Touring Top

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Touring Top
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bud Holzschuh - Panama City, FL on Sunday, July 15, 2012 - 02:11 pm:

Oh boy...where to start....

Although I've had my 15 T Touring for about a year I've never touched the top that came with it. Now that its running well I took the top out this morning and mounted it on the car. I quickly learned how ignorant I am about this part of model teeing.

A few questions - any help appreciated!

1. Is there a treatise somewhere on the net about touring tops?

2. I've heard it called a two man top..can one guy put it up? (best way ?)

3. Where do the tie downs go? I have two strap eyes on the forward most bow and two on the back bow. Are these the only tie downs? The back ones are probably tied to the rings on the rests, but where do the forward ones tie to?

4. Were the original tie downs leather straps?

5. The forward most bow has two places it can attach to on the second bow. What is the reason for this?

6. Is the touring top made to be partially taken down and rest across the back seat when no passengers are there?

I know its a lot of questions and I wish I had another T in town to look at, but alas, I have the only assembled touring I know of within a hundred miles.

Thanks
schuh


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mike_black on Sunday, July 15, 2012 - 02:45 pm:

Hi Bud,
I finished my 15 in June, but, its up here in SC. Tell me what pics you want me to take. I'll try to answer your questions in order: 1.no, but, look at pics in "The Model T Fordowner" and instructions came with the Cartouche top kit. 2. NO. I'm sure someone has done it, but, it would be tough, even if you were inside the car. You need one person on each side of the car doing the same thing at the same time. 3. vendors sell the straps. FRONT:Should be a 2 inch long piece of steel that fits under the nut where the middle of the windshield pivots and has a hole in the other end for the hook at the bottom of the strap,top of strap attaches to footmans loop on front bow. Rear strap is webbing and connects the footman's loop on rear bow to ring on the part that holds the "L" that the bows lay on when down. 4. Rear are cotton webbing. I don't remember for sure about front, but, mine are leather because I had a leather set when I started, 5. The bottom ends of the front bow go in the top hole of the 2nd bow when the top is up. Unhook front straps and move the ends out and place in the bottom holes when lowering the top. 6. You can but, not designed for that. After moving front bow to different holes, remove 2nd bow from carrier sticking out of front arm rest and put in the empty hole in the carrier with the ends of the rear 2 bows and lay them all down into the saddle on the "L".


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dan Treace, North FL on Sunday, July 15, 2012 - 03:42 pm:

Some pictures of tops up and down on the '15 :-)








Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Sunday, July 15, 2012 - 04:59 pm:

Good answers by Mike B.
I will disagree with number 2. You can do it by yourself, but it helps if you are about six foot tall with long legs to step over the front seat, but not too tall. The secret is you DO do it from inside the car. Start in the back to put it up. Start in the front to put it down.
But, then, I find that is the easiest way to do a one-man top also.
Have fun!
How about some current photos of your car?
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bud Holzschuh - Panama City, FL on Sunday, July 15, 2012 - 06:01 pm:

Thanks guys, the answers and pictures were very helpful !

I notice one big problem, my front strap attachments on the front bow are situated way around on the front of the bow and tend to pull the top down instead of forward.

Mike: that steel strap with the two holes on it was missing. Apparently I had taken them off to work on the windshield and neglected to put them back on! I found them in my spare parts box. Makes a big difference!

I'll post some pics soon!

Cheers
schuh


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman T. Kling on Sunday, July 15, 2012 - 06:40 pm:

The problem with trying to put up or down a 2 man top with one man, is not that it cannot be done, but that it is easy to scratch the car. Some of the parts are unhooked and then re hooked at another spot when either putting it up or down. It is very hard to do both sides at the same time without 2 people (2 women or 1 man and 1 woman can do it). It is real easy to let one end of the bow fall down and scratch the paint. When that happens, you will wish you had used 2 men, because it is much easier to put up the top or down the top with 2 people than it is to touch up the paint job.
Norm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mike_black on Sunday, July 15, 2012 - 07:25 pm:

Bud,
Sounds good. The straps should pull down. Look at the driver's side front strap on the pic above with part numbers. That's correct. You don't want to put forward or backward strain on your windshield. You'd think without a forward pull, the top would just collapse back, but, it don't. It might at interstate speeds, but, not at T speeds!


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