Tack Strip for retaining rear of hood.

[rfs1957]

Pause for tea, chocolate biscuits, and howls of anguish.

I'm plodding along with the re-trim, and it was time to fit the tack-strip that takes the hood canvas attachments - I'm using a composite hard-rubber version

My body-shell has various buggered-up zones, thanks to the PO and his set of incompetent artisans, and the tack-strip zone in front of the boot is one of them.

The metal has had enough self-tappers into it to qualify as lace, but above all the lip that constitutes the upper edge of the tack-strip seating area was formed in such a way that for about 80% of its length the tack-strip could only be 12mm high instead of the 20+ mm of the original shell.

It was suggested to me (by a well-meaning Jag restorer) that if I bashed this flat I could seat the tack strip comfortably as there would be no lip to get in the way ..............

Determined not to agonise, and to quell the perfectionist in me, out came the dollies, hammers - and hey-presto, no lip ; followed by filing sanding, red-oxide, and new paint.

BUT, there's a lot to be said for moving slowly and thoughtfully.

Why did Jaguar put a lip there ?



Because the lip takes all the loads from the hood, not the screws.

Now I'll have a hood where the shear of the canvas into the tub is going through twelve #4 self-tappers.

I don't suppose anyone else has been this lazy and got away with it have they ?

Here are some pictures to show the vinyl-trimming of the tack-strip, just to prove that it's not because you get most of it right that you can't still go and shoot yourself in the foot.

[Hugo]

That's what happens when you listen to other people rather than figuring it out for yourself ;) How about welding a lip back on?
If that's the rubbery plastic, or plasticky rubber, that I think it is, I have a Mitsubishi Eclipse in Florida that uses the same idea - I bought myself an air stapler to attatch the hood to the rubbery strip. Is that what you're doing?

[rfs1957]

It's an alternative to the wood version and is supplied by various retailers, in my case BAS in Wales, who will be shortly stapling a new hood onto it - if I can steer the car, between the drops of rain, across Europe, in July.

As regards the lip, yes, I fear it's going to require an 8mm-wide strip tacked on, with a very steady hand on the TIG.

[Hugo]

I had to do something similar on a coach that had beenin a front-end smash. The whole windscreen frame had gone back, and to make the screen fit they bashed the vertical lip flat so it was pointing forwards, then welded a stip of mild steel to make a new windscreen lip tacked on the front of the old one. The rest of the coach is stainless bodge upon bodge.
the question I meant to ask in a roundabout way was whether you (or BAS) are stapling the hood to this rubbery stuff like I did. It sounds like the answer is yes? It seemed an odd way to fix it, but it worked - I bought a replacement hood for my Eclipse on eBay & fitted it over a week - nibbling away bit by bit, as I've never done anything like that before. Turned out really well, if a bit fiddly.

[Bfastr]

I am glad to see I am not the only person that was doing this same thing lately. I went with a wood replacement from Welsh here in the states as I couldnt seem to locate the plastic one in a shape I liked. that being said the wood version still took a lot of sanding and fitting to get it right for my car. and now that its all done I am learning that the pre-cut spots for the chrome hooks more than likely will not be where I want them.. oh well. I went the last 20 years with no hooks after a top replacement.

But, on to the lip. I see your logic and think you may be right about the lip "holding" the tack strip. but I dont think the original wood strips had as many screws or so evenly spaced as yours looks, I could be wrong, but my car sure didnt. SO, I am willing to be that your placement of screws would do the job without the lip, it should be a pretty evenly spread load. but I could be wrong too.. if its all apart its probably best to weld on the strip as it would really suck to have a top installed and then have it pop loose after its all done.

I feel your pain...

[ralphr1780]

Rory, I too went away from wood, but with the lip still in place.
Have used a fan belt, and the tapers are placed from inside.
Also, I did not wrap the vinyl around. This is absolute nonsense because it is a moisture trap (particularly if you use the wood strip) and its colour will be seen under the hood. Unless you plan to have a red hood.
Here is a pic of the strip fixed:


And these after trimming:

[rfs1957]

Thanks for the input boys.

As Harold Wilson said, 24h is a long time in Car Trimming !

Favours called in, 7mm strip guillotined, Yvan-the-TIG summoned with promises of a good breakfast, and an hour later Bob's-Your-Uncle. (Our non-native speakers might like to PM for translation).



First some vertical additions where I was short of height.



Then some free-hand-magician stuff.



Of course I had made a jig to hold the strip in the right place and at the right angle, which he promptly ignored, but I felt I had done my bit and shown willing.







This shows the graft where old-edge joined new-edge.

















I stayed with red for the edging, Ralph, as black would have shown up the less-than-perfect alignment of the rear trimming panels ............

So I didn't need to go and set fire to the whole thing after all.

[265bhp]

Bravo Rory...

[ralphr1780]

Impressive work Rory, I am always stunned by your in-depth approach
I did not mean to you to leave the tack strip in black, but to trim it just from above without wrapping it in the vinyl. See my above pics again, the vinyl it cut a couple of mm above the lower edge of the tack strip.

P.S.: I didn't see the required slots for the hood cover hooks?

[Bill B]

I can't see the images in this thread. I am in the US but I changed my address to Canada anyway and I still can't get images in this thread though I can get images in some other thread. any ideas?

[mgcjag]

Hi Bill....going back a while some members used post image accounts to load photos....but post image changed their rules and started to charge ...if you didn't purchase an account they stopped acces to their photos....this is what's happening in this thread and why you can't see anything....this is different to the latest issue with Imgur where you will see a message saying content not available in your area"....Steve

[Bill B]

Steve,
when I try to get these images, I get "unable to find server"

[mgcjag]

Hi Bill..as far as im aware these images were posted by the individual member on their photo shop account...which is now a subscribe service...so now not viewable unless the member changes their account or re postes them

[rfs1957]

I will try and find the originals and then re-post them.

[paydase]

[rfs1957]

I think these have now been re-established.

Unless your browser thinks this is porn, they ought to work.

[paydase]

It works (at least for me in Belgium).
Thank you Rory!

[Bill B]

thanks Rory. Now working

[Bill B]

Does anyone have an opinion of the proper orientation of the tack strip ? There seems to be a narrow flat-ish edge and a narrow pointy-ish edge. The wider dimension has a flatter side and a more curved side see pics.



.







sorry for the duplicate pic

[Bill B]

uh oh.
I think I have a big problem here. did the paint and filler build up and close up the opening or did Jaguar hammer the lip down after fitting. the gap is not uniform all the way around either.