[grivera]

I hope to have a white convertible top installed on my 69 Lemans within the next 6 months if everything goes as planned.

Is it best to have a shop source and install the top? Or for me to source and take to a shop willing to do the install?
Any particular brands to stay away from?
Is vinyl better than canvass?
Are the tops offered by our host a good option?
If I have an installer source a top, what is a reasonable price to pay?

https://www.amesperf.com/parts/26174/

[Rachelsdad]

Hi, Will...

This depends upon the shop. Best would probably be to select a shop, have the upholsterer show you a sample of the top for feel and color, and then see which way you want to go.

I bought a Kee top some years ago, and my upholsterer wouldn't use it, due to its age (even though it sat in a sealed box for 20 years). The top he provided is very nice, fits well, has the correct grain, and ivory color. My one gripe with it is the rear curtain which I think could fit better and be quieter with the windows up (so don't forget to ask about the rear curtain and how that will fit).

GL HTH

[nytrainer]

Hi Lewis, could you elaborate on the rear curtain fit? What is noisy about it with it up and windows shut? What can be suggested to installer to fix this issue? Thanks

[Rachelsdad]

Originally Posted by nytrainer

Hi Lewis, could you elaborate on the rear curtain fit? What is noisy about it with it up and windows shut? What can be suggested to installer to fix this issue? Thanks

Surely. So:

The issue is that a properly fitting rear curtain should be flat against the sail panels as they wrap around from the top. Any gap between the two on the sides will produce flutter, no matter how taught the curtain is top to bottom, or how taught the top itself may be.

With the windows up (no air pressure pressing against the curtain from the inside), the sides sound like they are literally flapping. Crack just one window an inch or two, and there is sufficient air pressure to keep the curtain against the top at the sides.

On mine, with the car standing still, from outside, I can fit my hand between the curtain and the top on either side. This also allows debris to get in between the curtain and the top from the outside, posing a cleaning nuisance.

On my '63, the rear window is plastic. I've never had a gap on a glass window curtain, so I can't say as to whether the noise would be less. On my glass-windowed convertibles, the curtains have always been tight against the top.

As to how to fix, I'm not quite sure. The last top I installed myself (and I don't recommend that to anyone) was on a '68 Bonneville, a long, long time ago, and I managed to get the glass rear curtain installed tightly from the get-go (a friend's car, and he was happy with it). This is the first
curtain I've had which was installed like this, and I haven't (yet) complained to my upholsterer about it. I love the top, as I say, but the curtain fit just doesn't measure up.

(Next time I'm home and have the top up, I'll snap a couple of pics. I'm traveling now, and won't be home until next Tuesday.)

[makilaak]

I also would like to hear comments between vinyl or canvas. I am trying to locate green top to my '69, but at least pretty much impossible to find one in vinyl. I understood that Ames offer Kee Tops, so any experience on the quality of those would be interesting to hear as well.

[grivera]

Great post, Lewis - thank you. Looking forward to pictures.

[Rachelsdad]

Sorry for the delay with these. Between travel and just not remembering, it took my washing adventure today to jog my recollection that I said I'd get you some pics. So...

In the first one, you should be able to see the line of the top vs the rear curtain on the driver's side. A similar gap is present on the passenger side, which you can see in the second picture taken from directly behind the car.

The last pic gives you some perspective. I was not pressing my finger into the plastic window, but merely resting it there. The top was actually above the joint in my finger, so over an inch distance between the plastic and the top.

In a perfect world, the top would be flat against the rear curtain. The curtain is tight, though, so it's not that it is sagging, and the line of the top is correct. Truthfully, I'm not sure how or why (yet) the rear curtain is not flush out to the top.

HTH