Jump to content

How do you attach a backlight (surrey top)?


Recommended Posts

9 hours ago, keith1948 said:

One tip - DO NOT mark the white vinyl headlining with a biro pen on the back for fitting purposes. The ink will gradually work its way through to the front requiring you to paint the vinyl with vinyl spray. Guess how I know this

Similarly be very sparing with any contact adhesive you use, this will also bleed through over time, so keep it just to where it will be covered by the fuzzy edge trim.

Cheers Rob 

Link to post
Share on other sites
14 hours ago, Jo Neyskens said:

 

IMG_20201113_142808.jpg

Dont forget there should be a seal between the rear Surrey section and the car body.

Stuart.

 

Link to post
Share on other sites
On 11/16/2020 at 11:05 AM, stuart said:

Dont forget there should be a seal between the rear Surrey section and the car body.

Stuart.

 

Hi Stuart, That's right. It has been ordered but has not arrived yet. I put it on to see if everything fits :). I have removed the hood frame because it is no longer needed. Now I can slide my chair back a bit more :). 

Driving is great with the surrey. Less air circulation. More fun to drive now when it is colder. 

Now I have to find something to blacken the interior (upholstery) of the surrey.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Pretty easy Jo. You can buy kits from the usual suppliers or DIY if you have the ability.  A forum search for the myriad of posts on the subject will give you plenty of gen.  The biggest question is whether to retain the wide fan-belt if your car still has one of those.  If you want to change to a narrow fan belt it gets more involved but you can use the existing wide dynamo pulley with an alternator if you stick with the wide belt. 

Question is though - why do you want to do it ?

Link to post
Share on other sites
25 minutes ago, RobH said:

Pretty easy Jo. You can buy kits from the usual suppliers or DIY if you have the ability.  A forum search for the myriad of posts on the subject will give you plenty of gen.  The biggest question is whether to retain the wide fan-belt if your car still has one of those.  If you want to change to a narrow fan belt it gets more involved but you can use the existing wide dynamo pulley with an alternator if you stick with the wide belt. 

Question is though - why do you want to do it ?

I've heard you can gain extra horsepower with a narrow fan belt. I don't know if that's true :). Apparently an alternator can also be used with the wide one.

Link to post
Share on other sites
33 minutes ago, Jo Neyskens said:

apparently you have to leave the fan on the crankshaft to maintain the balance.

No that is a myth, discussed recently on here.  Many cars run quite happily with no mechanical fan.  Taking the fan off might give a tiny improvement in engine power but probably not noticeable. The narrow belt alone doesn't make any difference. 

You don't need to change to an alternator to improve the lights - in fact just doing that will not help at all.  The easiest way to improve them is to fit LED bulbs - again discussed at length.  LEDs take less current so a dynamo will be quite capable of powering them.

If you do remove the mechanical fan you will need an electrical one, and driving that might require an alternator as they can take a lot of current  - usually needed when the engine is idling which is just where the dynamo produces little output.  

Edited by RobH
Link to post
Share on other sites
15 minutes ago, RobH said:

No that is a myth, discussed recently on here.  Many cars run quite happily with no mechanical fan.  Taking the fan off might give a tiny improvement in engine power but probably not noticeable. The narrow belt alone doesn't make any difference. 

You don't need to change to an alternator to improve the lights - in fact just doing that will not help at all.  The easiest way to improve them is to fit LED bulbs - again discussed at length.  LEDs take less current so a dynamo will be quite capable of powering them.

If you do remove the mechanical fan you will need an electrical one, and driving that might require an alternator as they can take a lot of current  - usually needed when the engine is idling which is just where the dynamo produces little output.  

I already have LEDs in my dashboard. They burn harder when you are driving than at idle. I thought an alternator would help.

My front and rear lights also go with the revs :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes you would expect the lights to get brighter as the revs increase from idle, and an alternator will indeed minimise that  - but it won't (or shouldn't ) make them any brighter at speed unless there is a fault with your dynamo or control box adjustment.   

As I said, it is pretty easy to fit an alternator while keeping the standard wide fan-belt. You have to re-use the dynamo pulley though and that has a larger diameter than the usual alternator pulley. That means the alternator rotates at the same speed as the dynamo did so you don't get the full benefit of increased output at idle speeds and it might not completely eliminate the dimming. 

Fitting a narrow belt so you can use the standard alternator pulley requires that you change the crankshaft and waterpump pulleys too and is quite a bit more involved. 

Link to post
Share on other sites
9 minutes ago, RobH said:

Yes you would expect the lights to get brighter as the revs increase from idle, and an alternator will indeed minimise that  - but it won't (or shouldn't ) make them any brighter at speed unless there is a fault with your dynamo or control box adjustment.   

As I said, it is pretty easy to fit an alternator while keeping the standard wide fan-belt. You have to re-use the dynamo pulley though and that has a larger diameter than the usual alternator pulley. That means the alternator rotates at the same speed as the dynamo did so you don't get the full benefit of increased output at idle speeds and it might not completely eliminate the dimming. 

Fitting a narrow belt so you can use the standard alternator pulley requires that you change the crankshaft and waterpump pulleys too and is quite a bit more involved. 

 

Thank you very much for the information !!! I'm going to check it out here and maybe try LEDs first :)

 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Not covering everything as in "too short"? If so, send back. Try without glue, with a bit of luck it will clamp on the edge of the backlight and hold during install. If not, contact adhesive on the edge of the backlight. Do not stretch the seal during installation and keep a length of 5 cm on each side for a few days before cutting.

Link to post
Share on other sites
27 minutes ago, Geko said:

Not covering everything as in "too short"? If so, send back. Try without glue, with a bit of luck it will clamp on the edge of the backlight and hold during install. If not, contact adhesive on the edge of the backlight. Do not stretch the seal during installation and keep a length of 5 cm on each side for a few days before cutting.

image.png.88c2b2020b4c2e53818c07e8ac69262d.png

Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Geko said:

Not covering everything as in "too short"? If so, send back. Try without glue, with a bit of luck it will clamp on the edge of the backlight and hold during install. If not, contact adhesive on the edge of the backlight. Do not stretch the seal during installation and keep a length of 5 cm on each side for a few days before cutting.

 

IMG_20201124_200811.jpg

IMG_20201124_201008.jpg

IMG_20201124_201014.jpg

IMG_20201124_201028.jpg

IMG_20201124_201145.jpg

IMG_20201124_201155.jpg

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Please familiarise yourself with our Terms and Conditions. By using this site, you agree to the following: Terms of Use.