Postby Urchin » 18 Dec 2007 16:55
Just noticed your request for advice on tops. In 2003, not long after I bought my Spider, the entire rear window zipper fell apart so that I had to get a new top [same $ as removing and sewing up the old one].
I took it to Leyland Foreign Auto in Kennebunkport, ME. Erick Van Sickle has done more successful work on British cars in Maine that most shops have done anywhere. We agreed on the Robbins top through Victoria British.
Erick installed it in 2 hours or so on a warmish day. Here's what we noted: the amount of fabric at the critical snap points just behind each door was barely enough to allow him to install the new snaps. The rest of the fit looked great at the time of installation. And second, it has a different surface appearance.
The latter is minor, However, as I drove the car more I noticed that the cut of the top around the back of the windows was different than the original top and that a pocket of air was always blowing into my left ear unless the blower motor is on a low speed. As I drove the car in increasingly cold weather, it proved increasingly annoying. I used to marvel at the original top which sealed so well around all the window edges.
Then I remembered that in the very early '90's, Erick had also installed a top on my '78 Spitfire. We used a Robbins top, too, and it did the same thing! Since I had a factory hardtop for that car, it was particularly disappointing.
The tops seem to last well enough and the fabric resists shrinkage, but the cuts are a hair off. What I can't tell you is whether another company's top would be cut the same way.
Jeff
Jeffrey Aronson
P.O. Box 90
Vinalhaven, ME 04863
USA
'80 TR-7 Spider
'66 Land Rover Series II-A [2]
'66 Corvair Monza
