MTFCA Forum

Hi all,
I'm installing a new top and I'm looking at the correct height of the #2 and #3 bows from the front of the windshield. In period photos, the #2 is almost always lower than the #3 bow. I can't seem to get the #2 bow lower. Mine always seems to be at the same height or above the #3 bow. The drawings I've found show that the height of the #2 should be approximately 30 1/4 inches; and that the #3 should be 31 3/8.
I have 32 inches on both. What would make the #2 bow drop down lower than the #3?
The flat bar that connects things has a slight curve. Would that be causing the issue?
Thanks for any suggestions.
John

Lets start with what year and body style it is.

It's a 25 touring. I'm wondering if the flat bar that connects to the front bow is the issue. I can't find any photos of original bows without the top material covering them

This sketch and picture of a '25 touring may help you get the top bow and irons in place.

If you do a search on the interweb you can find samples that are all over the place. Not a top expert but would think that once the webbing is in place and the front bow clamped to the windshield post, that should bring the bows down. That extra 1" could be not having the rear bow leaning far enough back to the rear.

You have the better result. If no2 bow is too low, you loose the crown in the top and it looks like it is sagging. It also needs that crown to keep it under some tension when going down the road.

Allan from down under.

Thank you Dan, Mark and Alan,
I think I FINALLY figured it out. Dan's photo of the Touring without the top made it a bunch clearer to me; and maybe to others. In looking closely, I saw that the front bow is horizontal/level with the top of the front door. That allows the #2 bow to drop down a little lower. My front bow was able to drop down; however, it wouldn't stay down. And as a result, the #2 bow was always level with #3 or higher.
How to fix (at least for now): I tied (blue) come-alongs to the rear doors and pulled down on the front bow until it was level, and locked off the come-along. This seemed to fix the situation. The #2 bow is now lower than the #3.
However, I think that when I release the come-along, the front bow may move up, thereby raising up the #2 bow.
I've looked at every image of a 23-25 touring car to see the angle of the roof. There are plenty of cars with #2 bow lower and with #2 higher or level.
Alan, you have a good point about the crown. And when it's all done, there may very well be a crown. I wonder if the weight of the top will help to push down the #2 bow.
I saw a posting in the past of someone whose front bow kept dropping. I seem to have the opposite problem.
Thank you all for your thoughts; I will post pictures of the finished job.
John

Show us a side view of your bows, please.

Side view of the bows. It's a tight spot for a picture . Camera is on wide angle.
John

Just got done with this job. As others have said, unless there is something wrong with the bows themselves or how the bows are assembled, the position of rear bow is main factor in where other bows end up. The further the rear bow is set back past plumb with the rear of the car, the lower the second bow will be.

If it were me, I would trial fit rear curtain and top deck and see how things are looking. It might look great as is and not be an issue. You definitely don’t want second bow too low. I used ratchet straps from front to rear bow as temporary straps so I could easily adjust placement of rear bow and test how that impacted fitment of top deck and rear curtain. I ended up needing to pull rear bow forward to pull up second bow and fill out the top deck.

My finished top. Not perfect by any means, but good enough for me and the girls I hang out with.

John, a couple of tips, some learned, some taught by my trimmer.
The back bow should be between 1.5" and 2" rearward of the top of the back panel.
Before the webbing straps are nailed down, the bows can be positioned by tacking thin wooden laths to the underside of the bows, measuring as you go. Two short ones set the back bow square across the back of the car, set back as mentioned above. Longer laths link the three other bows to the rear one, in their measured positions. Once these are fixed, then the webbing straps are nailed down. This gets around the likelihood of differing tensions if setting the bows with just the webbing.
Mark's photo shoes an exaggerated height to the second bow. Jeff's photo is more usual. The side of the top is straight back to the third bow, and only then curves down some at the back.

Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.