Installing a Fiberglass Parrish Hardtop

Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 09:03:29 -0500

As promised, here's a re-cap of my fiberglass hardtop installation experience. I got differing responses as to whether the lower turnbuckle bolts had hooks or eyes. I suspect hooks intended to go into a bent aluminum plate similar to the one on the top itself was the original configuration. Here's what I did:

• Removed the soft top so there'd be more room in the car during the winter.
  
• The turnbuckles installed on the top were missing the lower parts, which were fortunately right-hand thread. I bought some 4.5" eye bolts at the hardware store (longer than the upper ones). Chose longer because I then loosened the middle one of three large machine screws that held the soft top frame on, enough to slip the eye bolt from the turnbuckle over it.
  
• For the front attachment, I took a different approach than the standard "put a 1/4" bolt all the way through the windshield frame" method. I ended up removing the latches from the soft top and put them on the hard top after a little hole modification with a dremel tool (had to make a slot for the pin on the peg). Installation of the top was a cinch. I did decide to leave the lhandles off the latches because it would have been a pain to get the screws in. Very neat looking, and no holes in the vinyl trim.

The warpage of the soft top mostly disappeared when I tightened the turnbuckles down. Now I just need to figure out how to get rid of the big scratches on outside of the top (road rash from coming off...?)

Anyone know where to get a new set of latches (pegs, anyway) for the soft top? Both handles were fastened on loosely with wood screws! TRF and Moss have these in their catalog, but no prices, so I assume they're NLS. One of the pegs had metric threads originally. The other has a slightly smaller hole, so I suspect it was UNF, but is too mangled by the wood screw to check.

Ted Stevens
74 TR6
Gaithersburg, MD