RogerH Posted April 19, 2020 Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 Hi Folks, this plague has got a lot to answer for. For a long time I have known that the four attachment holes on the Surrey hard top do not line up with the front and rear frames. I was of the understanding that over the years the chassis had settled slightly and I needed to sort out the packing. Today is/was the day. Underneath I could see that the offside rear support body/chassis had apprx 1/4" gap (packing). The Nearside has much much less. Taking basic measurements between the front/rear frames the offside was 670mm and the nearside was 675mm. So that 5mm difference tallied with the gaps underneath. Thankfully 3 of the 4 hard top fasteners would fit and the 4th (rear nearside) was a good half a hole out and in closing the rear/front frame gap would bring back that half a hole. So tomorrow I shall fit one of the Ali chassis/body spacers (apprx 6mm) and see what that has achieved. Fingers crossed. However life isn't so simple. In doing the above I found that the drivers door can't be opened from inside. Another little job. When I strip the door down to sort this I shall try and move the door glass backwards as far as it will g to improve the fir a little. And then I found a beautiful rust lump at the bottom offside corner of the windscreen frame - aaarrrrgghhh. Tomorrow is another day. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndyR100 Posted April 19, 2020 Report Share Posted April 19, 2020 Start with one job, end with three, sounds par for the course and glad it isn’t just me ........ Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted April 20, 2020 Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 Be careful just randomly adding packers like that Roger while it may help with the hardtop fitting you may find other things wont fit, specifically the left hand door. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted April 20, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2020 Hi Folks, well what a battle. That 5/16UNF screw that attaches the nearside rear body/chassis. 4 hours - 4 bloody hours to put it back in. The access is limited, two fingers at most and then you can't actually turn the nut. I did every trick I knew off. I eventually machined a thingy that held the nut/spring washer/larger washer as one and then supported it in place while I managed to get the screw to bite. The offside took about 30 minutes aaarrrgggghhhhhh. I managed to get one Ali packer in and now the gaps are even on both sides. As Stuart pointed out this didn;t do the lefthand door any favours. However the froward door gap wasn't impressive so moving it forward was handy. Annoyingly this has also moved the door glass forward and is not right. The window needs to rotate clockwise (rear end down). I'll do both doors at the same time. The roof is still 1/2 hole out on the rear nearside. So tomorrow I will strip the back of the car out and have a look at how the surrey rear frame is attached with a view to raising/tilting it. Should be fun. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted April 21, 2020 Report Share Posted April 21, 2020 Hate to say I told you so but.................................I told you so, you need to be very careful with altering the packers on a built car as it can upset so many other things. There is a little wriggle room on the Surrey rear frame to body mounting, just a real pain to get to the nuts to slacken them off and then re-tighten. Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted April 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2020 Drat and double drat - aaarrrggghhhhh!!! In order to find half a hole to anchor the roof down I stripped out the rear of the car and slackened off the surrey rear frame. My bright idea was to lift one side to sort the hole and Bob's your uncle. Sadly in this case it turned out to be aunt Fanny. The frame with glass is so still/rigid that if I lift one side the other side goes up just as much. I'm sure I could just tighten it down and it may well twist but that would still leave me with a rather large gap on one side - not right. OK so I'm sat here with a cup of coffee working pout my next attack and can only think about the front screen frame. That is less rigid. So I shall pop the rear frame back in place and have a look at the front end. Once upon a time the roof did fit, so something has moved. Anyway it is a sunny day and I'm not exactly going anywhere at the moment. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted April 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2020 Deep joy. I have all four screws in holding the roof down. I managed to move the front screen rearwards a fraction and this allows the 4th screw t do in. I now need to tighten the screen down and press on to all the other jobs. The coffee did the trick Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fremont Posted April 21, 2020 Report Share Posted April 21, 2020 Glad you finally got joy, Roger! I've fitted (5) metal lids over the years onto two cars, and it was always an ordeal. (3) of them were alloy, and because the moorings were ripped out anyway they got repaired with the benefit of the backlights mounted to the cars. Adjustments were mostly with the windscreen frame ( which is pretty rigid too ). From memory, the worst case was a 1/2" discrepancy side to side between the fore and aft holes. I haven't checked it recently, but I think it's still there on my concourse car which has two lids, one steel and one alloy. The cost of the Surrey hard top kit is just the beginning! Cheers, Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted April 21, 2020 Report Share Posted April 21, 2020 2 hours ago, RogerH said: Deep joy. I have all four screws in holding the roof down. I managed to move the front screen rearwards a fraction and this allows the 4th screw t do in. I now need to tighten the screen down and press on to all the other jobs. The coffee did the trick Roger How do the door windows fit now then? Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted April 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2020 Hi Stuart, this morning both door glasses were too far forward. This was not good in my case as I have a rain channel that takes up some of the window access. Anyway I have put a small kink in a regulator arm. This has tilted the glass back just enough to give good clearance. An extra benefit is that the rear of the glass now aligns with the vertical rubber seal. So the roof fits, the doors fit, the glass fits 0 what could possibly go wrong now !! Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted April 21, 2020 Report Share Posted April 21, 2020 Sounds like a result! As long as you can open the doors then you may well have cracked it! Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Paul J Posted April 21, 2020 Report Share Posted April 21, 2020 Roger A method I found to fit the rear chassis to body bolts, on my chassis there is a hole directly underneath the bolt hole, I put a 1/4 extension bar up through and pointed it to the rear valance then fitted the appropriated socket with the bolt and ease into position with the nut etc on top. It worked well for me Paul. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SuzanneH Posted April 22, 2020 Report Share Posted April 22, 2020 (edited) Looking good. He’s taken it off again now to restore the paintwork on the rear frame, which is coming off in a mo’ too. Edited April 22, 2020 by SuzanneH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TorontoTim Posted April 22, 2020 Report Share Posted April 22, 2020 At least he's out of the house, Sue... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SuzanneH Posted April 22, 2020 Report Share Posted April 22, 2020 1 hour ago, TorontoTim said: At least he's out of the house, Sue... Yes Tim and he has the most amazing weather to be out in. If it were not for doing this and the garden he would be going stir crazy as he normally pops out to the shops and TR Shop or Moss many times in a week. He has to be doing something all the time and is finding it hard not being able to go out and drive the TR. I would really like to go out for a drive in the TR too but we are not allowed to. A quick drive to The London Apprentice to just sit in the TR and look at the Thames would be lovely but we dare not do it. on a very serious note a man who he often passes the time of day with whilst out on the drive tinkering with the TR, came past today. He reported that he had not been at all well but didn’t know definitely if it was Covid19 but confirmed that two of his family have passed away with it, one in their 60s and one in their 50s who worked in a Sainsburys. This brings it home as they are the first people we have any knowledge of locally who have been affected. Stay safe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nigel A Posted April 22, 2020 Report Share Posted April 22, 2020 Wished you hadn’t mentioned Sainsbury’s Sue, We have made Angie stay off work from Sainsbury’s for the last 2 weeks as we were so scared. She is returning to work on Friday though and I must admit I’m looking forward to the peace and quiet. Nigel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SuzanneH Posted April 22, 2020 Report Share Posted April 22, 2020 1 hour ago, Nigel A said: Wished you hadn’t mentioned Sainsbury’s Sue, We have made Angie stay off work from Sainsbury’s for the last 2 weeks as we were so scared. She is returning to work on Friday though and I must admit I’m looking forward to the peace and quiet. Nigel Sorry Nigel, but better to be aware of the situation. Tell Angie to stay safe and take extra special care. She’s young ad fit so hopefully after precautions should be OK. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nigel A Posted April 23, 2020 Report Share Posted April 23, 2020 Thanks for the reassurance Sue Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hawaiizac Posted November 10, 2023 Report Share Posted November 10, 2023 Hello, long time follower, don’t post much… but, I’ve acquired a surry hard top, alloy. Refurbished it, and now, I am trying to fit it. My backlight window is in, but now I’m trying to figure out how to attach the top. Do I need to remove the silver aluminum header on top of the front wind screen? What size are the bolts to attach the top? Has anyone made a quick release version? I have the rubber gasket that goes along the top of the front windshield, does it get glued to the front lip of the top? Any help greatly appreciated… Please wait while image is uploading... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted November 10, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2023 Hi Zac, Have a look HERE screws 42 and 48 hold the roof on. The 'silver' capping on the front frame stays where it is. The rubber seal is glued to the roof. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Besalu Posted December 26, 2023 Report Share Posted December 26, 2023 Roger, i remember seeing a pic of your backlight with what looked like a piece of sheet stainless steel which covered the holes where the hard/soft top fitted. I am not sure if this is a standard addition or if it is something you have made up yourself. I have been scouring the forum trying to find the pic again to no avail. With frequent soft top fitting /removal the area around these locating holes is becoming a bit scratched so i am looking at fitting something like what i saw on your car. it would make it look a lot tidier. Thanks in advance, Richard Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted December 27, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 27, 2023 Hi Richard I made the stainless covers. Easy enough to make, but I have a jig. For a one off it is worth giving it a go. Start with a paper Template. The progress to CAD - cardboard aided design. Then use mild steel. And then when you happy do it in Stainless. The difficult bit is keeping the exposed surface clean and scratch free. Have sent a PM Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phil Dean Posted December 27, 2023 Report Share Posted December 27, 2023 (edited) My love of the TR4/4a comes from my youth, I grew up living next door to a Standard Triumph dealership in the 60s. Clarks Motors. I have kept in touch with one of the mechanics from back in the day. He often tells a story of a local doctor who owned a Tr4A with a targa top. One of the jobs to winterise the car was to refit the hard top to do this the mechanics used to jack the car up at the back off one of the legs then get the bolts in on that side, then do the same on the other side at the time the car could have only been 2 years old. and you wonder why you sometimes have problems refitting hard tops.In fact I kind of remember him going from the TR to buying Triumph 2500 PI which seam to spend more time in the workshop than out on the road. Phil. Edited December 27, 2023 by phil Dean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tom Fremont Posted December 27, 2023 Report Share Posted December 27, 2023 I had these stainless inserts fitted on my concourse car and subsequently to my driver and spare backlight frame. They sit 0.010" proud of the paint. The restorer worked out a jig which I have somewhere but don't know how he ( RIP ) used it with a router to make the recess around the frame holes. I think it cost around $500/ set, a cost which will likely discourage copy cats! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted December 28, 2023 Report Share Posted December 28, 2023 (edited) Ive fitted Rogers protecting plates to quite a few cars including mine and they do help with keeping that area scratch free, also even better on the Honeybourne frames as its easy to do more damage on them. Stuart. Edited December 28, 2023 by stuart Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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