MTFCA Forum

My 1916 Touring came with the top in decent condition but not attached to the 2nd and 3rd bows. How should it be attached?

I believe it is only attached to the bows on the sides. It sort of floats on bows 2 and 3 and it is attached to 1 and 4.

It's fastened to socket two and three with large upholstery nails - one per socket.

Click on these threads and see my posts and photos:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=34940&p=270542&hili ... ls#p270542

viewtopic.php?t=32994

Th bows 2 and 3 are maintained in their positions by the webbing straps and pads. As others have indicated, the top is only fixed at the sides, at the hem in the top panel. On socket type bows, this usually means tacking down through the metal socket into the bow inside. On our colonial tops with wooden bows, it is simply tacked to the wood.

Allan from down under.

From the factory, for 1915 through 1922 U.S. roadsters and tourings, there SHOULD NOT be a pair of webbed straps from the front to the rear bow. I believe the same holds true for the 1913 and 1914 model years.

It is the top pads tacked to the bows that keeps them separated. If you copy the top pads from the factory, there is no need for the extra straps.

See my long-winded explanation including photos:

viewtopic.php?t=46242

That's very interesting Eric. Our Australian bodied cars were made by various makers in each of the states, so things were different. Duncan and Fraser in Adelaide made their tops with canvas in the main. I have yet to see an original car which had bags on the sides of the top. They relied solely on webbing straps to hold the bows in place. I understand that you fellows are hamstrung by Ford factory processes that need to be followed, but I would be looking to include webbing straps inside the bags, rather than relying on the thinner fabric used in making the bags to hold things in place.

The foundations in fitting a good top rely on setting up the bows in their correct positions before any covering is fitted. To that end, I used thin timber slats tacked to the underside of the bows to hold them in alignment when fitting a top. Once aligned, the webbing straps, or hood bags, can be fitted. The wooden slats stay in place until the top cover is on.

Allan from down under.

Thanks guys. Very helpful. Looking forward to potting the top up for my next weekend joyride!

At road speeds the car will go fine with the top up, but if you put it on a trailer, you should put the top down and if you have a boot, put it on the top when folded down. Especially so if you have a headwind. Don't ask my how I know!
Norm