Retopping The Open Antique Aotomobile by E.W. Stitt

[Guest Jerry Moore]

I am in the process of changing the top on my 1920 Overland Model 4 touring car and I understand that there is a very good article by Mr Stitt on this subject along with photographs. If this is available, I would be most appreciative if someone would share it with me. My fax number is (256) 413-7594 or my address is 208 Monterey Circle, Gadsden,L 35901. Thanks

[Terry Bond]

Doing it yourself will save some bucks. If you've not already done so, check with the AACA Library and Research Center for info about your car so you can see what the correct top should look like (inside and out). They also may have the info from Stitts. Be careful to do the research. What's currently on the car may not be correct and you don't want to duplicate what was previously done without checking it.

Us Model T guys have it somewhat fortunate - top kits are readily available. But, I was told to genereally toss the instructions and approach it from a common sense perspective.

Start with the basics - make sure your top bows, irons and hardware are correct and aligned carefully. Like a good paint job, start with the foundation. What's underneath will determine how successful the job is. Also, it's important to stretch everything tight. Fabric, especially top pads and support webbing will tend to continue stretching through use. What looks nice on day one might end up with major sags after a season or two of actual use. The next thing I was told was to ensure everything is centered and square.

You'll start with the support webbing. Most cars have long webs that start at the front bow and go to the rear bow. Those need to be as tight as a banjo string to hold everything in alignment. I actually fastened wood furring strips across my Model T top bows to hold things rigid and in alignment while I installed those webs. The next job was the pads that go along the sides. Again, stuffed appropriately, folded carefully and tightly fastened at the front, back and along the other support bows as required. It's a good idea to lay the top fabric on and center it correctly (fold it in half, mark front and rear center and mark centers on the front and rear top bows, then use those marks to keep it aligned). Checking the top at this point will permit you to position the top pads along the sides so they are in the right spot and don't hang down below the outside edge of the top itself. A few other tips I learned, before you begin, lay the material out in the sun to soften it and get some wrinkles out. It's easier to work in the summer than in the winter! When installing any of it, just use a few tacks to hold it in place, then go have a beer and watch TV. When you come back the next day, you will be able to take up a little more slack. Once you have the "stretch" out of it, you can nail it in place. Just be careful not to get nail holes in the wrong place. Gypsy wings on the rear sides of a top can be tricky. My T is early so doesn't have them, but by the 20s you probably have a new style "one-man" top with the side wings. Practice also at gathering the top material at the front corners so it makes a nice neat job there where it's very noticable.

I believe the Model T Ford Club actually has some video/dvd info available. The top companies may also have that. Nothing like seeing it done. It might not specifically pertain to your car but the technique is universal.

Oh, one last word of caution - measure twice, cut once.

Terry

[ply33]

I believe I have a photo copy from the 1970s of an article by Stitt on putting a new top on a closed car. It was a fairly old article at that time, maybe from the 1950s or 60s. I would guess that the article for retopping an open car would have been about the same vintage. I am not sure, but I would not be surprised if the articles were originally from the Antique Automobile, so following Terry's suggestion of contacting the AACA library would be an excellent idea.

[Restorer32]

The first top we did in about 1980 or so was done with that Stitt article in hand.

[Guest Mochet]

The Stitt article is the only one I found that goes into any detail about top installation. However, it is rather short on detail itself. Stitt was an old-timer when he wrote the article 40 years ago. He'd started installing touring car tops back in the '20s, I think. I'd sure like to see an updated article on the subject (or, perhaps, a video).

Phil

[Guest Mochet]

Just to follow up on the subject, I believe E.W. Stitt's article "How To Make Your Own Top" appeared in the June, 1960 issue of "Antique Automobile". It was reprinted in Floyd Clymer's 1964 publication Model T Ford Restoration Handbook by Leslie R. Henry (pg. 86). It was also reprinted by itself. I've seen no other articles, videos or books on this subject. I've heard of one video on installing the Ford Model T top (by the late Vince Iaccino) , but it is no longer available. I'll shortly be installing a top on my 1913 Metz, so I'll try to record the process. Any advice appreciated!

Phil

[trimacar]

Every time I try to explain to someone how to do a top from scratch, the description/instructions seem to get too long. It's one of those things that's straightforward to do, but hard to explain. I'll make some bullet points on how I learned to do a convertible top from scratch, when I apprenticed under a master trimmer:

-as mentioned, spend hours getting irons and bows in correct location and square, when you feel they're right, stand 20 feet away from side of car and see if "line" of top will look correct

-install pads as mentioned, don't use foam as it will deteriorate and deform, use cotton batting, and use a little more than you think you need so that the bows don't poke through and give the "starved horse" look

-determine width of main top panel, and using your centerline, place a piece of cording along the top of each pad where that seam should be. Tape it down to the pad, and with a magic marker mark random lengths on cord, no longer than a foot

-lay top panel, centered, on top bows, tack at each end temporarily (I use larger tacks during the fitting stage, so don't drive them in all the way), make sure center lines are marked, and front and top bow location is marked

-feeling through top material, mark with chalk the location of the cording....a dotted line is always easier to make than a straight chalk line, so just mark a dot every few inches. Then, raise edge of panel and mark, on top of material, each magic marker mark, and also mark where the bows intersect the top panel

-remove top panel, then repeat above with the side panels, stretching tight around rear corners, making sure that the side panel fabric is tight on cording. Do NOT mark outside edge at this point, you'll want to sew panels together before doing edge.

-lay fabric on large flat table, and with a straight edge connect the dots, between bow marks...depending on top, direction might change slightly at bow marks, but it will be straight between them

-cut fabric on outside of mark, leaving 1/4 inch allowance for sewing, and putting a small notch at each mark...these marks will be used to align the two pieces when you sew

-sew panels together, then do a top stitch with the material folded under toward the center of the car, thus your top stitch is on the inside of the seam

-place assembled top on bows, using previous marks to get in the correct location. Stretch top tight, determine edge of top, and mark....then again, lay flat and use straight edge to connect dots where you know it's straight

-sew a piece of reinforcement material along that mark, then 1.5 to 2 inches inside that mark. Cut outside and install binding

-when putting top on, stretch as tight as possible, mark front bow, then when installing stretch at least half an inch beyond that mark, more if material will take it

-there's a trick on the front sides of the top material, where you pull it tight and tack, then cut back below tacks to where the front trim will end, and fold the binded edge up into that trim area, but it's hard to describe

OK, that's all I can do with the words available! Good luck!

[Guest Mochet]

Thanks for your contribution, David. In steps 2 & 5, you mention "cording". What is that? Also on step five, you say:

-feeling through top material, mark with chalk the location of the cording....a dotted line is always easier to make than a straight chalk line, so just mark a dot every few inches. Then, raise edge of panel and mark, on top of material, each magic marker mark, and also mark where the bows intersect the top panel

I'm unclear on this step. Are you marking the location of the bows? What are the "magic marker marks"?

Most tops have a cotton drill cloth liner. Is the sewn to the top material before installation, or is it tacked to the bows separately?

Phil

[trimacar]

The cord I mention is round cotton or nylon thick string used to wrap fabric around and make welting. On that cord you mark reference points which will be marked with chalk on top and side panels, so you can use them as reference points when sewing panels together. I hope that makes sense....

Bow drill fabric, cut on a bias, is used to cover wood bows if desired (some bows are varnished and left uncovered)....some early tops had liners but that's not commonly done now.... And if you see a different color under a top ( say brown underneath and black on top) Then that's a layer of fabric bonded to top material...

[trimacar]

The cord is not used in the top, only as a reference for where seam is located.

A lot of people use old tops and try to use them for patterns, but results won't be good, as top fabric will shrink and stretch as it ages, and you can't make it lay flat for rhe compound curve of top along the back sides.

Use the old top as a guide and reference.

[Restorer32]

Laying out a top is almost more difficult to describe than it is to actually do. David has taken a good stab at it.

[trimacar]

Exactly right, difficult to describe, but if you saw it done once you'd understand immediately. There are definitely things left out of my description, it's an overview, for example the pads need to be installed, attached to bows, then add padding and sew shut. The pads should consist of top material with outer portion toward padding (so that it matches under the top), reinforcement along the length of pad, and bowdrill as the top fabric for the pad (which gets sewed together)...

[Guest Mochet]

I'd love to see a class on this subject. I'm trying to talk the AACA Museum into do-it-yourself restoration clinics of this type. If anyone is doing a top near me in southeast PA, I'd be pleased to photograph/videotape the process!

Phil

[trimacar]

I'm in the process of doing three tops now, but waiting for the correct material to be run by Haartz, so completion won't be this month. I'll take pictures and document the process.

It's not difficult, but upholstery takes patience and attention to detail, and knowing just a few basic "tricks". An industrial walking foot sewing machine is recommended, although I'm sure there are tops out there that have been sewed with regular sewing machines.

[Guest Mochet]

I have the material and a heavy-duty sewing machine, and would definitely be interested in photos and/or video, Dave. I'll be doing a roadster top with three bows, so probably not as complex as a touring top. Let me know if you need assistance.

Phil

[Jon37]

I have the article (by Stitt) and will be happy to e-mail a PDF of it to anyone who wants to PM me.

I'm sorry -- I just noticed this thread, or I'd have jumped in sooner. I offered this PDF back in November of 2011 and several people contacted me at that time as well.

[Guest Mochet]

While waiting for Dave's photos, here's a nice series of photographs covering the installation of a 1923 Ford touring top kit. It looks to me like the top is tacked only to the front and rear bows. Is that correct?

Phil

[trimacar]

Yes, the top is tacked only to front and rear bows. The pads are tacked to all bows, before padding installed, and then padding and "wrap" for pads are added. The stitching for the pad closure can be a hidden stitch, where the thread enters the top overwrap at the same spot it enters the bottom overwrap, and not the visible stitch shown. Nice job and set of photos for someone doing their own top.

I'd have a few other comments, but they pale against the pride of doing it yourself, and I don't want to be more obnoxious than I already am....

[Guest Mochet]

I see how the drill cloth is tacked onto the bows and how the side padding is formed. Some tops also have a liner made of drill cloth. This covers the underside of the top cloth and the webbing. Is this liner installed before the top material is put on, or is are they installed as one unit?

Phil