So i use to have a tonneau on my bucket a couple years ago. Since i had taken it apart to paint the body, the snaps never went back on. Now finding out my girlfriend is going to be outa state for roller derby most weekends of the good shows, i figured id put the tonneau back on. Went and picked up some gold snaps this time and put it back together. Ill have to re-do it this year since this was the first version, and sitting around in the garage it got some stains. But canvas is cheap and i got a ton of snaps laying around. One thing i gotta figure out is getting some better bows for it. Right now it has some fiberglass rods but those ripped through the pockets i made for it. Im thinking i need to make a rod that will slide into the dash and over the rear lip of the body then snap it over it. Anyway, here is what i got so far.
Schoenfield but practically the same thing. They sound good but I think I might be swapping them for some lake headers when I get some money.
I like it, I have ben thinking of one for my T-Bucket. And also one to cover the whole interor when parked.
I have one that covers the whole interior. Keeps the weather out and gives a little sense of security. I really like the half cover idea, but usally have a passenger.
I made a bolt in bar from the dash to the rear of the tub and installed the male snaps in it. The tonneau half for the pass. side snaps on to it and the body and it's tight with no other support required. There is a zipper on the center side which mates to a zipper for the drivers cover. Sorry, I don't have a pic with just the pass. side in place. It's nice and watertight for when it gets parked in the rain and with the pass cover I don't worry so much about exposed gear. Charlie
good topic, its one of the things I have been thinking about but not sure how to accomplish. was wondering how they did split covers so you can have the passenger side covered while you drive (to keep some heat in)
There is a flap on the pass. cover (towards the driver) that has a zipper sewed in it. The flap is to the left of the support bar. The other half of the zipper is on the driver's side cover. You can remove or reinstall the driver's side without removing the pass. side. The support bar is offset to the pass. side a couple inches to give me a little more shoulder room. Charlie
Sometimes you need a little pocket for the steering wheel in a full tonneau - have a look at some old English sportscars to see the various arrangements. On my trike I have a tonneau that splits across, rather than along, the car. This means that it functions like a kayak spray deck and I sit under it and it comes up to my neck. It has a clear panel so I can see the speedometer. When I'm driving the airflow tautens the tonneau like a drum and it pulls the air through the heater (it has a heater that works off the exhaust manifold like a VW) - this keeps the interior lovely and warm. A really quick and easy way to make a tonneau is to buy some Vybak (it's the clear plastic they use for folding rear windows in convertibles). Install the snaps (I use Durable Dot fasteners) on the body where you feel they fit best, pay attention to corners as they will need extra snaps. Now make a paper pattern of the cockpit opening. Transfer that to the Vybak - because it's clear you just lay it over the pattern and trace it with a sharpie. Cut it out using a stanley knife or scissors. Now duct tape it onto the cockpit and mark the position of the snap with your sharpie - again, dead easy because the material is clear. Fit the snaps to the cover and you're done. If this takes more than an hour then you're a slow worker. No stitching, no seams, no edging. Easy. Best thing is to make a full cover for when you're parked up and a half cover for when you're driving. You can easily make a half cover that snaps to a rod or bar running down the cockpit. You can also have the Vybak fold onto itself by using the Lift the Dot snaps made to fasten to canvas. Vybak is a very tough material so they won't pull through. Tonneau covers made with Vybak will not last as long as ones made from Mohair or Duck but I've got a couple that are 5 years old and still going strong. BTW - nicer than the various Dot fasteners are Tenex - they don't need a special tool to fix them because they have a screw clamp arrangement.
Here you go; Just a close fitting tube - that's important. Can be around the manifold itself or any hot part of the exhaust near an airflow. One end of the tube open, the other closed and a small stub/outlet near the closed end. All the heat in the world just waiting to be used ;-)
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