Proper Top Stowage

J.B. Zimmerman / Learned the hard way

 Okay, so you have your first TR6. It's finally spring. The weather's nice. You open the garage door, and unlatch the convertible top...now how does the darn thing fold down? Nothing to be embarrassed about, it took me two hours on the first spring day I had mine to figure it out. Here's what I do:

  1. Unlatch top from windscreen, both sides
  2. Unsnap top from rear side rails (3 snaps/side)
  3. Fold top down so that rear side flaps 'droop' out over sides of car and the rear windowis folded flat beneath the top frame, with the top fo the rear window 'in' towards the back seats (this should be the 'natural' fold for the top...the only thing that should look weird so far is those side flaps hanging over the rear side rails)
  4. Put a towel or other soft cloth on top of the rear window to prevent scratches (IMPORTANT. I didn't, and I regret it.)
  5. Fold the two side flaps over so that they rest on top of the towel with the 'ends' (the part that gets held down by the door) in towards the middle. The need not sit evenly; just as long as they're folded against the towel.
  6. Install your hood bag so as to hold the flaps down against the towel. If you don't have a hood stowage bag (or hood cover, whatever it's called) think hard about getting one. As a temporary fix, delete the towel step (it'll fly off without a hood bag, I think) and instead of folding the side flaps loosely over the rear window panel, snap their endmost snap (the one that is normally 'frontmost' when they're snapped on) onto the pop rivet that holds the rear of the top on that is the first one outboard of the gas cap. Which one isn't precisely crucial.

...this sounds a lot more complicated than it is. Really, if you're confused (I was) it probably means you don't have a hood bag...without the bag, the top 'wants' to fold down into a position that would let it flap like CRAZY.

Also, before folding down for the first time, if you have a vinyl top, apply (liberally) some ArmorAll vinyl protectant, and let it soak in...this will ensure that the top is flexible enough to fold without cracking.

-JBZimmmerman

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