Hello All, I have a 1963 Roadster Series 1 and I purchased a Hardtop with no hardware attached to the hardtop or to the car. Does anyone have pictures of hardtop hardware? Also my bigger question - does anyone have a picture showing how the hardtop mounts to car. My understanding is it uses the three buckles just like the softtop and then bolts down on either side through the brackets to the car. Does any one have pictures of how it bolts down on either side? Are there brackets or bolts holes on the car that mate up with the hardtop brackets?
The more pictures the better! I love pictures! Thanks a bunch for any help!
This is an SII top but its my understanding that the only difference between SII and SI hard tops is the shape of the latch.
Three latches on top of the windshield and two on the B pillars just behind the shoulders.
The three latches on the windshield should NOT pull the top on the windshield but be adjusted to snap when the top and windshield have already mated otherwise you risk cracking the top. The two latches on the B pillars need to adjusted so that the cone shaped nut pulls the top down enough for the rear seal to contact the body of the car and create a seal.
Because of body flex there is a chance that the hard top seal will “rub” the paint on the body so I created a pattern and cut out a piece of 3M Invisible Mask/Clear Bra to help prevent this.
Marco’s photos show the side brackets that are attached to the hardtop. Parts 11 and 12 in this illustration are the two matching parts that attach to the car. There are captive nuts underneath the trim on the inside of the car. You’ll have to remove the trim pieces to find them and poke holes for the two large flat head screws that secure i to the car. There is a third small screw that goes into the back side of the top of these brackets. It is hidden under the outer rubber door seal so you’ll have to loosen up the top inch or two of the seal to expose the hole. The purpose of that screw is to adjust the bracket so there is a small air gap between the hardtop sides and the body paint.
That’s about it really. Assuming it’s a S1 top then the standard front clamps fit on it. If it’s a S2 top though you’ll need to use S2 front clamps.
There was a little more to it than the one photo I posted. The entire piece of tracing paper was removed and replaced several times in order to achieve the final shape of the film with the hard top in place so I needed reference marks to go by…
I wanted a minimal (1/16") and even amount of Invisible Mask to be visible with the hard top on.
Marco
Absolutely ! But, as Erica inferred, no two E types are alike so you may need to make adjustments. See all the blue tape on the original template on the second counter photo versus the final one from my earlier posted photo. PM me.
Marco
The convenience of the 3M mask is offset by having that extra line in the paintwork - just my opinion. I mount the hardtop only once a year, in the fall, leave it on for winter storage and take it off when things start to get warmer in the spring. I actually mount it twice. First to determine where the edge of the rear seal sits on the back deck, which I trace using regular masking tape, after which I remove the top to apply low tack masking tape to the deck area the rear seal rides on before removing the first tape application and remounting the hardtop. Takes 10-15 minutes. The low tack tape disappears under the seal.
Pete,
If you click on the photo of Tazio Nuvolari driving his car with his steering wheel in hand next to my name, a window will pop up with a blue box that says “MESSAGE”. Click it and send me a message
I don’t suppose anyone has pictures showing the hard top hardware from inside the car showing it being bolted to the bracket (with and without hardtop installed). Even better would be a picture of the hardware underneath the trim I purchased from link provided. I think I understand pieces 11 and 12, Hardtop Mounting Brackets, but I am not sure I understand where part 17 “Door Top Frame Shim” is mounted? I was surprised parts 11 and 12, Hardtop Mounting Brackets, were chrome plated since they just go underneath the trim panels. I guess they won’t rust
That shim isn’t for the hardtop. There are two pivot brackets on the car for the soft top. Sometimes (apparently) it’s necessary to use those shim piece underneath the pivot brackets to bring something better into alignment. I’d guess it has something to do with the folding cantrails that go over the windows and helping to get them to fit better. There is no such adjustment for the hardtop. The only adjustment for the car side HT brackets is the small one I mentioned where it can be moved in and out a bit using a small screw. The up/down adjustment is made using the brackets that mount on the top itself. They have slots for the screws.
I’d guess that the reason for the shims is to make the soft top the same level as the hardtop. On mine, with no shims under the pivot brackets, the soft top cantrails are just a bit lower than the hardtop cantrails. So my glass is regulated to the hardtop cantrail height. I have to be super careful to not have them rolled up all the way when I close the door against the soft top or the glass could smash.
But in order for them to be used, you’d need to plan for it before installing the soft top. I did not. My soft top was installed 12 years ago. I only finished the hardtop a couple years ago. If your soft top needs changing then maybe you want to consider this adjustment. But in order to check it you have to get the HT finished and trimmed out and the windows regulated to it.
These bolts are described as also being seatbelt guide bolts. I have never heard of a seatbelt guide for the e type but it sounds like a great idea. Are you familiar with this guide?
I have never seen such a part. I agree it would be a great idea and novel place to mount them because without them the shoulder belt is right at the nape of my neck. I live in terror of having to actually rely on it one day because it would probably snap my neck. Someone needs to design and print them (or mill them…,.Mr @Ray_Livingston)…stat.
Strange that they are labelled that way. When I searched the xks site for seatbelt guide all that came up was the shoulder bolt. A guide would be an excellent addition.
I’d guess no bracket is needed. On the coupes there is a captive nut in the location of the roadster hardtop brackets. So maybe this fancy bolt could be used to attach the shoulder strap end bracket to that mount point. Maybe it would look a little better than the plain belt bolt, assuming they have the same pitch?
But it is honestly a great idea to have a roadster shoulder belt bracket there. That’s the point where the shoulder belt should cross your body, not next to your neck. My shoulder belts are plenty long enough to anchor in the rear and then pass through some kind of metal hoop mounted on the hardtop bracket. This is how it’s done on plenty of modern cars.
Looks like a coarser thread than the standard seatbelt attachment bolt. The attachment point for the coupe is quite a bit further back. I wonder if the hardtop bracket is attached robustly enough to redirect the pull on a seatbelt safely? When I get to that stage of my restoration I intend to explore the feasibility of fabricating and chroming some sort of guide bracket to attach in that area as I would like to have proper retractable 3 point harnesses.
Oh most definitely. I think the lower screws are either #10 or 1/4" and then there is a #8 screw up top. The bracket itself is quite sturdy. Considering that the guides on modern cars are commonly plastic, I think this arrangement could handle the force. They do hold on the hardtop after all.
I don’t think it would be too hard to mill something out of aluminum. It could easily be used with just the soft top. I’m less confident in making it work with the hardtop though. The shank of that special bolt has a rather pronounced cone where the shank meets the head which centers the HT bracket and brings it into final position. The largest part of the cone is the same diameter as the large hole in the HT bracket. If a guide bracket was placed over the HT bracket then the bolt wouldn’t screw all the way into the HT bracket so it wouldn’t be fully attached. So it order to make it work, the bolts would have to be fabricated as well with a longer cone section. At that point it’s probably easier to just weld a belt guide onto the HT bracket.
Are the Hardtop Brackets installed in all cars regardless of whether they came with a hardtop or not? Just wondering if when I go to pull the panels off if they are already going to be there as part of the standard build?
