MTFCA Forum

I just received my top for my 1911 touring last week and I also received the 4 pieces of top bows either. I'm ready to start trying to install the top. I don't know if someone could send me some measurements of the height of the top bows and also couple pictures how you set-up the way to install the top as well please? As I see, I have to fit the top wood wood bow inside of top iron as well, I don't know how deep I have to go threw. Some insights? I never installed a top before. And this car when I bought it, it doesn't have a top before. So I have no references and no idea how to start for the installation. Bellow I have these top measurments as well from Iaccino.

Thank you for any tips, plans, pictures or insights you may share with me. Any help would be appreciated.

I used that diagram for my top bow height dimensions. There is a good article by Royce on The Model T Fix about replacing the top. I duct taped and wired my wooden bows alongside the metal bow sockets at those correct heights and stood them all in place on the car to check and recheck the heights. I made a mark on each wooden bow at the top of each socket so I could know where to start my tapered shaping to fit inside the socket. The ends of the bows can be shaped (tapered) with a draw knife or I just used a angle grinder. If you Google 1911 Model T top bow dimensions there is a great article with pictures of this by Gary London in a 2005 MTFCA forum. This part of the top installation is most important and took a lot of time. Once the bows are shaped and in the sockets they can be stood and held in place with wooden straps clamped on each side to check the heights and the rront and rear bow overhang. The rear bow should be set so that the rear edge of the bow is overhanging the back of the body by about 2.5 niches. That way when the rear curtain is tacked to the body and on the bow it kinda follows the angle of the rear of the body. The front bow needs to be approx 2 inches in front of the windshield approx even with the bottom of the top brass windshield frame. The next step is to Take it all down and wrap the bows with the bow wrap. Once the bows are wrapped temporarly stand all the bows back in place to double check all your measurements and observe the overall look. After that you can install the bow webbing front to rear, or in an X pattern between the bows to hold it all in place. My top kit came with webbing to run front to rear but I wanted to do the X pattern so Mike at Classtique made some webbing to do that. All this will take a considerable amount of time and patience. With the bows in place and held by the webbing you can install the front windshield flap if you are using one, and the rear curtain. The rear curtain will need hung from the rear bow, make a mark at the center of the bow and the center rear of the body and the center of the top and bottom of the curtain and match them up to each other. The rear curtain then needs to be marked at the bottom to match up to where the Murphy fasteners are on the body. The fastener eyelets have to be installed in the bottom of the rear curtain at those locations by using a razor blade or with a leather punch made for that purpose. I used the punch. Next I hung the rear side curtains and marked the bottoms for the Murphy fasteners. The side panels get tacked to the bow first because the rear center curtain rolls up . The rear side curtains and top panel can be stretched and tacked to the rear bow. After the rear curtains are attached to the bow and the body you install the padding front to rear so that it covers the curved section of the bows. The next step is to install the top deck. Mark the center of the front and rear bow and the center of the top deck material in order to line the deck up correctly. Lay the top deck in place and tack at the center of the rear bow at the rear edge of the bow so the finish welting covers the tacks then go the front bow pull it tight and tack the center of the front bow. From there you can start pulling the top tight and tacking it from the center out toward each side. I would start at the rear bow then go to the front bow. Remember to tack the top deck on the front side of the front bow at the lower edge so that the finish welting covers the tacks. I would get the bows finished and wait for a hot sunny day to install the rest. Do not trim anything, you can do that once you are happy with how it looks. The front sides of the top deck has to be left long so it can be wrapped around for a finished look. This is an outline of how I did my 11 top. You can email or pm me and I will send you some pictures and my phone number to answer any questions. Art

More pictures.

My Dad Made his own top using the original as a pattern and the The red Model t ford restoration hand book by Floyd Clymer. Page 86 It covers every thing. Our top has been going strong since 1967

where did you buy a top kit?

Thank you Art and all other folks for the insights. Top is done, took me close of 60 hours to make it. Maybe I'm slow but so many measurement to do and adjustment as well. Hope I'm gonna be good for 50 years... with my young 110 years old Ladies

It amazes me how Ford used to just knock these out on the assembly line. It would be nice to know how they did it. My compliments to those of you who are able to tackle it yourselves and achieve such good results.

Dads philosophy was if you don't know how to do it buy a book and learn how The T was his first paint job done with a vacuum cleaner on reverse out side total cost 60 bucks that paint is still on the car . Mom showed Dad how to sew and the hole family helped get the top completed . He did the same with the House.

Art's post just about nails it. The only thing I would add is the third bow does not need to be mush higher than the second, if any. Variations between the height of these two bows is what causes the ripples in the sides of the top. What you are asking the top material to do is make a compound curve. Top material will do so, but it mustn't be too much of a curve.

My trimmer has me tack timber laths to the inside of the body and the back bow, to fix it firmly in place, the right distance to the rear and the correct height in relationship to the back panel. He also wants similar laths tacked to the under side of the other three bows. This fixes the relationship between the four of them, bows two and three are fixed vertically and without any twisting, either between themselves and in relationship to the front bow, and the whole set are square with the rear bow. Once they are set, then, and only then, does he nail in place the side bags and the front to back straps. The laths set the spacings. The straps hold the spacings.

Allan from down under.

Very nice, That is a beautiful touring. Art