Got My New Roadster Top......Then Disaster Struck!

Here's some pictures of my new roadster top when I went to pick it from the trimmer today.



I WAS over the moon with it.



I've got to go back to have the full side-screens done when I've modified the side-screen frames to match the lowered top.



I've used an original Jaguar XK-120 rear screen rather than the little square Model 'A' one.



The rear section unclips and folds up as original.





And the disaster?

Well after leaving the trimmers and not realising that the top wasn't clamped to the screen, I bet you can guess where this is leading, the top has folded back awkward and snapped the main wooden bow in two.

As you can imagine I'm gutted.

 

a little glue and maybe a dowel or two and your back in business. a bit of sanding and re apply the finish. wood is very forgiving like that.

 

that is a total bummer!!! is this where the "let us learn from our mistakes" comes in? the top looked awesome, you'll get a new bow.

 

...that would make me want to punch somethin'...

 

What he said.....!

 

I'm sick for you.

 

took a drive out in my A late last year without the roof clamped to the screen got to around 60 and it lifted but only on one side (luckily) so O do simpathise...It looks like a real nice top too, who made it for you as I have a friend witha 32 who's looking for a folding top and my roof is stock hight and I'm thinking about bringing it down a bit...also was it expensive (it looks It)
Please PM me if it's better for you...I also have a favor to ask re exhibiting your roadster..Paul

 

Bummer.
Guess you won't be forgetting to check the clamps again in a hurry! Dowels, glue - would make a strong repair though, but I'm no good at that "tree wood" stuff... suffering the damn mouldy, crumbling, splitting stuff myself!

 

my bro's father in law was flatbedding his chevy pickup that had been painted home, the bed wasn't bolted to the frame. atleast it was a chevy.

 

That is a real bummer!

I painted my 65 Vette 22 coats of red lacquer - took about 6 months. Decided to take her down the streef for her maiden voyage . . . stepped on the gas a bit and I watched my hood fly over the top of the car . . . and in my rear view I saw it splatter to the ground --- good side up at least. So I turned my vette around and drove back and pulled up next to it (was in the middle of a 2 lane residential street). Just as I'm pulling up this POS VW squareback comes around the corner - runs right smack over my hood, didn't slow a bit and kept on going. How the F@#$%@K could he not see a bright red fricking hood in the middle of the street -- with a bright red 65 vette next to it?

Ruiined the thing completely. I wanted to find that squareback real bad ... was just itching to do something I'd regret . . . thank gosh I didn't.

Dale

 

That's an awesome looking top (before disaster). How much is it chopped? Except for the tan color, that's exactly what I want mine to look like when I chop it in the future.

 

I'd be pissed...the top looked great!

 

that ****s!

as suggested, yellow glue will hold MUCH more than you think.......you must use clamping pressure to do so.....

seriously, that is broken through the long grain it will hold.....slather it up real good, get you some good clamps of any kind, take a damp cloth and wipe off the excess glue (hard to sand), let it dry over-night, sand with 80 or so, work your way up to 220, stain and forget about it.....

 

gorrila glue is good, lowes. will tear the wood before the glued joint.

 

http://www.wes***-resins.com/westsystem/index.html

 

Nice top.

Sad about the top folding back at speed.
Been there, done that, but only on one side and I was able to hold on to the top and get off the highway before any damage happened.
My 32 top has a bit more of a wedge to it and that helped as far as the top lifting off went.

You may want to think about tossing the shallowly (izzat a word?) coned Ford style top thumbscrews and knocking out a set from a stainless Allen Bolt that has a pin on it.
That and a lock screw will retain the top to the windshield posts quite well.

The pic - poorly focussed for sure - shows the drilled hole in the back of the 32 windshield posts.
Also shown is an aluminum insert that's also drilled to accept the pin, but it's main purpose is to round off the top of the somewhat sharp 32 windshield post.
That done when the car was *******, but covered when parked.
First with an old quilt, later with one of California Car Cover's ****pit covers that worked out well.
Kept the interior nice and cool when the car sat out at work all day in the 100 degree Central California sunshine.

It looks to me like the oak bow is very fixable.
After the bow is glued, you may want to think about epoxying an oak dowell or stainless 1/4" rod into a drilled hole so as to reinforce the break area.

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Is that a weatherstrip piece coming off the bottom of the windshield?
Looks a little longer than the one on my 32.
A windshields are a bit different than 32's far as I know.
How is this weatherstrip attached?

 

The top looks great and after it's fixed and time p***es, all will be GREAT!!

 

Gorilla glue is good only if you "wet" the two surfaces before you apply the glue and don't use too much, it will make a huge mess, because it will expand like that yellow liquid insulation stuff also called AB foam. Also wear gloves, the first time I used "Gorilla glue" I used my fingers to wipe it on, and it took about a week for that **** to come off.
Don't worry its fixable, to the point were you can't even see the break.

 

Ouch, that really ****s!!!

 

man im sick for ya too i really like that. nice job, mate.

 

Yup, that's how I felt when I got the headers I built back from the plater last week and they were all beat to ****. Gutted describes it perfectly.

Hope you get it fixed better than new.

 

Thanks for all the replys.

I've got my wood man (Thanks, dad!) on it already and were going to go with a marine epoxy glue, the name of which I forget. It will be doweled from the back (hidden) to stop it moving when its clamped.

I've got nothing to lose having a go at repairing the bow. Replacing the bow would be a nightmare because nearly everything attaches to it. It would be like starting again.

The top was originally a stock Lebaron Bonny. I carefully removed all the fabric, modified the frame which involves shortening both the height and length.
It was re-trimmed using the original fabric for the top and then had three new panels made for the rear using the same Haartz fabric as Lebaron Bonny.

The screen was chopped so the centre would be the height of a Dollar bill (6" and abit). On a deluxe screen that's 3 1/4" give or take. On a standard screen it would be something like a 4 3/8" ish chop.

Yes, its a stock weather strip. It has the same up the sides of the screen but there not in place at the moment.
The weatherstrip is a 'T' section rubber that slides into a channel in the screen frame.

 

Maybe it was Herbie's kid brother Hubert who, years earlier, was bullied by a 65 vette and never got over the resentment. Revenge...now.. was finally at his grasp. Meeb, Beep!

 

Like everyone said, some glue & clamps let it dry a day or two then get some fine grain fiberglas matting & cover the whole bow!!They do that on the wood canoes & you can't tell its got gl*** over it!! It'll make if 10 times tougher.It'll take a few day to complete but worth the time.Also sand all the old (or new) finsh off the wood & mix 1/2 of the fiberglas resin with 1/2 acetone, paint the complete bow with it then when you but the gl*** over it, it'll become one piece, great way to put gl*** over wood, old boat trick.
If you get any wrinkles or bumps in the matting let it dry, sand them out then re resin over it.
JimV

 

Do you have any pics of the top/windshield chop in progress? I'm gathering as many pics and info so I'll be well prepaired when I finally get to mine. Thanks.

 

I had this happen coming back from the Louisville Nats two years ago.
I was doing 75-80 mph in my roadster pickup and could see it lifting off the posts. Luckily my son seen it and grabbed it as it was leaving the posts. It would have totally ruined the framework.

 

None of the construction.

I'll get some photos of the jigs made to hold the posts in position for welding. I can tell you the exact size of the post from the two hole centres on the jig.

 

he was probably watching to make sure you weren't turning or maybe just ooogling the vette
that said; it's your own damn fault for not making sure you had the hood attached, you cant blame the vw guy anymore than you can blame God for creating simple physics.

 

Any pictures or text will be a big help to me. Thanks.
Paul

 

Here is mine with the top I think I used it 1 time last year *******? Isn't that why we like roadster's . Not to bust your balls just an opinion . Seems like defeating the purpose with a top on..