Hardtop Fit

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Agent 861

Silver forum user
CAT Member
Messages
89
I recently purchased a very nice 1965 Mk1 Tiger . It was the Rootes demonstrator for the Maidstone London Branch for 2 years in England before being sold as a "new" car in 1967. The previous owner spent a large sum of money restoring the hard top but the fit is not right Specifically the locating pins at the B post caps are off meaning the side catches don't latch as they should - I'm tempted to just apply some lateral ie inside to out gentle pressure with a hydraulic ram to push them both out to fit . Good Idea ? Bad Idea ? All advice gratefully received

I am new to Tigers but attached is also a photo of my Series V Alpine that I brougth as a 21 year old university student 37 years ago and still have -Karl

Tiger.jpg


tiger1.jpg


Tiger2.jpg


tiger3.jpg


alpine.jpg
 
Austin Healer

Austin Healer

Gold forum user
Messages
1,392
I've had this issue as well. A hydraulic ram is serious overkill... the side at the base is extremely flexible and you should be able to simply grasp the bottom where the latch is, place your other hand at the top front corner of the qtr window and pull...

If the top has been rebuilt (welded on) it's likely that they didn't check the positioning before they did the final welds... You should still be able to pull it out just using your hands... there is very little area that is actually connecting the lower horizontal bit below the qtr window to the actual top, and even less at the upper front corner of the qtr window. They're pretty easy to move around!

Another issue I have run into is that the rubber where the top meets the body is a good deal stiffer than the original stuff... I have found that if a vinyl dressing, like armor-all is applied to the seal it will let it move, and be compressed, making the hardtop a lot easier to latch
 
H

HolyCat

Gold forum user
CAT Member
Messages
1,243
You have a couple of fine looking Sunbeams there. Not a lot of folks hold onto a college car for 37 years! Congratulations on that achievement and welcome to the Forum.
 
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