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Surrey Top flying off at front


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Just had the journey from hell driving from Troyes to Dieppe in heavy wind and pouring rain when the front of the Surrey Top came adrift and flew back with a almighty bang. My friend following behind in a Stag almost cr****d himself.

scared to use it again, so does anyone have details of using a TR6 header rail on an existing top as I have an almost brand new mohair Top. Recently converted to Surrey Top from a normal top for rhe Improved storage

nigel

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Hi Nigel,

                 the normal fabric surrey top roof can and does work OK.

The fabric must be tightened up by tensioning the frame. Push the frame up and do the nuts up.

The metal strip in the pocket along the front of the fabric needs to be wide enough to wedge into the gap made by the windscreen frame and the capping.

Don;t give up on it.

 

Roger

 

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Hi JJC,

 I believe the TRiumph way is to have the nuts at the back of the frame set to a position so that the fabric is taught when in place.

Insert the front of the fabric under the windscreen capping.

Push the frame as far over to one side as possible.

Get the rear bolts in place and tighten

Pull the frame back into its correct place - the fabric should now be taught.

 

I have never done this.

I have adjustable nuts at the back.

So slacken nuts, attach fabric at the front, attach the back and tension the nuts.

 

Whichever way, the front goes in first. AND the fabric must be taught.

 

Roger

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+1  Front first or it will never stay put. If you have a repro Surrey top you might find the metal strips in the pocket that goes under the header rail are too thick. Often they’re aluminium rather than the original steel (I think). I replaced the aluminium strips in mine with modelling brass strip. This ensures a good fit which will not come adrift at any speed that Eric is capable of. 

Roger’s nuts, by the way, are the best nuts for adjusting the tension. 

Edited by peejay4A
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Had this happen a few times but luckily the poppers at the side held firm.Solved it by enlarging the gap between the screen rubber and the capping ensuring that the top was fully inside the gap before fitting the rear.

ROY

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JJC, you should have a nut on the ends of the frame as standard, not as smart as Rogers but an adjusting nut on each arm that fits into the rear frame.

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Hi Monty,

              the 'nut' is the standard fitment and should remain in a fixed position. It is not easily adjusted,

The brass nut allows the frame tension to be adjusted easily. But as mentioned they may not fit all surrey tops.

 

Roger

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Surprising how many people I have come across who try to fit Surrey top rear first. Definitely fit the front first making sure (as others above have said) that the front edge of the soft top fits well under the front capping. Like Roy above I had to widen the gap between the capping and windscreen rubber a bit to do this. Again I have seen many attempts where the front metal strip is not fitted properly under the capping strip. Adjust the fit using the adjustable nuts (or use Rogers mod) on the back of the frame. The soft top should fit tight enough but not so tight that you pull it off the 4 corner poppers or pull apart the seams (i have seen that as well). There are 4 poppers in the middle of the frame and 4 hooks at the top of the A and B post (on surrey back frame) that elasticated clips fit onto as well. Sometimes these are missing. 

At the back there are 2 bolts that hold the frame onto the rear surrey frame. I have modified the attachment for these so I just push the bolts through the holes and slide a fastening plate to hold them in position. I will see if I can get a photo of this mod.

I much prefer the original drop head top for ease of assembly but the rear surrey screen gives much better rear visibility.

It should be possible to make a surrey soft top that attaches rear first and then use the front section of an original soft top so that you can use the 2 latches that fit the original top. I think one of my friends had one made a while ago. I will investigate.....

Keith

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Another mod to make things easier is to use studs on the rear fixing bar (and the hardtop) instead of bolts.  Then I use Mini rocker cover T bar tube nuts from the inside.  Easy and quick to fit when the rain is pouring down your neck.  It's reported at length elsewhere on the forum.  Other methods are available as above and Roger has his own innovative fixing arrangements.

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19 hours ago, Nigel A said:

Just had the journey from hell driving from Troyes to Dieppe in heavy wind and pouring rain when the front of the Surrey Top came adrift and flew back with a almighty bang. My friend following behind in a Stag almost cr****d himself.

scared to use it again, so does anyone have details of using a TR6 header rail on an existing top as I have an almost brand new mohair Top. Recently converted to Surrey Top from a normal top for rhe Improved storage

nigel

Nigel,

been there got the Teashirt on this one, bloody scary first time it happens.

My veiw is that having happened once, you will struggle to be confident in the system again.

PM your phone number and we can chat, it is sortable, if you are handy, over the winter.

 

John.

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Nigel,

yes, I’ve used a TR6 header rail on my Surrey. Didn’t need a new top, jus carefully unpicked the stitching and glued it to the header rail. Fits a treat, a bit of a faff to put together, but very secure, tight and leak free ( in a TR!)

ive got some pics somewhere

simon

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Hi Simon,

Thanks for the info, I would  be very interested to see some pictures, as really not sure what I’m going to do yet. How did you secure the forward struts from the frame to the screen top.

I’ll pm my email if it is easier to send pictures that way.

nigel

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5 minutes ago, RogerH said:

Hi Willie,

          very inventive.

Looking at the two pictures of the vinyl roof. The pouch with the metal strip is sticking out too far - it is not tucked under the capping enough.

Could this be the problem

 

Roger

Agree Roger

Seen exactly the same on a friends car recently. The seam should be all you see at the front and the metal strip and the vinyl it fits in should fit snugly under the capping strip. Open up the gap between the capping strip and windscreen rubber.

Keith

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Thanks for the observation gents!  The leading edge is pressed under the windscreen cap as far as possible, but I found a couple of years ago that it started to part company whilst driving along the M4 towards Swansea early on a Sunday morning.  She who must be obeyed not amused at the request to grip the errant vinyl until we reached the haven called the A465 [only 15 miles away!]. Decided I needed a guaranteed solution. Important to use stainless fittings to reduce "scarring" the appearance.

Best wishes     Willie

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Hi Willie,

             I understand the reasons for being inventive. I have electric wind up windows in my 4A because SWMBO had a serious problem to her arms.

I'm sure the pouch, with the metal strip, will not go in any further because the gap between the capping and frame is too small.

On my TR4 rebuild I have had to put spacers between the capping and frame at the rivet positions to make a decent gap for the convertible roof

 

Roger

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