early top construction notes

[ocdbeetle]

if youre making an early top these may help.....otherwise itll just resemble my past lack of organization and cohesiveness of thought...

if i get time i'll try to sort it a bit. any questions and i'll try to answer.

 

[cjgoode]

Thanks, I will be reviewing these soon, Pick up my walking foot machine this Saturday and will start playing.

 

[ocdbeetle]

if you buy an inexpensive tarp to rough your patterns it will save much grief and waste....

make the first top from a thirty dollar canvas drop cloth.....put it on.....see how it fits/shrinks....and use it in addition.....

the top i made for jim from those notes was tight so keep that in mind and adjust as needed.....had i not used canvas/a material that shrinks...those measurements would probably have been perfect...

maybe adjust your bows between min and max to allow for adjustment since your material is dimensionally stable...

look at the thread jim casagrande started for additional bow measurements.....

find the horizontal line and measure across the top for top.....below for sides....dont forget to add to sides that are under the top....

the windshield corners need a dart (google) sewn in but its much different than that of a std 40 top....this is where sacrificial material will shine....trial and error it.....

 

[cjgoode]

Yeah I am getting a ton of material used for boat tops, will be good for practice, learning and outdoor seat cushions. Once I have a few bikini tops, and a few test soft tops will 100% go with canvas for my real top, your point about it being more forgiving it good advice.

 

[Cruiser_Nerd]

Jim, Thanks for posting this up, I always just wanted to get a top available to this limited market. If anyone needs pictures or dimensions of the bows or top Jim made let me know. Mark A had also posted pictures with dimensions for the early soft doors somewhere on the forum.

 

[67azcruizr]

now I'm really confused to say the least........................................., I've thrown this out there before Jim, is it MORE money you need to produce one of these???

please pm or call me, all I've ever wanted was a top.

I could ship the one you sent me to someone else if you could make something happen with us?

 

[ocdbeetle]

sean....if i had another chance to have an early truck with bows here i would do it in a heartbeat. you cant build from those notes....you have to have a rig....or i do...to work the top....its a different top in many ways from a std 40 top.....
if theres a truck close to me id go to where it is.....i couldnt in good faith send you tops i wasnt sure about......i would redo jims if i had a chance to make them.....
is anyone close to sc with an early truck and bows?

 

[Living in the Past]

Jim, Thanks for posting this up, I always just wanted to get a top available to this limited market. If anyone needs pictures or dimensions of the bows or top Jim made let me know. Mark A had also posted pictures with dimensions for the early soft doors somewhere on the forum.

Jim C. did you ever compare your OCD top to Mike's Badger top as for measurements? Still have not ruled out having them done here in AZ. I have tub with bows and original doors I could drop off somewhere. But to far from SC. Until something is figured out about reskining the door I plan to leave the original canvas on them. Any measurements are not a problem. I have them stored here in town. If anyone want more pictures or measurements let me know.

 

[Cruiser_Nerd]

Jim C. did you ever compare your OCD top to Mike's Badger top as for measurements?

Nope, I don't think we ever did after completion, suppose we could for consistency.