Tops/ covers for roadsters

[thiazole]

I've noticed that a lot of roadsters for sale don't have a top or a tonneau cover of any kind. I'm not 100% sure what all is available from Factory Five, so what are the options of installing something like this after the car has been built? Am I correct to assume they must be difficult to install or very expensive since so many people go without? I mean, I'm sure any quality convertible top is going to be very expensive, but it still seems so few people have covers either.

[Jazzman]

FFR sells at least one, and I believe several, tops for the various models of Roadster. They can be added after the car is completed. I do not have one, but have considered adding one at a later date. I speculate that there may be several reasons or combinations of reasons that tops are not used all that frequently. In no particular order:

1. They are not "period correct".
2. Some believe they don't look good on a car that is the quintessential open topped roadster.
3. To use a top effectively, you will likely need air conditioning and heating, and many builders don't want to fool with such things.
4. The cars don't get used enough in those seasons that a top might be warranted. The cars are not really designed as long distance touring vehicles built for comfort. They are hard core race cars with a desire to run .
5. Most tops significantly limit sight lines and visibility, especially for taller drivers.
6. Good ones are prohibitively expensive, especially when you factor in that you will likely want to add AC/Heat to handle moisture during a rain storm. Cheap ones aren't worth having!!

Like everything else having to do with these cars, a top is a personal choice. If it is important enough to you to spend in the neighborhood of $3500 just to get one, go for it. We won't judge you. (Ok, some might judge you, but what do you care, it's your car, not theirs!)

[edwardb]

FFR sells two different tops for the Roadster. An older version that requires "Lift-The-DOT" style fasteners on the body around the perimeter. And then the newer (and more expensive...) one from Rod Tops that only requires a single connection right behind the door opening. The new one is super high quality and (IMO anyway) one of the best looking. FFR used to sell a tonneau cover that also used Lift-The-DOT connectors. Maybe they still do. Many including me use a snapless tonneau cover made by our forum members. Works great for protection and bit of security when parked. The difference is it can't be used while driving like the one with actual connectors.

Many don't have tops or covers for all the reasons noted. Another major reason is that tops make it much harder to get in/out of the car. We tend to be a bit of an older (more mature...) crowd and many aren't quite as flexible as before. Getting your legs and lower half into the car while ducking under the threshold of the top is hard or even not possible for some. Best to check this before making the investment.

[dagall]

Or you can get a Snapless Tonneau for car shows and places where you don't want anyone to mess with the interior. That is what I have.

[Avalanche325]

I speculate that there may be several reasons or combinations of reasons that tops are not used all that frequently. In no particular order:

1. They are not "period correct".

I have to disagree with you on this one. The originals have soft tops and tonneau covers. That is what those spikes (Lift-the-dot fasteners) behind the cockpit are for. Then there were hard tops too. DragonSnakes had one similar to an APE top. And then there is the LeMans top, which is waaay pretty on a Cobra.

For your Factory Five. If you don't really want a top, but a cover. Look up "Snapless tonneau". They are great and inexpensive. I have one and love it. You can pop it on the car in about 1 minute to keep rain and prying eyes out. They will make them for any roll bar / seat combination and will do plain black if you are a "less is more" guy, or colors and even match your stripes if you are the "more is more" type. FFR sells a more original type that uses Lift-the-dots, but low back seats and one roll bar only.

There are two levels of soft top. The "regular" one is cheaper, but you will likely still get wet, so what is the point? Well, Lift-the-dots and still getting wet would be period correct.

The "Premium soft top" is a whole different animal. They are VERY nice. However, they are expensive. You can have a couple of modifications done by the manufacturer when you order to make them even better. You can get a zip down rear window. This gives you a nice amount of air flowing through the car. You can also get quarter windows. If you do this (and you turn your head like you are supposed to) you don't even need to put any other mirrors on the car. Visibility is great. I am 6'1-1/2" 195 lbs and have standard seats with no tracks and it is perfect. I am in Florida, and I use the top to get out of the sun in the summer. It makes the car much more usable in the summer during the day, so I drive my car more in the hot season. It is still hot inside, of course, but you are not baking in the sun, which makes a HUGE difference. Also, if you have to hit the freeway for a long period, you don't get beaten up by the wind. Of course, if it rains, it gets you out of that too. My car will now be roof on in the summer, roof off in the winter, which is our good driving season. I drive my car all year long. I even keep it on for autocross, and it is rock solid. It takes about 8 minutes to put it on. It is a LITTLE harder getting in and out, but no big deal for someone my size in decent shape. I have a VERY loud car, and it seems louder inside with the top on.

Here is a weird thing. When you get in the car with the roof on......it seems bigger inside. Maybe because now the perceived interior goes from the windshield to behind the roll bars, instead of from the windshield to the back of the seats.

So, I would say if you drive your car a lot, you should consider it! If you do a Sunday drive for an hour a month, hard to justify the cost.

Here is a shot of the options on my car.

[Avalanche325]

Or you can get a Snapless Tonneau for car shows and places where you don't want anyone to mess with the interior. That is what I have.

I met a guy at a car show that puts a post-it note on his steering wheel hub that says "Warning, alarm is on". He says it works.

[Yama-Bro]

Avalanche325, do you have any pictures of the side windows installed on the car?

[rmiller64]

I recently installed after build completion a Tonneau cover and will probably use for storage and parking in direct sunlight for long period of time. Good quality product purchased from FFR

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...-Cover-Install

[Real time recon]

I've noticed that a lot of roadsters for sale don't have a top or a tonneau cover of any kind. I'm not 100% sure what all is available from Factory Five, so what are the options of installing something like this after the car has been built? Am I correct to assume they must be difficult to install or very expensive since so many people go without? I mean, I'm sure any quality convertible top is going to be very expensive, but it still seems so few people have covers either.

Find one of these ,used.No drilling body . Installs Under 5 minutes and your on your way. > http://www.ffcars.com/FAQ/products/hardtops.html
>>> Pix. http://static.rcgroups.net/forums/at...59-242-003.jpg

[MARIAH]

Protection, convenience and cost are all personal decisions and I suggest "experience" before making those decisions. Our experience was the 1500 miles we drove in primer and he the first 1,000 or so miles we drove after paint were great learning times. We suffered through rain with nothing for protection and dried out the car after we returned home. We froze in 30 degree winter drives up to Whitby's Christmas Gathering. We roasted throughout the middle of summer in long drives.

We of course have a Snapless Tonneau that we carry everywhere resting on top of the seat backs under the seatbelts. We can use it ourself or loan it in an emergency to other Cobra folks. But our final solution was the Hard Top. Hard Top cost and Convertible Top costs can easily be compared. For us the Hard Top helped with the broiling sun,and kept our heat in during the winter and kept 95% of the rain off of us. When we needed a topless drive the Hard Top comes off in 5 minutes and stores in a motel room or out by their pool grassy area (who is going to steal a Hard Top in the middle of the day?).

Our Hard Top generates questions everywhere we go and gives us the confidence to travel long distances in any weather. This photo from our 3,000 mile trip to Nova Scotia and back.MARIAH on the Cabot Trail NS - Copy (640x480).jpg

[BEAR-AvHistory]

I use mine, from Whitby, mainly in the cold weather to help keep the heat in when I'm driving. Can also keep the sun off your seat in the summer in place of a white towel when its parked.

.

[supersize92003]

Where did you purchase your Hard Top ?

It looks great.

[Misterfubar]

Where did you purchase your Hard Top ?

It looks great.

I was about to ask the same thing and noticed it says Whitby in his sig. It looks great.

[MARIAH]

As you discovered, our Hard Top came from Whitby's in Greensboro, NC.

[thiazole]

Thanks for all the comments - a lot of food for thought. I'll definitely be referencing this when the time comes.

[Avalanche325]

I don't, but I will put a window in and get you a pic.

[John4337]

Here's a link to a shot of mine with the premium top on with the side curtains in. Mine is the green one on the right.

http://www.ffcars.com/forums/attachm...3&d=1463311059

Not the best, but you get the idea. It was taken after a ride thru what seemed like a monsoon in North Florida

John

[Jester]

Another view of a premium soft top. Expensive however most would agree - this is the best looking soft top on the market. Looks great with the side curtains installed.

Mk4 with Premium Top.jpg

[Raceral]

IMHO.... the Whitby top is the way to go... on and off takes about 10 min. max. You can start out with it on a cool morning and as it warms up, stop on the roadside and take it off and stick it into the trunk. It is very well made and uses the best quality materials.
You have to put a couple of little things on the windshield that you never take off. Once you do that.. its very easy.

[Avalanche325]

I know it has been weeks, but I finally took some pictures with a window zipped in. I took the top off for my autocross runs last Saturday for weight reduction. I regretted every blazing hot minute of it. It is not coming off again until it cools down.

[CraigS]

I have the same hardtop that Mariah has. It never comes off the car. Windows in and out, depending on temp, but top stays.

[Avalanche325]

Oh, BTW, I am a bonehead. I was looking at how the front of the side curtain sits outside of the windscreen frame and wondering how that would keep water out. But, I was in a hurry, so snapped the pics and took it back off. The front flap is supposed to go inside the windscreen frame with the wind wing on the outside.

John has a top, and let me know that the way my pictures show, and the FFR videos show, is a nice way to get wet. Thanks for the heads up!

[hrosenthal]

Or you can get a Snapless Tonneau for car shows and places where you don't want anyone to mess with the interior. That is what I have.

Can you post pix and contact info?
Thanks

[John4337]

Here’s mine with the snapless tonneau on it.

John

[MARIAH]

Still one of the prettiest builds, John.

[David Hodgkins]

The Snapless covers "vendor" is not a supporter of this forum, FYI.

Posting examples of work by non supporting vendors

[John4337]

Dave,

My apologies, didn’t intend to infringe on the rules.

John

[John4337]

Thanks, Philip. Still wish we could drive ours as much as you do. Hopefully when we retire to Tenn.

All the best,

John

[Driver_WT]

Protection, convenience and cost are all personal decisions and I suggest "experience" before making those decisions. Our experience was the 1500 miles we drove in primer and he the first 1,000 or so miles we drove after paint were great learning times. We suffered through rain with nothing for protection and dried out the car after we returned home. We froze in 30 degree winter drives up to Whitby's Christmas Gathering. We roasted throughout the middle of summer in long drives.

We of course have a Snapless Tonneau that we carry everywhere resting on top of the seat backs under the seatbelts. We can use it ourself or loan it in an emergency to other Cobra folks. But our final solution was the Hard Top. Hard Top cost and Convertible Top costs can easily be compared. For us the Hard Top helped with the broiling sun,and kept our heat in during the winter and kept 95% of the rain off of us. When we needed a topless drive the Hard Top comes off in 5 minutes and stores in a motel room or out by their pool grassy area (who is going to steal a Hard Top in the middle of the day?).

Our Hard Top generates questions everywhere we go and gives us the confidence to travel long distances in any weather. This photo from our 3,000 mile trip to Nova Scotia and back.MARIAH on the Cabot Trail NS - Copy (640x480).jpg

Nice trip, not too many Cobras from SC make it to Nova Scotia

[John4337]

You should see the trip thread

[MARIAH]

John, when you get to Tennessee, we're just over the "hills", through Asheville and down the SC side near Greenville.

In July, we are hoping to drive up to Minnesota and follow the Great River Road (the Mississippi) down to New Orleans.
"Seems easy enough" ...he said with a grin....if we can get someone to babysit the cat for two+ weeks.

[John4337]

Looking forward to that trip thread and photos