Update by Tom Suddard to the
Triumph Spitfire project car
Apr 30, 2008
Painting the bare top frame
Our Spitfire with its top off
Tommy fits the retaining bar and seal.
Complete
Lately, the Spitfire hasn’t been needing much work. We’ve taken it to many more events, and it has run perfectly. The top, however, was another story. It kept rain out about as well as a colander, and it looked like one too. Also, the back window was so discolored, you would have to unzip it to back up the car. It was time for the Spitfire to get a new top.
Victoria British kindly sent us just what we needed. After taking it out of the box, we found the new top to be very well made. However, the company wasn’t as thorough when it came to the instructions: “Attach top at back of car, then stretch over the frame and attach at front.” They weren’t even written for a specific kind of car.
First, we removed the old top from the frame and set it aside for future reference. We scuffed up the frame, and then painted it semi-flat black. After the paint dried we attached the rear retaining bar to the top, and reinstalled the frame in the car. Then, we put in the rear snaps and installed the top on the car. We were ready for the last and hardest part—stretching the top over the front of the frame. We coated the front edge of the top with glue, then stretched the top over the front of the frame and let the glue set. Once it had, we riveted the retaining bar over the front and slid in the rubber seal. The job was complete—my Spitfire had a new top.
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