Hardtop Hardware and Attachment - Pictures

The hardtops were available from the start so the fixing points exist. But I don’t know whether all of them came stock with the brackets installed. I’d guess not. They would serve no purpose if the owner didn’t purchase a hardtop.

I would have to mock up the belt to be sure but my concern is that because of the location of the mounting points in the fhc the guide would would create an angle in the shoulder strap that would place a very hard angular pull on the guide in an accident, violently pulling it free from the attachment.

It would be close to a 90 degree angle yeah. Likely a couple hundred pounds of force for sure in a bad wreck. That’s why I’m thinking aluminum or even steel rather than ABS plastic. I’d be pretty surprised if that would give out. But compared to the near guaranteed damage that strap would cause to your collar bone and vertebrae in the current position it seems worth the risk to me. It would also require that the bolt be periodically checked as the wiggling might cause it to loosen.

My brackets have the “Lift the Dot” stud used to connect the ears of the soft top inside the cab. If all soft tops are alike the brackets would have been stock from the beginning.

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Spent a few hours in the garage and checked. The “Lift a Dot” studs on the brackets are for the envelope (not the soft top “ears”) which came standard with all OTS models.

Hello fellow hardtoper’s,

Your help above really paid off. We have the hardtop mounted on the car. Now we are mounting all the chrome. The two rear chrome halves are a little baffling - not sure how they mount with the seal and the rubber insert.

Does anybody have any pictures or suggestions? Marco I notice your picture above don’t have the chrome in the rear window. Is that by choice? It actually looks pretty good without it. :sunglasses:

Thanks again!

can you post pix of what you did?

Its hard to show what we tried because it all just comes apart after dry fitting. But here are a couple pictures of the kit as it came shipped and it sitting on the car being installed.

Honestly I was real disappointed when it arrived - I did not know assembly was required. And given that I spent ALOT of money on this it should have come gold plated :grinning:

I bought the “low cost” hardtop solution first and that was complete junk. So I dished out the big bucks for this and was shocked to see what I got for my money.

Anyway - this is where I am now and just trying to piece it together. I did more research on this website and it looks like mounting those chrome halves is very challenging. I also did not realize how crazy expensive those chrome halve pieces are compared to all the other chrome you can buy. Mine came with kit and I hope they are accurate and they will actually work. :crossed_fingers:

Bob,
My hard top did not have the chrome trim for the rear window just the original Perspex. Because I felt lucky to survive that purchase (my wife must really love me or mirrors my toy spending on whatever she wants :flushed:) I decided to wait a awhile before purchasing one. So ,for the time being, I flipped the gasket so that the locking strip is inside the cab and the outside is smooth rubber. Looks good.

Marco

I won’t say it was a ton of fun, but I managed to get all the chrome on mine. Work slow, don’t get frustrated, lots of soapy water, many hands. Use black trim cement if necessary.

Also if it came assembled you’d have to take it apart to paint it :wink:

Installing the rear chrome is an exercise in frustration, Bob. What worked for me was starting at the tight curvatures at the sides and working toward the middle using a blunt, rounded flat piece of hardwood that’s a shape similar to a letter opener to lift the edges of the rubber seal over the edges of the chrome. In the end the fitment is still not 100% with parts of the chrome edges barely seated into the seal. I also applied a small strip of 3M clear mask overlapping the two chrome joint clips to solve a propensity for the trim to come apart in the middle at speed. I’ve wondered if the reason so many original hardtops lack the rear windscreen chrome is because at some point one or other half has flown off on the highway …

Definitely this. I had a couple failed attempts starting in the center. Also, despite me stripping the chrome and hand polishing and doing a trial fitment, they came back from the plater too straight. No idea how they managed that. I had to reshape the legs of the parts to ensure that they lay into the rubber rather than being forced in. If you’re bending it down to get it in, the it will just pop out elsewhere.

I used plastic assembly tools. I wish I’d know about the suction cup trim clamps. They would have helped.

Hey thanks again everyone for the suggestions and insight. I am really second guessing myself on whether it is worth it to add a hardtop. :crazy_face: I suppose once I get it together I will be part of a small group of people who truly appreciates the hardtop chrome trim :sunglasses:

I put a great deal of effort and $ into creating a perfect hardtop with all the chrome etc…never been on the car…………….

Any tips on getting those shoulder bolts attached. I picked up one of these used, set everything up, but am having a heck of a time getting the bolts to align.

Can you share a photo of the misalignment ?

Mine barely fit in with the top firmly pressed down to compress the rear rubber.

The shoulder bolts should feature a severe taper to assist alignment. There’s some adjustment allowed between the receivers that’re screwed (3 UNF 1/4" @ iirc) to the body and the straps bolted (2@ UNF 1/4") to the sides of the hardtop. I fit the hardtop with the two receivers and two straps in place but loose then tightened them down at best fit. It still doesn’t fit precisely. I can get one of those special bolts in easily bu the other takes a bit of grunt to help align the strap with the receiver. Goes in, though.

You want the two straps to bring the top down enough to where the front of the hard top is resting on the windshield and the three latches DO NOT pull the top down when they are engaged and latched. Latches that pull the top in place is one of the causes of cracks in hard tops.

Since this is a new top from a kit, have you verified that there is actually enough clearance in back? Mine is actually a factory top but came from a different car and the rear edge required some sanding along the back edge to make it fit my car perfectly.

I taped the body up and set the adjustable brackets as high as they’d go. Then mounted the top with no rear seal. Along the back it went from about maybe 1/8" gap to literally nothing, even without the seal. So I marked the low points, removed it and went to town with a sanding block. It took half a dozen on/offs to get the gap perfectly even across the back so there would be enough room for the seal.

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