MTFCA Forum

I am putting a classtique top on my touring. Their material is a vinyl type material and am curious did they have this material originally or was it something else?

Yes. The Hartz (sp?) material Michael uses is the closest replica available to the original material used by Ford.

Original material was artificial leather, was called Ford 'Leathercloth', made by Ford. Woven cotton backing with a pressed on design grain covering of paint related chemicals, to mimic leather.

As the best looking grain, that is the Turf Grain.

This is second best, Colonial grain
This is best, Turf Grain, very very close to the Leathercloth design. What Classtique uses , it is a modern vinyl. Compare to original Ford Leathercloths:

Many years ago there was a top shop in Pasadena, called Sorensen Top Shop. I have one of these tops on my '13 touring now. It's getting old, but is still quite serviceable. As I recall, Ken was getting this material from a company in the South, but never heard the name. This would be in the early 60's. I'm sure those rollers are still around somewhere, but where? The grain is even closer than the Turf grain to the original Ford grain.

More wool-gathering- Top on my 13 runabout is now about 20 years old. Needing some work done on it, I find many tacks rusty and loose, and fabrics not exactly rotten, but fragile and compromised.

I find myself wondering how long the original tops lasted in service ? Many period photos of "old" Fords five to ten years old were going "topless". I'm willing to bet my Lizzie had been abandoned for "new and improved" models long before 1933.