paul bond Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 My winter project has included fitting a surrey top to my 5. At each stage of refitting the backlight, I have ensured the hardtop (alloy) fits correctly. The first query is, The rear of the roof, where it mates wwith the backlight, has 3 "raised" areas, two corresponding to the rear fixing bolt areas, and one in the centre.When the top is bolted down, should these areas be in contact with the top of the backlight arch, or held apart by the seals? With the rear sealing strip, (the one attached to the top) in place, the rear of the roof fits correctly, however with the seal which runs from the A posts up over the backlight, in place, the top fouls the seal at the outer edges of the roof, preventing it pulling down into place.. Not wanting to modify the seal, has anyone hard this issue? Thanks Paul. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith1948 Posted February 19, 2019 Report Share Posted February 19, 2019 Hello Paul A photo of the problem with the seal would help. On the 3 raised areas I have stuck small pieces of tyre inner tube so that there is not metal to metal contact. You can often get old inner tube from car tyre outlets. It can be quite useful for all sorts of things! The rear rubber seal on the rear of the hard top fits along the rear edge of the head lining. Not sure what your issue is with the seal which I think you mean runs over from the B posts (not A posts?). Just wondering if you have the correct seal? Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paul bond Posted February 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 Hi Keith. Thanks for reply. The seal is the continuation of the door seals, running from A post, over the backlight arch (B post) and back on the other side.This is preventing the rear of the top from seating. Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geko Posted February 20, 2019 Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 (edited) On 2/19/2019 at 6:43 AM, paul bond said: The first query is, The rear of the roof, where it mates wwith the backlight, has 3 "raised" areas, two corresponding to the rear fixing bolt areas, and one in the centre.When the top is bolted down, should these areas be in contact with the top of the backlight arch, or held apart by the seals? YES they should be in contact. Some backlights have a clever mod around the fixing holes: The surrounding of the holes are patched with a stainless steel ring which allow for better and more uniform contact between the raised areas of the roof and the backlight (Pic Tom Fremont TR 250). I think Roger H did a similar mod but more agricultural. With the rear sealing strip, (the one attached to the top) in place, the rear of the roof fits correctly, however with the seal which runs from the A posts up over the backlight, in place, the top fouls the seal at the outer edges of the roof, preventing it pulling down into place.. Not wanting to modify the seal, has anyone hard this issue? The rear sealing strip (roof) should be made of very soft spongy foam which does make contact with the backlight frame and seal but not exactly "fooling it" or at least not the point of preventing the roof from fitting correctly. It may be that your seals are new and will simply compress overtime. Or wrong seals as stated above. Fitting correctly is also very relative...Picture please Edit: I also seem to remember that the roof seal has a raised section which should fit between the backlight frame and the backlight seal. If it is fitted the wrong way round, the ticker section may rest ON the backlight frame instead of between the frame and the seal which would explain why the roof is raised relative to the backlight frame Thanks Paul. Edited February 20, 2019 by Geko add Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fremont Posted February 20, 2019 Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 On 2/18/2019 at 5:43 PM, paul bond said: The first query is, The rear of the roof, where it mates wwith the backlight, has 3 "raised" areas, two corresponding to the rear fixing bolt areas, and one in the centre.When the top is bolted down, should these areas be in contact with the top of the backlight arch, or held apart by the seals? The middle " raised area " on my tops don't contact the backlight frame. I do employ thin rubber washers where the bolts go, but the gap in the middle is larger than their thickness. On my chequered top the curvature of the rear edge ( with stainless trim ) wasn't satisfactory; the corners are aloft somewhat. Fitting some thick rubber ( ~ 1/4" or so ) loose under the middle boss brings it into aesthetic sufficiency once bolted down tight. Can't explain why it needed that ( the other four lids I've restored didn't ) but I also had to trim off ~ 1/4" of its tail edge to bring the trim strip up to the line - so these can vary a surprising amount. Finally, how TRIUMPH trimmed these lids through the years remains a mystery to me, including the seal across the top of the backlight. One of mine has a continuous rubber/fuzzy seal and the other ( pic below ) doesn't. Cheers, Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paul bond Posted February 23, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2019 Thanks to you both for your replies. Tom,The second photo showing the seal, without the rubber would probably solve the problem. Thanks. Paul. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith1948 Posted February 24, 2019 Report Share Posted February 24, 2019 Hello Paul I was just about to suggest that the seal that goes around the doors is not the same as the section along the front edge of the surrey frame as in the second photo from Tom. There is no rubber flap, it is simply a section of furflex or rubber. Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paul bond Posted February 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 Keith. The "Original TR " books shows the furlex seal with the rubber seal continuing across the top of the backlight. this is how the seal was supplied by (I think) Moss. It then struck me that maybe the seal which remains on the rear of the roof, shouldnt be there, however this is also shown on the parts list ! I will try it without the roof fitted seal and then with a length of furlex without the rubber. As would be expected there has needed ro be a bit of fettling to get this far, not mentioning the fun in replacing the glass after repainting the backlight !! Thanks for your comments, much appreciated. Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
keith1948 Posted February 28, 2019 Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 Hello Paul Just had a good look at my Surrey top and I have the same seal around the Surrey as around the doors (furflex with a rubber cylinder). (1st photo) The second 2 photos show the hollow triangular seal at the rear of the vinyl trim inside the rear of the hard top. It is approx 1.5cm x 1.5cm and similar to Woolies SRS14 trim. On photo 3 you can also see the disc of tyre inner tube I stuck onto the raised bit in the centre. The width of the rear of the hard top measured between inside rim of gutters is 107cm. (On photo 2 this is between the bottom outer edges of the rear metal trim). The distance between the rear surrey frame top and rear of front capping is 72.3cm (28 and half inches) measured between where the fixing holes are. (Roughly where the Surrey frame is in photo 1). The Surrey frame is approx 106cm wide between the outer edge of the surrey stepped out bit below the popper in photo 1. It is 103cm between the stepped in portion at the same point. This means the hard top has approx 0.5cm clearance each side of the Surrey frame as in Tom's photo above. The seal going round the doors and the Surrey wouldn't be the cause of your problem now I have had a good look at mine. Just wonder if the gap between the top of the windscreen and top of the Surrey frame is a bit too tight? If you can upload a photo it might help Keith Quote Link to post Share on other sites
paul bond Posted February 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2019 Hi Keith. Thanks for your further input and measurements. Today I found the problem. Which was the flange on the hardtop where the headlining material folds over, seen at the right hanwd side of your second photo above. The rear end of this flange was fouling the furlex/rubber seal. I removed about 6mm from the end of the flange and reglued the headlining material. This allowed the top to seat on the backlight. I have added a 3mm thick soft rubber packer around each stud and in the centre of the hardtop as per you photo. Thanks again. Paul Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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