Hard top: I had one on My 70 B (long gone now) but only used it a couple
of times. It took two people to install but if you were nimble and daring
one person could do it and not scratch too much paint. Mine used the same
two mounting hooks at the rear that the soft top used, the same two clips
up front by the windshield, and had two brackets just behind the doors that
kept the sides from blowing out.
But what is the point? In my opinion the hard top is pointless as if the
weather is bad enough that you need it (feet of snow and still snowing) you
shouldnt be in it anyway. I remember the time I took my B out in a
Wisconsin winter and couldnt make the turn into my sub division because the
snow was deeper than the B had clearance and spent the next hour digging it
out of a snow bank (and yes it had the hard top on). I would totaly hate
myself if I had the hard top on and the sun came out and I was away from
home. I myself cant think of any advantages of a hard top, that arnt
outweighed by wind in the hair excitement.
Your mileage may vary, but be warned I dont always wave to LBC's if they
have the top up (Hard or soft) and its not raining dogs and cats. I am
what you call a die hard top down fanatic. The rain beads off and you stay
mostly dry in the rain at 60MPH, and if its snowing you just need to dress
warmer.
Leaky B: I like the musty smell, but the trick is to let the car dry out
once in a while. I lived in florida for a time and I lost count of the
times I went into a store only to come out with about an inch of water
inside my car cuz I left the top down. The beauty of that state is that if
it gets wet, it dries out fast too. As for keeping water from getting in
where the door meets the top meets the glass, I don't know. I never had
much water come in here. Although I could never get all those lift the dot
fastners on anyway, so maybe that is it. In fact I abused my tops pretty
well and expected a little ingress of water.
Your mileage may vary, and on my current MiGBy project the convertable is
the last thing on a very long list to be renovated.
Drew
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