Fitting Hard Top. Silly Question ???

[Guest]

Just fitted the Hard Top on the Stagfor the first time today. Not a problem but the rear does not seem to fit down tight and there is a gap of about half an inch with the bottom/sides also having a gap. Before I ask the misses to help lift it off again am I missing something in the way it fits, i.e. is there an adjustment of the rear middle locating catch/spring on the Hard Topor do I need to push it down harder although I have pushed as hard as I can. The locating catch in the body is returning to the correct position when the handle to the side/rear of the passenger seat is pushed fully in and the front top and side locating handle thingies do engage in their respective holes and the cover behind the rear seats is down and located correctly. This is probably explained in the Hand Book but I do not have one, yet ( Still looking ). I have a workshop manual but it is not explained in the workshop manual.

Any comments welcome.

Many thanks, Don Kennedy.

[GDPR]

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Many of us just remove the centre catch Don - it's a bitch to get right and it's also the major cause of paint damage when lifting on and off......

I can't say it makes any real difference to how secure it is, as 4 camlock fixings is more than enough.

Russ:dude:

[StagnJag]

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The back and rear side are deliberately clear of the bodywork. This is to prevent the hard top scratching the paint on the car. The middle rear pin on mine does not engage either. I might follow Russ' idea and remover the pin. Having said that I haven't used the hard top this winter. I have been driving around taking Stag/Snow photos today with the top down.

Provided you can't see daylight from inside the car, it should be fine.

regards

Dave H

[V Mad]

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Apart from the centre catch (which can/should be removed) there are two other things that might stop the hard top seating fully; firstly there is a rubber pad in each corner which can be adjusted for height; maybe these need adjusting? Secondly, the metal whereside catches are fitted may have got bent. They are not very strong, and they do corrode. Also an old repair may have put the catch in the wrong position. Under the catch is a rubber bush which hardens, so that could also be your trouble.

Hope that helps.

[Guest]

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Hi Russ.

Sounds like a good idea removing the pin, worth a try.

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Hi Dave H,

I can see daylight from inside the car mainly at the sides above where the rear seat is but this looks like it is because the rear of the Hard Top is not down tight enough.Going to try removing the pin.

Driving with the Top down in this weather ?. Is this a Stag thing or just normal madness?. As I will be using the Stag as a daily driver I would prefer a Hard Top fitted in this weather unless I have to get some of this Stag madness applied to my brain cell. Hope this not fitting the Hard Top is compulsorily with Stag ownership.


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Hi V Mad,

Metal at side catches seem to be OK. You advise adjustment of corner rubber pads, how is this done ?.

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Many thanks to all for your time replying.

Don Kennedy.

[StagnJag]

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I had plenty of warm clothes on, the sun is/was out the heater on full blast, it was pretty cosy really. Perfect Stag weather. (and perhaps I am a bit mad, that is a prerequisite to owning a Stag isn't it?:P).

[DJT]

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Don2138 wrote:

Metal at side catches seem to be OK. You advise adjustment of corner rubber pads, how is this done ?.

Hi Don,

As this is my old hard top I guess I ought to pitch in here.

This top was fitted to my current car when I collected it and drove the c.40 miles home with it on. It fitted well, so there can't be much of a problem with the hard top. The Stag was basically hand-built and they all came out with slight differences. This has been complicated by much repair/restoration work over the years, which doesn't help.

In each rear corner there should be a hex-head bolt with a rubber protective cover. The bolt screws into a nylon bush. You should see if these 'feet' are touching the bodywork and preventing the top from sitting down far enough. If so, carefully remove the rubber covers and screw the bolts further into their bushes by the amount you need to settle the top by. Then replace the covers. Unfortunately you will have to remove the top to do this.

When fitting the top, I tend to tilt it slightly down at the back to get the spring-loaded pin in first, then lower the front carefully, ensuring that the HRS contactors engage. Others have suggested removal of the pin, which may well be beneficial.

If the B-post levers have fully engaged, is the top sat down properly where the HRS connectors engage? If not, it could be that the chrome plates behind the b-posts are too high. They should be flush with the top of the wing.

Dave

[V Mad]

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DJT wrote:

If the B-post levers have fully engaged, is the top sat down properly where the HRS connectors engage? If not, it could be that the chrome plates behind the b-posts are too high. They should be flush with the top of the wing.

Dave

I wonder if the rubber seals are causing a problem? Some replacement seals are much stiffer than the old ones, especially in the cold weather.

Talking about seals, my hard top has no vertical B-post seals. Are there supposed to be any and how do they fit, are they just glued on?

[martin]

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Beautiful picture, your car's even the right colour ! I hope it's going in the "advertising" folder.

When I first got the car, I had daylight showing under the hard top, I found that by letting it drop the last couple of inches it sat properly, my rear centre catch doesn't lock either, even after several attempts to adjust it, as Russ says, the four camlocks are more than enough to keep it in place. Martin.

[Guest]

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DJT wrote:

Don2138 wrote:

Metal at side catches seem to be OK. You advise adjustment of corner rubber pads, how is this done ?.

Hi Don,

As this is my old hard top I guess I ought to pitch in here.

This top was fitted to my current car when I collected it and drove the c.40 miles home with it on. It fitted well, so there can't be much of a problem with the hard top. The Stag was basically hand-built and they all came out with slight differences. This has been complicated by much repair/restoration work over the years, which doesn't help.

In each rear corner there should be a hex-head bolt with a rubber protective cover. The bolt screws into a nylon bush. You should see if these 'feet' are touching the bodywork and preventing the top from sitting down far enough. If so, carefully remove the rubber covers and screw the bolts further into their bushes by the amount you need to settle the top by. Then replace the covers. Unfortunately you will have to remove the top to do this.

When fitting the top, I tend to tilt it slightly down at the back to get the spring-loaded pin in first, then lower the front carefully, ensuring that the HRS contactors engage. Others have suggested removal of the pin, which may well be beneficial.

If the B-post levers have fully engaged, is the top sat down properly where the HRS connectors engage? If not, it could be that the chrome plates behind the b-posts are too high. They should be flush with the top of the wing.

Dave

Hi Dave.



I have no doubt that it is not a problem with the Hard Top or my Stag but more a problem with it being me fitting for the first time as all looks OK except for the rear of the Hard top being too high as if the rear pin is not far enough down into the locating hole as the side bits just below the rear side windows are almost correct at the front just behind the door pillar but the gap gets wider the further back as I look at it. The gap is wide enough to cause concern if it rains as it will let in water. I think I will remove the pin and see how it fits, if it still looks to high I will adjust the Hex bolts on the corners as you suggest. Once I get a good fit I will refit the pin and see if how the Hard Top fits. I will give it a try tomorrow.



Many thanks to all for your replies.



Don Kennedy

[DJT]

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V Mad wrote:

I wonder if the rubber seals are causing a problem? Some replacement seals are much stiffer than the old ones, especially in the cold weather.

Talking about seals, my hard top has no vertical B-post seals. Are there supposed to be any and how do they fit, are they just glued on?

I know what you mean about the new seals; no-one seems to be able to supply decent ones. This top is fitted with the original, soft, seals. They are a bit flat as you would expect, but they still touched the deck when on the car the top came from.

The vertical b-post seals aresimilar (you can use the same section) to those on the a-post. A rubber P-section which is stuck on with double-sided tape.

Dave

[stustag]

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Hi Don

I had this happen recently and found the cause was due to the spring on the rear catch getting caught halfway down on the lock mechanism which stopped the side locking catches fully going home.

Make sure (AS DJT SAID) you put the rear lock in first then lower the HT on to the 4 locking catches making sure you have positioned the levers in the right position before lowering it on to the car.

The HT should sit flush then with the cars bodywork.

Stuart

[Guest]

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Hi All,



I appreciate peoples time replying to me question so I like to try and give feedback when I resove a problem. Unfortunately I do not have an answer. I have tried fitting the Hard Top by making sure that the rear pin is engaging in the hole correctly, lifting the front of the Top, keeping the Top level and all variations but no different, still have a gap on the right side below the Top side window. Removed the pin and tried again but still the gap so it was not the pin. It is almost as if there are two problems. One is where the Top rests from the middle ( near the pin ) to the right rear corner and along the bottom to the door pillar ( driver’s side ) the gap gets progressively wider. The other I think may be that the cover behind the rear seat is not sitting down correctly although the seal between this cover and the bodywork looks equal all round. I have put some rubber strip to stop water getting into the gap and will come back to this later as my old frail arms ( sympathy appreciated ) and the helpers were getting a bit knackered lifting the Top on and off. I will be making a rope pulley system from the garage roof that will enable me to lift and manoeuvre the Top so I can investigate easier, as well as storing it. Another thing to come back to when the weather gets better. I understand that summer is going to be the three days at the end of July this year.



Many thanks, Don Kennedy

[Arbman Al]

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Hi Don,

If you have not done so already, do a forum search for Hard top storage, and you will get some ideas and pictures that some of the other guys have done.

You can also buy a ready made kit on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Cabriolet-hard...1%7C240%3A1318

Rgds....Al.