Corey wrote:
>that my 1871 TR6 top (which looks good) developed a rather nasty tear
That's a real early car you've got there!
>] Replacement recommendations
>_ Vinyl or Fabric
>_ Big Three, UK or a Custom shop
>_ With or without Reflective strips
I purchased a Robbins top (with zip out rear window and
reflective strip) in late June from TRF (note that I was orig-
inally told that they were out of stock (surprise, surprise),
but when the gentleman went and looked (after I told him I'd
contact Moss Motors rather than have a B/O), he found that
they had just gotten in a new supply).
I took it and my '76 TR6 to a professional British restoration
shop for installation. They laid the new top over the old top
(the ONLY problem w/ the old top was that the zipper in the back
window was shot) and it looked like the new one should fit, so
they carefully removed my old top and began the installation of
the new one.
Once it was connected to the rear rail and placed on the car,
2 problems became immediately apparent: 1) The top was too long
from the rear rail up to where the rear bow is (if you attached
the snaps at the rear bow to the rear top bow, the rear window
sagged), and 2) the sides of the top were way too short (there
was a gap between the side of the door glass and the top itself
on both sides). Also, the vinyl area between the rear window
and the 3/4 windows was considerably narrower than the top we
removed - so much so that the straps showed through the 3/4
windows!
I contacted TRF and was told I'd have to talk to John
Swauger. Rather than calling me, they contacted Robbins and had
THEM call me (ATTENTION ROADSTER FACTORY - I DIDN'T BUY THE TOP
FROM ROBBINS, I BOUGHT IT FROM TRF - YOU SHOULD STAND BEHIND WHAT
YOU SELL). Of course, "Scott" from Robbins didn't even give me a
chance to explain the problems before he decided that the top was
not installed correctly and it wasn't their problem. I told him
that it WAS their problem and that he should contact TRF because
I had already sent the top back (installed snaps and all) and
told my credit card company NOT to pay TRF (we all know how easy
it is to get $$ back from Charles).
I've heard nothing else from either party (it's only been a
week and a half) and I doubt I will. Shop time in a British res-
toration shop is not cheap - it cost me close to $200 to find
out that that top didn't fit(remove old top, attempt to install
new top, re-install old top). In the meantime, I had a couple of
snaps installed on the rear window of the old top so now I can
once again open and close the rear window (however it's far from
weatherproof).
The moral of the story - CAVEAT EMPTOR. Oh, and if anybody
else has had a problem with a RECENTLY purchased Robbins top, I'd
be interested in hearing about it.
Dennis Culligan
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