Mystery part Out of place

This top was once attached to my Raceabout. Anyone know what it belonged to? Hemp once told my dad that no raceabout ever had a top, and the attaching areas look too symetrical to properly fit on a staggered seat body. But could it have been from a sporting? Any help would be appreciated.:cool:

TM -

What are the rough dimensions? Sporting/Touring tops are very long, basically 1/2 the length of the entire car. I can check against the two Sportings over at my friends place this weekend if you would like. There were some Raceabouts that were fitted with tops (although I agree with Hemp that these were aftermarket not factory), usually mounted on the gas tank support. See if you have any holes in that piece below the forward side of the tank drilled through the aluminum into the hardwood corner pieces.

The mounting points were installed inside the body just aft of the halfround trim that joins the dash cowl to the seat back portion of the tub. there were pop on points screwed all over the seatbacks and there are afew in the forward portion of the aluminum gas tank holder facing the seats.

The few pictures I have seen of Mercers with tops have all had oval shaped windows, this one is rectangular like a duesy. The interior of the top has pop on points as if there should be an interior cover/ liner to it. This leans me more toward luxury car.

I will have to take some measurements tonight.

Here are the measurements I have and a few distinctive marks I found.

The wing-bolts that would hold the front edge to the windshield (posts?) have raised numbers on one side that look to be 1043 (i am sure of the 104 part but the 3 could be an 8) The other side has what looks to be a makers mark etched or stamped in, the letters BTC. (The B and C are larger than the T, but the T is centered and overlaps both B+C) The post holders that they thread into are 33" apart on center.

The Bows look to be made of steam bent Oak and are inserted into steel funnel shaped holders. The Steel parts look like they were once plated with a shiny metal that does not flake like the old chrome I am used to (more brittle).

The window frame is screwed together with 16 oval head counter-sunk straight slot screws, and apears to be made of aluminum and may have been plaited to match the framework.

TM-

Sporting top is 8 feet long and 51" wide, so would have to have been cut down lengthwise in half. I would guess that your top is off some other car and was adapted to fit.

Found it!

After countless hours thumbing through old information I have come to the conclusion that it is from a Mercer Runabout. The stitching lines, trim, side curtains, mounting points, swing out arms, and notches in the back (for the rumble seat foot pads) match up . Please refer to the attached photo, from febuary 5, 1918 "horseless age"

If anyone happens by the Gilmore CCCA museum please inquire as to the pattern used on their car and any pre-restoration photos that may exist that would help confirm/ deny this.

Well, I need to drop in my two cents. I hope it helps. I am admittedly a newbie to Mercers

(I did have a 15 touring some years ago). I am currently well into the restoration of the

Boyle raceabout.

I have looked very carefully at the Martindale raceabout, which appears to have original

upholstry. On the upholstry section that folds over the body is a nickle plug that is slightly larger than the other snaps. That plug screws out to reveal a place to screw in a top holder

of some sort. On the inside, under the original upholstry is the factory brace. On each side

of the windshield frame are factory clamps designed to hold in place a thin rod that is formed

at the top to hold a top in place. I am convinced that these are factory items designed to

hold a top.

I have seen other photos of L-head raceabouts and sixth series cars that show these same

type of windshield pieces in place. They serve no other purpose other than hold a top.

The Boyle car has these same type of rods that cinch into the windshield uprights. However,

at first I saw no sign of a place for the mounting piece on the body sides. HOWEVER, when we

stripped the body we found the place where both of these mounting holes were filled in. We

also found the markings on the inside of both sides where the support or bracket had been

mounted. There is no doubt in my mind that this car had factory provisions for a top.

As to another minor matter. I assume that early cars had staggered seating, at least in

part to protect the passenger from serious face damage. As the gearshift lever was

located only a few inches to the left of the edge of the driver's seat, without moving the

passenger backward, they would be well with in the driver's shift pattern. The passenger

was also provided a footrest, at least on the L-head cars.

The sixth series cars had the shift lever moved up under the dash area and well away from

the passenger. I do know how long it took Mercer to eliminate the staggered seats

in favor of parallel seats, but they did so by the last car. When the original Boyle floorboards

were examined, it was clear that they showed no evidence of a footrest. When the body was

removed and turned upside down, it showed original wood in place, which made clear

that this car (at least) was built with parallel seats from new.

I was going to ask about the exact location of the part but then i realized that I have photos of that car back when it was known as the Burrows Mercer. After squinting at them for a bit i found one that shows the top mounting bolt in place. Sorry for the blurry pic but I don't have my scanner with me.

If I can figure out how to attach, I should have a photo showing that same

car with the "plug" removed so that you can see threads and two shots of

the rod that attaches to each side of the windshield and holds a top. These are from the series five car and a certainly factory installed for holding a top in place.

More on top pictured by "Trained Monkey". It does not look like the Roadster top has the

elbow that is pictured in the top in question. No purpose for elbow there as top arm could

simply rotate forward and backward in solid fashion. Elbow is really only needed in a

configuration such as a raceabout.