23 DB Headlight lense

[Guest]

Wanted; headlight lense for 23 or? DB. have headlight "bucket" for 23 cpe also 24/6,also looking for a vendor in the NW for cloth top material and or installation for my 23 DB cpe.

[Guest leadfoot]

Have a pair of spare DB lenses that fit the teacup shape headlight bucket '22 to mid '23. I've kept them because road stones can cause breakage. How bad do you need it. Be aware that e-bay has had several for sale over the past six months.<P>For closed car top material, I would check any supplier of Ford Model A or V-8 repro parts. The topping material should be what is generally available today that has similar grain to the original era. If you choose to restore the top yourself, the DB Club News had a "how to" article about five years ago.

[wattslm]

I recently bought and installed a top kit on a '26 Model T coupe. The material in the kit was described as "long cobra grain top material". It was very weak and lacked a woven fabric backing. You couldn't stretch it very tight or the staples would pull thru. This is not what was available in the '20. If doing it again, I would choose a good grade vinyl upholstery material with woven fabric backing. As I understand, the original material was a tough woven fabric that was coated after installation and recoated as necessary to keep it water proof.

[Guest leadfoot]

I also thought that closed car top material with the long grain had a fabric back so that you can stretch it tight. As I remember, most of these roofs have an underlayment made up of wood slats, chicken wire (or similar) and padding. If these kits don't have proper vinyl material, I would look to buy some open car top material, which I believe has a good fabric backing. I still have some left on a partial roll.