dkloehn
Member since Oct-21-02
828 posts (A true Triumph-aholic if there ever was one)
Oct-23-10, 03:44 PM (PST)
"Finally!"
LAST EDITED ON Oct-23-10 AT 03:52 PM (PST)
After watching e-bay since 2004 looking for these pieces, and never even seeing them come up for auction, I decided to send an e-mail to The Spitfire Graveyard in Sheffield England.
They replied immediately on a Sunday, it must have been the middle of the night there, asked some questions, had the parts, and struck a very fair deal. Very pleasurable transaction.
Here's the picture:
Now I can finish the restoration of my hardtop. I bought the hardtop and the rear window glass from Jeff about 4 years ago. I had the top painted with the rest of my car so it shares the 'vintage' finish.
The glass is in a shipping crate and I have never opened it. I believe Jeff bought it on e-bay and had never opened it either. It will be interesting to finally open it, it could be smashed to bits
Unfortunately the Spitfire Graveyard did not have the radio faceplate I have been looking for. I would be nice to have the radio in too for next years shows. With the hardtop I will remain a competitor
David Corona, CA Freshly Restored '68 Spitfire Mk3
I believe I have a source for the rear window seal. First I notice that Spitbits is offering one. I will call Nigel and find out what his source is. I suspect it is from here:
I hope you have better luck with the glass than I did. After having the top painted and the headliner installed, I tried fitting the glass only to find that it would not fit. I had to end up ripping out the headliner (could not save it) and have the top re-shaped before the glass would fit reasonably well.
Then I had to repaint the top, install a second headliner and then put the glass in. Total cost was well over $2000.
The moral to that story is be sure to test fit the glass before going to the expense of painting the topand installing the headliner.
My conclusion is that the glass and hardtops were mated at the factory and if you have two parts that were not originally sold together, there might be problems with fitment.
Oddly enough my hardtop was missing those chrome pieces as well. I guess I'll have to get them from the Spit graveyard eventually as well.
I've got a radio faceplate that I'm not going to use. Mine came with a facia "blank" and a beat up old radio in a faceplate. I'm going to cut a hole in the blank for a RetroSound amp, but I don't think I'll need the radio or its faceplate.
I'm over in Pasadena if you're looking for an excuse to take your Spit on a drive. I'd love to drive over to you, but I can't make it that far until I get my Lithium batteries. (Hopefully early next year!)
I am very interested in that faceplate. I have a great radio and have just been waiting to find that peice. I have sent you a e-mail via the TTN here, so just go to your inbox to see it.
Thanks much for the offer
David Corona, CA Freshly Restored '68 Spitfire Mk3
I'm hoping to get hold of a hardtop for a roundtail. Since I've never paid attention to the details when I've seen them at the shows I go to, I've got a few questions I know you guys can answer.
What does the headliner look like? Colour? Material? Does it have intermediate bows to shape it?
I see David Kloehn's photos at the start of this thread that show some attachment hardware...where does this attach inside the cockpit?
Attachments across the rear of the top?
Attachments across the windshield header?
Photos are really what I'd like!
And remember, this would be for a roundtail.
Thanks in advance.
Dave Denison Westminster, Maryland USA 1970 Spitfire Mk3 FDU78359L 34/11: Jasmine yellow/Black interior
Hi Dave, As I am in the UK then the following probably wont be any use to you but.............................. I am about to put my Hardtop up on ebid (not ebay) I dont have the headliner, nor the bows that hold the headliner, nor do I have the fixing bolts. I do however have the rubber seal strip for the rear of the Hardtop. It also has the rear glass with a new rubber seal. If this generates any interest I can always find out how much it costs to get it to the States.
Dave, While the tops are pretty much the same between all the round tail models, the attaching hardware changed somewhat between the Mk2 and Mk3 models when the soft top was changed to one that was foldable rather than removeable.
As a result, Triumph changed the attaching hardware for the sides behind the doors.
Regarding the headliner, when I did mine, I looked at what is available and found tat the only color is a shade of white. Because of the cost and lack of color options, I opted to have an upholsterer make me one. I selected a color that matches my custom interior and it looks great and saved me some money at the same time.
Be sure that you get the glass with the top. I found that the glass I got separately did not fit and I had to modify the top at great expense to get it in properly. I used a GT6 rear hatch seal for the glass and it worked out well. FOr the seal around the sides and back of the top, I bought a roll of seal material from JC WHitney and it fit like a glove.
Jeff and Joe - thanks for the helpful comments. John - I appreciate the offer, but I'll continue to try to source locally. I'm still hopeful someone will post a photo of the attachment arrangement for the connection behind the door post....I want to see if the bits I have will work (provided I find a top, of course!) Dave Denison Westminster, Maryland USA 1970 Spitfire Mk3 FDU78359L 34/11: Jasmine yellow/Black interior
Have a look at the picture in my first post at the top of this thread.
The pieces are shown upside-down to how they are installed. The black pieces are mounted on the car body using two of the nuts used for the convertible frame. The chrome piece is mounted on the hardtop, and slips male into female with the other. The bolt/washer hold the parts together.
At least, I'm pretty sure thats how they go
David Corona, CA Freshly Restored '68 Spitfire Mk3
Paul Geithner posted this photo on another site that shows the arrangement for a squaretail hardtop.
Obviously very similar to your bits, but not exactly the same. The black pieces are in fact, mounted to the top itself, and the chrome stud is bolted to the convertible top mechanism.
Anyway, I suspect that whenever I find a roundtail hardtop, the bits you pictured will be missing. I have a set of bits that match Paul Geithner's picture and I hope they can be made to work on a roundtail hardtop!
Dave Denison Westminster, Maryland USA 1970 Spitfire Mk3 FDU78359L 34/11: Jasmine yellow/Black interior
Finally!
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RE: Finally!
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John Zissler