Subject: [Tigers] Correct/most original soft top material for an early Mark 1 Tiger

From: Alex Haugland <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 20 Aug 2013 21:21:18 -0700

Hello!  I'm actively restoring a pretty original early mark 1 Tiger
(B9470334LRXFE) and want to bring it back to as close to original condition as
is reasonable for a car I intend to actually drive.  As the car is in need of
a complete repainting, I'm planning the teardown and gathering the pieces that
need to be replaced for when I start putting it back together.  To that end,
the top on the car is a replacement in pinpoint vinyl which has some tears and
other issues leading it to needing to be replaced.

To that end, I've seen different sites listing conflicting or at least unclear
information as to what material is closest to the original.  I'm not sure if
it should be a pinpoint vinyl or a crushed grain vinyl.  The Everflex at least
has the grey interior, but I don't know if its texture is at all correct and
would appreciate whatever guidance all of you can give.  Thank you very much!

--Alex Haugland
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From: Jay Laifman <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 09:20:17 -0700

It depends on which year.

That said, I was at Sunbeam Specialties probably 20 years ago now, if not
more, when Rick was working with a new top supplier trying to get their
product to fit right, and help them change their pattern to work better.
So, keep in mind that material is only a small fraction of the product.
The fit is also critical.

Personally, I would just go to Rick or Curt and get what they have that is
closest - and avoid VB on this stuff like the plague.  That way you'll have
generally the best that is out there, even if it is not exact.  You might
even consider talking to them and asking what they have now, and what
issues they have with them, and what might come in the future.

Sadly, the demand and thus suppliers for this stuff drops every year.  I
was just talking to a Porsche 356 restorer - a car that can go for many
$100,000s and where you'd think the suppliers would be readily available
with high quality parts for people willing to spend that kind of money on
the cars.  He said that since so many of the cars have been restored by
now, the demand for parts has dropped off, and so too the suppliers.  Sure,
there will continue to be restorations, and cars that are driven will need
further maintenance and restoration - but that later group of cars is by
far the minority.  The moral of this story?  We all need to drive these
cars into the ground so that they will need restoration and suppliers will
stay in business!

On Tue, Aug 20, 2013 at 9:21 PM, Alex Haugland <[email-masked]> wrote:

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From: " Ron Fraser" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 20:38:00 -0400

Alex
	I looked in the Parts List but not enough detail is listed.  I can
only go by what is listed in the Sunbeam Specialties catalog; Crush-Grain
type Everflex British Vinyl is also available in a variety of colors in the
leatherette finish used on the early Tigers.   That still means little to me
so I think you should talk to Rick at SS to see if he has better or more
complete information.

Ron Fraser

-----Original Message-----
From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]]
On Behalf Of Alex Haugland
Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 12:21 AM
To: tiger list
Subject: [Tigers] Correct/most original soft top material for an early Mark
1 Tiger

Hello!  I'm actively restoring a pretty original early mark 1 Tiger
(B9470334LRXFE) and want to bring it back to as close to original condition
as is reasonable for a car I intend to actually drive.  As the car is in
need of a complete repainting, I'm planning the teardown and gathering the
pieces that need to be replaced for when I start putting it back together.
To that end, the top on the car is a replacement in pinpoint vinyl which has
some tears and other issues leading it to needing to be replaced.

To that end, I've seen different sites listing conflicting or at least
unclear information as to what material is closest to the original.  I'm not
sure if it should be a pinpoint vinyl or a crushed grain vinyl.  The
Everflex at least has the grey interior, but I don't know if its texture is
at all correct and would appreciate whatever guidance all of you can give.
Thank you very much!

--Alex Haugland

[email-masked]

Archive: http://www.team.net/archive
Unsubscribe:
http://autox.team.net/mailman/options/tigers/[email-masked]
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