Hardtop attachments - Body & interior stuff - Jensen Healey & Jensen GT Tech -

> Jensen Healey & Jensen GT Tech > Body & interior stuff > Hardtop attachments

Author

Post

thesnyder
Member

Joined:	04-05-2005
Location:	Portland, Oregon USA
Posts:	4
Status:	Offline

I recently acquired a factory hardtop that seems to be missing some brackets. Can anyone post a picture or describe how the top attaches behind the doors? It looks like I need a piece to connect it to the body somehow.

Brett Gibson JH5 20497
Member

Joined:	03-17-2005
Location:	Hilton, New York USA
Posts:	798
Status:	Offline

Synd, I dont have a pict, handy but all it is is a piece of angle bracket 90 degrees 1-1/2" to 2" wide with a hole in it, it attache's to the convertable bolt point then sticks out about 1-1/2" to 2" with a hole in that, then it's just a piece of threaded rod from the bracket to the tops bracket, all local hardware stuff.

Brett.

Jim Ketcham
Member

Joined:	03-13-2005
Location:	Salt Point, New York USA
Posts:	208
Status:	Offline

Here's a photo of the hardtop brackets.

Jim

Attachment: Brackets.jpg (Downloaded 249 times)

Mark Rosenbaum
Member

Joined:	03-12-2005
Location:	Kingman, Arizona USA
Posts:	532
Status:	Offline

Those rods look more elegant than what I have on my car -- a pair of hooked or J-shaped pieces with about an inch's worth of threads on the long arm of the J.

Jim Ketcham
Member

Joined:	03-13-2005
Location:	Salt Point, New York USA
Posts:	208
Status:	Offline

Hello Mark,

The pictured hardware are the factory brackets and bolts that came with my car from the dealer. The rods are simply carriage bolts. Sounds like yours are "battery bracket" bolts. What ever works.

Jim

thesnyder
Member

Joined:	04-05-2005
Location:	Portland, Oregon USA
Posts:	4
Status:	Offline

Thanks. I should be able to get somthing fabricated that matches these pieces. I appreciate the response.

Jim Ketcham
Member

Joined:	03-13-2005
Location:	Salt Point, New York USA
Posts:	208
Status:	Offline

Here is sketch of the hard top bracket with the dimensions for fabrication.

Regards,

Jim

Attachment: JH Bracket.jpg (Downloaded 180 times)

thesnyder
Member

Joined:	04-05-2005
Location:	Portland, Oregon USA
Posts:	4
Status:	Offline

Wow! Thanks for the drawings Jim. Now, on the hardtop itself; I have a flat horizontal tab with a slotted hole. should there be something else here as well?

Last edited on 04-22-2005 01:42 pm by thesnyder

greenthing
Member

Joined:	11-26-2005
Location:	Flowery Branch, Georgia USA
Posts:	12
Status:	Offline

I acquired a hardtop earlier this year and do not have any idea how to attach it to the car. I have seen the pictures and the scale drawings of the brackets but don't know how or what to put where.

Please help as I'm going to need explicit directions

(hopefully with diagrams) as to how to place the brackets and other assembling.

I have a hardtop that does not slide unto the "retainer clip" (21 on p.10 of the Delta Motorsports catalog) but just rests on the "rear deck panel".

It does not get terribly cold in Georgia but I really wanted a hardtop that would remove and go on fairly easily.

Thank You,

Greg Parris

Mark Rosenbaum
Member

Joined:	03-12-2005
Location:	Kingman, Arizona USA
Posts:	532
Status:	Offline

Given what multiple owners can mess up given 30-plus years, there's no "one size fits all" sort of 'explicit directions' to be had. (BTW, I found that font almost unreadable. Plain text is generally a lot easier on the eyes.)

Basically, what one does is:

Remove the soft top fabric and frame from the car. This will require unbolting the frame. Return the bolts to their proper places in the bodywork at this time. Stow the fabric and frame in a safe location. (It may be possible to leave these in the car but I've never tried that.)
Place the hard top on the car (this can be done by one person but is easier with two). From inside, align the hard top so the two rotating latches at the front fit into the corresponding sockets atop the windshield. Engage but do not secure the latches at this time.
There should be a metal bracket on the hard top at the B pillar location (i.e. just behind the rear of the doors). There are many variations in the design, but all should have a horizontal projection with a hole.
For the factory setup, insert a securing rod (carriage bolt, etc.) through the hole in each hard top bracket. The lower end of each rod goes through a right-angle bracket. Each right-angle bracket is secured to the car by a bolt originally used for the soft top frame. You may wish to add a flat washer to each side.
If you have J-shaped rods like me, then insert the threaded ends of the rods through the hard top brackets and secure them loosely in place with their hardware. The loop of each J is then attached to the car by a bolt originally used for the soft top frame. You may wish to add a flat washer to each side.
If you have some other arrangement, whose assembly remains mysterious, send photos or drawings, and maybe someone can advise. Do not rely upon bungee cords or the like as you will likely lose both hard top and windshield frame at speed. That can be lethal.
Tighten the rods' various fasteners until there's very little slack. Tighten the clamps at the windshield. Finish tighten the rods' various fasteners until the hard top's sealing gasket is compressed but not crushed.
From the outside, visually examine the top's seating to ensure that the top is centered, that the gasket is everywhere present between the top and the bodywork, and that the gasket is everywhere compressed more or less uniformly.
Check the operation of each door. Ensure that each door's window will go all the way up and will seal against the hard top.
If you have the factory hard top, insert the power plug for the rear window defroster into the receptacle at the top center of the cockpit rear bulkhead. This feature is not present on any aftermarket hard top of which I'm aware.

With practice, you'll be able to determine how best to simplify the procedure above so it's easiest for your car.

Attachment: hardtop factory interior 1.jpg (Downloaded 111 times)

edward_davis
Member

Joined:	07-06-2005
Location:	Eugene, Oregon USA
Posts:	162
Status:	Offline

My factory hardtop attaches without removing the rolled-up soft top, no problem. I can't say about the other hard tops, but I remember test-driving a JH (with abysmally low compression and rust problems) that had the circular-window-in-the-B-pillar aftermarket hardtop. The original soft top was full of holes, but it was rolled up and in the back, with the hard top on. But I'm sure that there are just as many variations on this point as there are with other aspects of this car. Get a bunch of JH's together and you can really see that they were hand made.

Edward Davis

greenthing
Member

Joined:	11-26-2005
Location:	Flowery Branch, Georgia USA
Posts:	12
Status:	Offline

Thanks for the information!

Greg Parris

JGriff
Member

Joined:	11-21-2018
Location:	Boston, Massachusetts USA
Posts:	12
Status:	Offline

Reviving a very old post. I take it having the brackets not attached on the sides is not a good idea? It’s how my JH came. I drove it back 100 miles on the highway this way.

Attachment: D694BBBE-3019-4C8A-99A6-AA90D3DFCF18.jpeg (Downloaded 101 times)

Last edited on 01-01-2019 04:46 pm by JGriff

Brett Gibson JH5 20497
Member

Joined:	03-17-2005
Location:	Hilton, New York USA
Posts:	798
Status:	Offline

Actually since you’re attached front and back the top is pretty secure, the side attachments just add that additional comfort level. Be aware the rear of a hard top tends to rub and scartch the paint, putting heavy tape between reduces the wear.

JGriff
Member

Joined:	11-21-2018
Location:	Boston, Massachusetts USA
Posts:	12
Status:	Offline

Thank you. It was on there pretty good as it was. I took it off and stored it and I’m not sure I’ll use it much.

Last edited on 01-01-2019 10:20 pm by JGriff