folding down the soft top

[trigger234]

Hi i am new member having just purchased my 76 stag 5 weeks ago. It had a new hood fitted this summer, but it now has some scratch marks on the rear window, could someone tell me is there a special way of folding down the hood without marking it. ? Thank you for your time.

[barkerwilliams]

Some people unzip the rear window so that it hangs vertically in the bay. But when I tried on my car it took far longer to raise the roof when raining, then I had to get in the back of the car to work the zips and the wind deflector was in the way, so for me impracticable, but if you have zips with the "pulls" on the outside it may be better on your setup..

Do the marks show where and on what it is catching?

On my roof the centre of the front edge is worn where the hood pushes up against the metal cover and then presumably is rubbed as the car vibrates so now once stowed away I just drop a loose piece of cloth (old scarf) over the top of the hood fabric to protect from rubbing the metal cover.

Alan

[022Dave]

Hi i am new member having just purchased my 76 stag 5 weeks ago. It had a new hood fitted this summer, but it now has some scratch marks on the rear window, could someone tell me is there a special way of folding down the hood without marking it. ? Thank you for your time.

Hello Trigger,

Firstly, welcome to the Club and the Forum. The scratches on the vinyl rear window can be polished out quite easily using T-cut or a plastic polish, such as Autoglym produce. I always unzip my window, so that it doesn't crease when stowed. To make the zip easier to move, spray its length with dry silicone spray (but not WD40 as it can stain the fabric and cause dirt to stick to the teeth of the zip), and attach a cable tie to the pull, to make it easier to reach from outside the car.

Dave

[022Dave]

On my roof the centre of the front edge is worn where the hood pushes up against the metal cover and then presumably is rubbed as the car vibrates so now once stowed away I just drop a loose piece of cloth (old scarf) over the top of the hood fabric to protect from rubbing the metal cover.

Alan

Alan,

There should be a stand-off bracket bolted to the latching mechanism, in the centre of the tonneau cover, which pushes on the front rail to keep it clear of the metal cover (see photo). Mine was missing when I bought my car, and had the same chafing as yours. Tony White (or others) probably have stock of second-hand items.

Dave

[trigger234]

Thank you for the welcome much appreciated. Thank you for the advice i will look into it this afternoon. Nice to know there is help out there and don't feel an idiot asking.