into something right and even after youve done it, its still wrong ! and there are plenty out there who will tell you so. Regards Tony Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Well Saggy, in fairness even if you had bought the very best fibreglass reproduction one, trimmed it and painted it etc. etc. with all the bits you'd have spent £2,500 plus vat so you probably got a good deal there. And moreover, its the real thing and a good one. Scruffy hardtops take a huge amount of sorting, so very much like overdrive gearboxes for the TR series cars it pays in the end to start with the right thing, otherwise you just go on spending money trying to make something wrong into something right and even after youve done it, its still wrong ! and there are plenty out there who will tell you so. Regards Tony Totally agree with you Tony. Unfortunately its a fact of life these days unless you can do it yourself paintwork and trimming is expensive and those roofs nearly always need repairs which is never easy with the way they were constructed. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tr4Tony Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 However, with my new welder ..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 However, with my new welder ..... Yea Yea! lets see you weld a KitKat wrapper Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ntc Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Tis true... I bought it! £2,250 I should add that it came with the soft top and sticks as well as the lid in lightweight alloy and all was in perfect condition. You did ok not that easy to find Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave I O W Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 About 10 years ago I bought a surrey top, which included a metal hard top and a canvas rag top. Now, I have to admit, I'm thinking of selling the whole thing and moving back to the original convertible my car originally was. I miss the full "top down" feeling. I had everything on the surrey nicely restored at Enginuity, but I never use the hard top, and although I find the surrey nice, it is nothing like having the top completely down. Before I go ahead with this, I have a few questions. I have the original stick frame with my old rag top on it -- can the frame be repainted, or a new one purchased? Also, who makes the best rag tops? I've seen some attractive canvas ones, but do they fold down well enough, and small enough, to allow a cover on top? Has any member gone from rag, to surrey, and back again? Lastly, is the best place to sell the surrey kit eBay? Thoughts welcome! Hi ron88 I am thinking along the same lines as you, I have a surrey fitted and a hard top that I never use and I am seriously thinking about reverting back to a normal soft top, As I am having some work done on my car next year that would be the time to change back all I need is a good hood frame and rear fixing rail. So iff anybody has one for a 5 I could be interested. Cheers Dave. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Hi ron88 I am thinking along the same lines as you, I have a surrey fitted and a hard top that I never use and I am seriously thinking about reverting back to a normal soft top, As I am having some work done on my car next year that would be the time to change back all I need is a good hood frame and rear fixing rail. So iff anybody has one for a 5 I could be interested. Cheers Dave. Hmm that will be me acquiring a surrey then. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ntc Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Hi ron88 I am thinking along the same lines as you, I have a surrey fitted and a hard top that I never use and I am seriously thinking about reverting back to a normal soft top, As I am having some work done on my car next year that would be the time to change back all I need is a good hood frame and rear fixing rail. So iff anybody has one for a 5 I could be interested. Cheers Dave. Best of both worlds buy a 3 as well Quote Link to post Share on other sites
had17462 Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Hi dave give lee a call he has one 07949314519 he sounds gruff but hes ok, nick Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave I O W Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Hi dave give lee a call he has one 07949314519 he sounds gruff but hes ok, nick Hi Nick Thanks for that I'll give Lee a call tomorrow. Cheers Dave. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ntc Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Dave If you have no joy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dave I O W Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Dave If you have no joy Hi Neil What car are you bringing to the I O W next year the 3 or the 5 Cheers Dave. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fremont Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 (edited) Hi ron88 I am thinking along the same lines as you, I have a surrey fitted and a hard top that I never use and I am seriously thinking about reverting back to a normal soft top, As I am having some work done on my car next year that would be the time to change back all I need is a good hood frame and rear fixing rail. So iff anybody has one for a 5 I could be interested. Cheers Dave. Have a blast in one at 80 mph without a Surrey top before you throw it over Just sayin' Edited December 30, 2010 by Tom Fremont Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ntc Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Have a blast in one at 80 mph without a Surrey top before you throw it over Just sayin' Tom You converted me I would never go back Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pfenlon Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 (edited) I have a surrey top on my 250, mohair and sticks too If anyone will give me £2250 its theirs, the worlds gone nuts , no I want £3250 now, I have not read so much bloody **** about tops for ages, make it £4250 and I will polish it too. come on boys get back to reality. I have a soft top frame for sale, too! Gordon Bennet, lets all talk up how much the well heeled are prepared to pay, no wonder the likes of me have a hard time getting reasonable prices. At this rate TR man could become MG man................................................................! Happy new year to all for next week. Edited December 30, 2010 by pfenlon Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest ntc Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 (edited) I have a surrey top on my 250, mohair and sticks too If anyone will give me £2250 its theirs, the worlds gone nuts , no I want £3250 now, I have not read so much bloody **** about tops for ages, make it £4250 and I will polish it too. come on boys get back to reality. I have a soft top frame for sale, too! Gordon Bennet, lets all talk up how much the well heeled are prepared to pay, no wonder the likes of me have a hard time getting reasonable prices. At this rate TR man could become MG man................................................................! Happy new year to all for next week. With an attitude like that you will prevent people even bringing there cars to any event Den said go and buy an MG Edited December 30, 2010 by ntc Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 I have a surrey top on my 250, mohair and sticks too If anyone will give me £2250 its theirs, the worlds gone nuts , no I want £3250 now, I have not read so much bloody **** about tops for ages, make it £4250 and I will polish it too. come on boys get back to reality. I have a soft top frame for sale, too! Gordon Bennet, lets all talk up how much the well heeled are prepared to pay, no wonder the likes of me have a hard time getting reasonable prices. At this rate TR man could become MG man................................................................! Happy new year to all for next week. Peter its a case of supply and demand old chap International at Shepton in 96 One trader couldnt get £350 for an alloy surrey set nor £250 for a steel set and took them home with him . In those days they were almost looked down on as being a waste on a proper convertible . Mind you its surprising the number of people I know who have gone back to soft tops. Personally Im not keen as I bang me head on the bloody things being so tall. I did have one but never got round to fitting it and sold it to one of the "Yoof" boys cheap. Stuart Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alec Pringle Posted December 31, 2010 Report Share Posted December 31, 2010 (edited) Supply and demand it may be, but it's still bonkers money, especially in comparison to repro equivalents. One reason my spare surrey parts also went to the Yoof for a relatively modest sum - we need to encourage younger owners/drivers, it's a more important aspect of preserving the marque than gilding lilies. Anyway, why would you want a surrey in preference to a proper soft top, unless as some sort of perceived security for a daily driver in the urban jungle ? As if any tea leaf couldn't get into any TR in 5 seconds flat ? TRs were and are cheap'n'cheerful dogs for nailing, not precious investments for mollycoddling. Why try and pretend otherwise ? Talking up the prices only leads to disaster in the longer run, we've seen that before, not a lot of benefit to anyone unless burnt fingers turn you on. As for Pete's grumping putting people off going to meetings . . . give over ! The other leg has got bells on. How many ordinary folks with ordinary cars are put off by too many gleaming masterworks putting their humble chariots to shame ? More than a few from this neck of the woods, that's for sure, and more than few elsewhere I could name. The TR world has always been a broad church, good to see a few pristine examples looking like they've just left the showroom floor for sure, but the bottom line is they're sports cars. Big boys toys for playing with, not models for collecting and displaying in glass cabinets. Not works of art. Not investments. Money pits. Cheers, Alec Edited December 31, 2010 by Alec Pringle Quote Link to post Share on other sites
johnny250 Posted December 31, 2010 Report Share Posted December 31, 2010 ........ In those days they were almost looked down on as being a waste on a proper convertible .......... Stuart My thoughts exactly....... Might as well buy a GT6 if you want a hardtop.....(lot cheaper).....can't beat the draught of open top thrashing ....just like a motorbike without a helmet....... john Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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