by John Logan in the February and April 2007 RootesReview:
In the February issue you saw pictures of the convertible top protector. Now I’ll tell you how they were made. They are of course for the Alpines and Tigers that have the metal top covers where the sharp edges of the body and hinge can wear holes in the top.
Get a 20 0oz laundry detergent bottle, or any other bottle that is made of heavy plastic; it should have smooth edges for the top to rub against and also be one that is large enough to make two symmetrically opposite parts. The picture shows a part drawn on the bottle prior to cutting.
Next, make two symmetrically opposite reinforcements from the picture on this month’s cover. These hold the protectors and are designed to allow the attaching rivets and screws to be far enough away so as to not touch the convertible top material.
Mate the plastic protectors to the reinforcements, drill the plastic through holes “C” and rivet the two parts together at holes “C”. The heads should be on the outside and free of any rough edges. Then drill the plastic through hole “A”. Next, drill through hole “A” into body and attach the protector with a short sheet metal screw.
Carefully bend the reinforcement to fit; trim away any plastic material that interferes with the operation of the hinge. Don’t trim away so much you lose the protection of the plastic but just enough so that the cover will fold up.
Now fit the parts to the car. First take the nut off the cover hinge bolt and slip the protector on the bolt through hole “B”. Install a prevailing torque (locking) nut on the bolt. You can trim some of the body metal away for additional clearance.
When finished you should notice that it is much easier to tuck the top material behind the top hinge, and that the top material now rests against a smooth plastic surface rather than the sharp edges of the hinge and body.