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Triumph TR3 - Replace top/hood

I need a top. Do you gents have any thoughts about which you would prefer or avoid? The prices vary a bit from VB, Moss, and TRF - does the quality as well? Are there any other providers that are worth a mention?
Is there anything else that should be replaced at the same time?
I'm also going to need to recover everything that can be covered in the interior.
I appreciate your advice.
Thanks in advance,
Steve
1960 TR3A
Steve Crosby

Buy the material for your top in a colour where you are sure of being able to get the sidecurtains re-done with the same material and the same colour. Mine is Robbins material.

http://www.autostyles.com/robbinsforeign.htm
http://www.autostyles.com/toppings.htm

Buy all the interior in one shot from one supplier so that the colour will match all over. Mine is the original red colour. To get a perfect match, I bought it all in leather 16 years ago. It's still like new with over 87,000 miles on it since then.

Don Elliott, Original Owner, 1958 TR3A

http://www.britishcarforum.com/ubbthreads/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/1977
Don Elliott

Steve,
I got a top from TRF. I also got a hood stick cover (which I never used back in 1966 when I first got a TR3 but I frequently use now)and tonneau cover from TRF. TRF covered my sidecurtains using the same material as the top. It is a great match even though they did the sidecurtains over one year after I ordered the top. In fact I got an entire interior kit, seats, door panels, dashboard vinyl--the works-- and it all matched very well. They were also helpful in providing instructions and answering my questions. Hope this helps.
Gary
GG Krafft

Thanks for the replys,
My indepth research shows the following-
Moss......299.95
Robbins...299.95
TRF.......324.95 (Robbins)
VB........ ? (Robbins)
Comments?
I haven't got the VB catalog with me so I don't have the price. These numbers are US prices.
I can get a Moss top for 311.00 Can from a local Moss distributor. This looks like the way to go. None of those extra charges for crossing the border.
Do you generally replace all the fasteners on the body at the same time? I know that now is a good time to re finish the hood sticks and replace the webbing.
Does it really take that long for TRF to redo the side curtains? I better get started for next season!
Thanks,
Steve
Steve Crosby

Steve,
I got the top (TRF- Robbins) quite a while before I sent the sidecurtain frames to TRF for recovering. I got the curtains back after about four months. I was restoring a car that came to me in boxes and pieces so I replaced all of the lift-a-dot studs. Be very carefull if you decide to replace the Tenax studs across the top of the windscreen. Most of the replacement studs have a shaft that is too long and will hit the glass and immediately crack it. I bought new ones and ground them to lenght and then decided to put the original ones back in.
Gary
GG Krafft

There's something that I never knew when I installed my first top. The fold of material over the windshield is turned forward so the seal is to the outside. So you put the fasteners through more layers of material than I did the first time. Maybe your present top is installed correctly and you can copy that. Mine didn't have a top at all when I got it, and the tops don't come with instructions (as far as I know).

Another thing you should be aware of is the material should be warm (best in the summer sun) so it will stretch easier. I found the measurements on the 'net for the position of the top bows (hood sticks), determined by the placement of the straps. I had also guessed this wrong by a small amount, but enough to make the top fit worse than it could have. Maybe use chalk to mark the holes for the fasteners.

It's not a job I look forward to doing, but taking your time will give you a better fit. I've seen better and worse fits than what I did, striving for better next time.

I still like TRF, the owner's a TR guy for sure. LBCC, whose ad comes up at the top of the page is supporting this site, and deserves a mention, but I've never tried them.
Tom

When I bought my top from Roadster Factory, there were no instructions so I called them. John Swauger explained it to me over the phone. That was back in 1990 before e-mail. But I couldn't imagine it at all. So I asked them to send me a sketch. John did that and I was able to punch round holes in the new "flange" along the front so it goes on now. I still have my original top from 1958. But since then, during 87,000 miles, I'd estimate that the top has been on and up for about 4,000 miles.

Don Elliott, 1958 TR3A

http://www.triumphest2006.com/images/clubcars/30donelliott'str3.jpg
Don Elliott

Len Drake at British Motors in Kelowna, B.C. is good to work with and discounts Moss parts. I have been trying to send most of my Canadian customers his way as he is a good egg. Even with my discount, I think he can do folks a lot of good in getting parts across the border, whereas I have trouble unless it goes UPS, which is of course an expense.
chris

I agree, Chris, Len Drake has been a great guy to deal with. If you frequented his web site, I'm the guy who bought the red 1960 TR3A. I'm having trouble getting the car home due to the crappy winter weather in BC. The car has no top so trucking it to Calgary will likely fill the interior with snow, and salty slush. I've ordered a new tonneau and hood/roof, through Len, to be installed locally. I hope that the tonneau will provide enough protection to get the car to its new home. Before you purists start talking about driving it back, let me remind you that besides no weather gear, there’s also no heater - it’s in the trunk. I got the heritage certificate on Friday, so the car will remain Signal red with a black interior.
Cheers, Steve
Steve Crosby

This thread was discussed between 25/01/2006 and 06/02/2006

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