Elastic webbing replacement

[terry randall]

Is it possible to release only the front part of the hood and pull the material back over the metal stays in order to replace the webbing? Should the webbing be taut or slightly stretched when its fitted? Are there any other obvious pit-falls to look out for? Tried to plough through 354 topics on hood/top section but was starting to loose the will to live!

[RayD]

Did you read this oneTerry,

If you have any questions afterwards let me know.

Ray

[lotusgirlmarie]

Yes you can but it's a right pain. If your seals are tatty then you run the risk of unrepairable damage. If you really wish to replace the elasic straps and have a couple days it would be best served to release the top from the rear, thenunscrew the falling pillar seals, release the canvas from the last hood rail by carefully prying out the plastic channel and finally undo the tension cables that run through the canvas to the last hoop and roll the canvas foreward. The elastic is held on br rivets that will need to be drilled out. I found it best to replace the straps with ones made of nylon webbing 2" wide. The webbing never wears out. Just be sure to get the spacing correct. You will need some contact adhesive to reinstall the rear of the canvas when reassembling. Hope this helps

[dapinky]

I've just bought this in black for my hood replacement - it's stronger than standard elastic, as it is designed for furniture springing, but with more 'give' than nylon webbing - haven't fitted it yet, but i have previously replaced the elastic, so decided it was well worth the £2.10 it cost

[terry randall]

Thanks for the reference Ray, did see this one but thought it was all about velcro bits and so pushed on to another thread. Very helpful. Thanks LGM . Like the alternative idea but will give the whole process some extra thought as it might be a bit trickier than I imagined.

[terry randall]

Thanks Dave, Just bought a couple of metres of nice black 2" elastic from local material shop that looks spot on for the original. It cost £4, so i wasn't robbed. Yours look like the stuff that Ercol used in their seats. it maybe more robust in the long term. After reading Ray and LGM comments i'm starting to think that buying the elastic was the easy bit! Cheers, Tel.

[RayD]

.... If you really wish to replace the elastic straps and have a couple days it would be best served to release the top from the rear, then unscrew the falling pillar seals, release the canvas from the last hood rail by carefully prying out the plastic channel and finally undo the tension cables that run through the canvas to the last hoop and roll the canvas foreword.

I wonder if your hoods are different to ours Marie? ... Or maybe you renewed the two separate pieces that run alongside the rear window?

For the elastic in the top of the roof you don’t need to detach any part of the canvas or get involved with the tension cables.

It can all be done from inside the car with the roof up following the instructions on the link above.

Reading it again I’m not sure if I made it clear about the way the rings are formed in the elastic to pass the roof stays through ... but the elastic was simply folded and the sewing machine ran across at half the circumference from the fold.

Ray

[terry randall]

Hi all,
Have just replaced elastic webbing. I think I might have reduced the work involed close to minimum but you can add your improvement if you do the job. First of all, please use RayD's pictures in above thread as they are more than adequate. If i've improved the method it's only because RayD inspired me to think the job could be done fairly easily and he had the basic idea of using a loop system to avoid taking off the hood to get to the rivets.
3m. of 2" elastic webbing should do both sides. My local material shop supplied what seemed like original look and quality for £2/m. Hoods may vary I'm only describing my 91 SE.
1. unclip front of hood and remove both clips (3screws) and 3 centre screws. Plastic front cover now comes off.
2. remove pop rivets(2 per clip) that hold front of elastic. I used robust side clippers to remove bottom part, then drilled out to release top parts. Take out the little metal clips from the elastic fold.
3.Cut old elastic between and behind cross bars. Bars will now drop down. Cut only 2" velcro off where elastic is riveted (4 places) Cut old elastic off neatly from either side off the bar. Put bars back up in position.
4.Fold new elastic lengths so that a single top piece goes from front to back(should reach plastic window) and the bottom part goes just beyond 2nd. bar from front. Go away and sew front metal clips into front fold. Machine or hand stitch as per original elastic.
5.Return and temporarily put in front clips.(I used little nuts and bolts but a compact pop riveter would probably put new rivets back in) Put the long elastic over the bars (the back bit will obviously hang down) and the short bit goes under the bars.
6. With tailors chalk or similar, mark where the bottom elastic passes the middle of each of the 2 bars. Go away and sew 2 loops the same size as the width of the bar with the chalk mark in the middle of the loop( however,when you do the back loop sew the top elastic in as well) Make the top elastic about 1cm short and this will make top elastic tighter which i think helps when the hood folds.
7.Return, remove both bars taking note of the washer positions. Push the elasitic loops over the velcro and into position exactly in the velcro gaps. Put the back bar back first. I found the front bar goes back best if you lift the hood till the screw holes line up. Drop hood back and put in front clips. Replace hood clips and plastic cover.
8.Pull the rear old elastic out from behind the back bar and cut off close to the sewn loop. Slide in new elastic,and tension but remember the front double elastic has to pull the second bar up to the vertical stop. I sewed the new elastic directly onto the old elastic loop but you could form a new loop and use something like a robust long circlip to join the 2 loops. Job done. It could be done in a couple of hours but depends on the coming and going. Buona Fortuna!
Tel

[Enright]

That's got to be THE definitive write-up, and must be worthy of a wiki - well done!

[RayD]

.

Well done Terry,

A couple of extra pictures of mine ... the aluminium brackets at the back need changing for plastic ones and simplifying.

Rear Buckle.jpg

Front Buckle.jpg

Ray

[esext03]

Gents
Just read the forum on replacing the hood seals .My opinion is we are making this job harder than it is ,
Firstly to do it you will need a helper as you cannot drill out the "pot rivets" and hold back the hood yourself .
Start at the back at the rear window and drill out the "pot rivets" .Move forward and drill the the other " pot rivets" which are on the hood supports . x 4 rivets
Take of the cover that fits over the hood locks ,and drill the last 2 "pot rivets" out .
Its than a matter of fitting the new webbing and re "pot riveting" them back onto the supports ,watch for the small brackets that fit over the webbing these keep the webbing in place .Once you remove one you will see what a mean .

Entire job took us 6 hrs


I purchased the webbing locally, black, 2 inch wide, 3mts long .. £5.00
I can get the webbing if any one whats it just inform me thro the site .
ewan

[RayD]

My opinion is we are making this job harder than it is …

Firstly to do it you will need a helper as you cannot drill out the "pot rivets" and hold back the hood yourself.

Entire job took us 6 hrs

It’s a while since I did this Ewan but from memory I don’t recall any difficulty removing the pop rivets. I probably had a dining table place mat slid between roof stays and the canvas while drilling.

I made the fixing brackets and dispensed with the rivets for the following reasons …

It wasn’t clear how long the various stretches of elastic needed to be, and the buckle type clips give an amount of adjustment

Not using rivets will make the job easier the next time.

Ray

[esext03]

Ray

I will make sure there will NOT be a next time,every man has his own way of doing these kinda jobs on these cars
ewan

[RayD]

Ray

I will make sure there will NOT be a next time,every man has his own way of doing these kinda jobs on these cars
ewan

I understand Ewan,

You’re quite welcome to ignore any of my labour saving tips

There are some jobs I wouldn’t know where to start were it not for the help of others.

Ray

[wayne]

Been looking at this thread with interest.... as I have recently had the webbing replaced on my hood.

I have no idea if the hood is an origional one (black mohair, some writing on the screen in the lower left corner)

I guess I did it the lazy way, took the hood and frame from the car and dropped it at the local trim shop and collected the next day.

I seem to remember on mine that there were 2 bits of what looked like seatbelt material at the back as well as the webbing??
Is this normal?? did not see it on Rays pics.

I'm supposed to get the car back tomorrow so will take pics...

What a bummer.... car has been in paint for the last 5-6 weeks and when I finally get her back she will have to be locked away in the garage

Due to the current political unrest I do not dare drive her on the roads. I hope this place sorts itself out soon...

[RayD]

Yes Wayne the two short pieces of webbing at the back are un-connected with the elastic replacement … they don’t need to be disturbed or renewed.

Ray

[surfboardfiller]

I found it easier to just replace the elastic than to remove and refit a hood. It helps to have a pop rivet gun with Aluminium rivets to do a nice clean job.
The old elastic enevitably perishes and looses its tension, but it only serves to pull the top crossbars up when the hood it up.

[DavidEJM]

My hood seems to be glued quite firmly to the rear bar (the one where Ray has used an angled aluminium bracket).

Is this normal and is it simply a case of peeling the hood away from the bar?

Also , one of the rear stays that tension the hood to the deck seems to get stuck when trying to drop the roof. Is there any adjustment available here? I cant really get in very easily as the roll hoops restrict access

Any guidance would be welcomed. Shame really, my old hood had a great frame but a horrible cover and the replacement is the other way around!!

[RayD]

David,

I hadn't realised the back hoop was glued ... I was only involved with it to the extent of threading the webbing over and it wasn't glued at that point on mine.

I posted a picture elsewhere of a side view of the inside of the frame, it might shed some light on your stay problem.

I'll have a look for it ...There you go

Ray

[DavidEJM]

Thanks Ray. Looks like I will have to break through the glue.