29 standard top install
 

I have looked and looked but all I can find is 30-31 top videos. Anybody got any pics or videos of a 1929 standard coupe top install? How you bend the steel mountings and not destroy them and how to get the rain gutters off without destroying them. Any help or photos is much appreciated.

Re: 29 standard top install
 

Anybody do a top on their 28-9 and care to share?

Re: 29 standard top install
 

I too, am looking for a video for some help or suggestions to install a new top on my ‘28 Sport Coupe.

Re: 29 standard top install
 

Still looking for tricks or advice.

Re: 29 standard top install
 

Vanspeed-


Search out the top installation for the -'28-'29 Tudor that is on utoob, and there is also a good write up, maybe here. It is done the same way as the Tudor, just shorter.



Make sure the wood is in good enough condition to hold the nails well, repair or replace as needed.



Start at the front center, aligning the top materials grain line so it runs down the center of the body- perpendicular to the front and parallel to the sides. Start nailing in the middle and stretch it towards the sides. Nail it firmly, since this is the anchor point. Then work one side a little, then the other, keeping the grain straight in the center as you work towards the back. Pull from the corners at the back and it should lay down smoothly. Following the Tudor installation makes it easy.



It also helps to have a helper. Go slow, keep it taught and it will lay down nicely. It also helps to work in a warm place as you slightly stretch the material. That way, it won't sag or wrinkle on a hot day.



Good luck and all the best!

Re: 29 standard top install
 

G Baese is correct.

The hotter the day the better for streaching the top material.

If you have original raingutters and front and back moulding, it can be taken off by very carefully prying off the metal tack strips. Make a mental note on the replacement of the strips, gutters and moulding so as when to reinstall they are in the right spot.

And as stated above...sometimes the wood is so chewed up within the panels that nails will not hold the fabric.

If the wood is chewed up, but in rather good condition otherwise, try to save the original wood and remove the "nail" section with a router and add new wood sections within and replace.

Pluck

Re: 29 standard top install
 

Re: 29 standard top install
 

I doubt there are any videos showing this. I also am not really sure what tips or tricks I can share with you. In a nutshell, to do a good job requires someone who has some experience. Likely the more times you do it, the better you will be.

I will tell you that my experience counters others, so just take mine for what it is worth. I have learned that doing this on a hot day does not really matter, -and in certain instances will be counterproductive. Think abut it this way, when they were originally installed, Ford did not wait for a hot day nor did he build a 'hot room' just to install roofs. Just realize you are using the hot day to bandaid something else that wasn't done correctly.

With consideration of the 'hot day' mindset, one of the things that likely affects this to some is the use of synthetic materials. I know my pictures are crappy, but if you look carefully you will see that I only use real cotton batting for the underlayment. The synthetic does not compress well on the edges. It also makes the top look "poofy" around the edges. This causes the leatherette to stretch unnaturally.

Next, use tacks instead of staples. We steam the leatherette prior to installation to relax the fabric and remove any wrinkles. Next we find the centerline in both axis', then measure strike points in both the leatherette and the sheetmetal. This allows you to hit the marks without overstretching and it allows you to make corrections as you go instead of trying to correct it in the corners. Generally we set the tack about ½ during the initial layout. Once we have the leatherette mock fitted, we remove the tacks and re-stretch if need me. Once everything fits, we set the tacks and trim. Again, use natural cotton instead of synthetic and you won't need to over-stretch it or use excess heat.

And finally, look closely at the picture I posted of the top wood. Notice how the sheetmetal has a perfect fit to the wood. The sheetmetal is not nailed into compression or forced into fitting. This fit is a product of using custom fabricated wood that was made using original prints. As far as making the drip mouldings fit, this is just a patience thing. It takes time to finesse it where both pieces fit each other correctly.


.
.

Re: 29 standard top install
 

Do you have the top kit and the instructions from whomever manufactured your top? My advice is to study those first, ...then ask any specific questions. There is too much to say by typing it here. I have been involved in more than a few of these installations, so we can probably help if you get hung-up.

Re: 29 standard top install
 

Corrosion can render the old moldings to be useless but if they are still pretty intact a person has to find a tool or tools that will aid in stretching the moldings so that they can be removed from the steel retainer strip that they snap on to. Once the moldings are off, a person has to find a way to pry up the retainer strips and drip rails to remove them from the wood. Removing the nails maybe possible but a person would have to fabricate a tool the would grab the head and not leave marks in the parts so they can be reused. The moldings that have a bendable lip to cover the nails have to be very carefully pried upon to spread the lips open enough to get to the nail heads. The original retainer & molding stuff is getting to be unobtainium so it's important to try everything possible to salvage what a person can.

In the event that a person has no original retainers or moldings then the next best substitute has to be fabricated to work and that's not an easy task. Nothing out there is like the original stuff. Extruded aluminum pieces can be fabricated or formed & modified for some things but the way they are nailed on is not always the same. It can require filling of each of the exposed nail heads and filling over them like regular body work & paint. It's very time consuming but it can be the only alternative sometimes.

Re: 29 standard top install
 

FWIW, here's a link to the archive of Marco's old site wherein he did a Tudor roof:

https://web.archive.org/web/20190128...finstall-1.htm

Re: 29 standard top install
 

I have not bought a top kit yet. The one I am looking at is from Mikes affordable. I have done tops, but never a 28-29 that has the removable rain gutters or mountings. My mouldings are in poor shape, I can save the drip rails as long as I can get them off without destroying them.

Re: 29 standard top install
 

Been a bit but I am tackling the job now. I was fortunate to save the drip rails but the front and rear moundings were not savable. There was no chicken wire or batting under the covering. Installed in 1952. Evidence of marks on the bows tells me it did have the chicken wire when new. Have read that some coupes did not have this? I am doing the chicken wire, cotton batting and probably going to go with wire on welting for the front rear as I have tried to form new front and rear mountings on a different car but failed miserably.

Re: 29 standard top install
 

Pic of the top off. Wood is in good shape. The owner in 1952 was smart and primed the top before it went on. There is evidence of brush primer on other parts of the car. Must have been the worst spots in 1952, lol.