MTFCA Forum

With the help of Tom Pilz, we have been bringing my 22 touring back to safe driving. When I got the car it needs a thorough cleaning, upholstery work, a valve job, rebuilding the carburetor and the potato, changing out all of the bushings on the front end, (I was the guy with the wobble), ordering and receiving the last Berg radiator, and general replacement of old leather straps etc.
My roof is viable, but the pads are shot. Can anybody give me instructions on how to replace them. I was going to build my own but I found out that Langs has them in stock,(I hope), I have taken off one of the corners and see how the pad is tacked between the bow and the top material. How do I replace the pads. Do I stretch it while the top is up has anybody done it? What would you recommend?

If your top cover is still in good shape, then tackle that job, have done it, and takes some care removing the old top cover to preserve the already trimmed to shape edges when removing and replacing the tacks, be sure the top bow wood is intact too.

On this '24 kept the back curtain in place, but removed the top cover, and removed the pads. The top bows should remain taut.

Replace the pad by tacking the inner webbing to the front and rear bows, then fold in the padding, and fold over the muslin and seam stitch in place. Finally cut off at the rear, and refit the back curtain. Trim the front and refit the cover. Add the welting trim to cover tacks.

In that picture, it looks like the entire top is worn out. If so, you can order a kit from one of the vendors and include the pads. The straps and the pads should be installed first and tacked into position. The entire bow assembly is held in place by those straps inside the pads and the two which run along the middle between the pads. The height of the rear bow is pinned by the two leather straps and the two straps between them. This height should be measured from the back of the body, NOT above the ground. That way the top looks straight when the body leans in one direction or the other. The two center bows are spaced so that they are straight up and the front bow is set to go in front of the windshield. All adjustments to the bow positions should be made before the top material is placed. The cotton pads are then placed and the covering is stitched together. It needs to be stitched not stapled, because it is flexed every time the top is lowered. To me, this is the hardest part of the job. It took me several hours to do both sides. Then lastly install the top starting at the front and going to the back. The center of the top should be marked and also the center of each bow. The top is then centered with the mark on the top next to the mark on the bow. These marks can be made on masking tape so they can be removed after the top is in place. Pull the top tight in the sun on a warm day and then let it set for a few days. Check again to be sure everything is the way you want it, and finally trim the edges to fit half way on the front and the back bow, and place the trim.
The instructions should come with the top kit from the vendor. It will describe how to trim the top material at the front to fit the angle of the front bow. A V shaped piece is trimmed out on each side. Do this right the first time or you will ruin the whole top.
Norm

I am currently finishing-up the installation of new a top on my father's 1917 touring. It is being done completely by scratch, not a kit, and emulates what was done at the factory.

If you want to do your 1922 two-man top per the factory, jute furniture webbing was not used. Also, the material used in the pad covers was much lighter/thinner.

Canvas was sewn into into the pad covers. There is also doubled-up top material tacked between the first and second bow (installed finished side down). The canvas and the reinforcement strip of top material inside the pad covers what is under tension when the top is up.

ALSO - the vendor two-man top kits include two additional straps that run parallel to pads. The 1917-22 (and, I believe 1915-16 and possibly 1913-14) cars did not come with these straps from the factory and are not necessary.

Place the bows in the proper position - the location of the front and rear bows and the adjustment of the four corresponding top straps are crucial. There are various methods to temporarily hold up the bows - ropes, straps, clamps, furring, long, thin pieces of wood trim, etc.

Here are the measurements for a 1915-22 two-man touring top:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/33 ... 1372028072

When you initially tack the pad covers to the bows, use as few tacks as possible and do not fully seat them. This will allow you to easily remove the tacks in order to make adjustments as you go along. Once you are fully satisfied with the position of the pad covers and bows, then fully seat the tacks and install additional tacks as needed.

After the covers are attached to the bows, then install the batting - I used cotton like the original. After installing the batting, the tops of the pad covers are overlapped, snugged-up and the open ends at first and last bow are tacked down and the remainder of the pad is sewn shut along its length with a long, "Z" stitch.

Photos below - my father's 1917 touring when I was installing the top pads.

What Erik says sounds like a good idea. I have never seen a factory top on any T I have looked at (at least since I was a very young boy). What he says would work with new bows in very good condition and straight. One car I recently worked on had a set of the best used bows we could find from various members and swap meets. They didn't line up quite right and we had to use the two straps in a crisscross from one rear corner to the opposite front corner, to get the bows centered and be able to align the front bow to the windshield.
Norm

Just out of interest, on our Duncan and Fraser colonial tops made using canvas rather than black stuff, they used a webbing strap each side and NO hood bags. Perhaps the woven canvas was better able to follow the curves of the bows and settle into a nice, taut line.

Allan from down under.

Here's the original factory top on the 1917 "Rip Van Winkle" touring - June motor number and most likely assembled at the downtown Minneapolis plant as it was originally sold to a Minnesota resident 40 miles east of the Twin Cities.

The only thing not factory are the aftermarket Hastings rear curtain lights (windows). Those were installed within the last 20 years or so.

Note there are no extra straps between the pads running from the front bow to the back bow.

My dad's 1917 touring has a July serial number and it too was most likely assembled in downtown Minneapolis as it was originally sold in Buffalo, MN 40 miles west of the Twin Cities. My father replaced the original factory top, which he used as a pattern, in 1951. However, the correct leatherette top material was not available 70 years ago so he used what was then modern, canvas convertible top material which has a rubber layer in the middle. For the past few years, he's talked about replacing the top with the correct material which is what we did this summer.

Thanks for the feedback.