Recently bought an '03 Cobra vert. One of the guys at work was telling me he had owned a couple of verts back in the day and when he knew he was going to leave them parked in his garage for extended periods always left them unlatched so the material wouldn't stretch. Anyone else do this? Good or bad idea?
Question for vert owners.
May 01, 2004
11 Replies
Sounds silly to me. Latching will not stretch the material any more than designed. New tops don't cost too much anyway, don't worry about it. When it fails, have one installed and start out fresh.
C8oe
Interesting. I've heard just the opposite said, that you should always store for any significant length of time with the top up and latched so that it won't shrink. As with many things, you can find just about any opinion you want if ask enough people.
-- Jim '88 LX 5.0 (now in car heaven) '89 LX 5.0 vert '99 GT 35th Anniversery Edition - Silver Mods to date - Relocated trunk release to drivers side, shortened throttle cable, PIAA Driving lights.
Boy, I'd be real leery about doing that.
When it's even slightly cold here, if I put the top down, I have to just about "hang" on it to get it to latch. it would suck for it to be that way all the time.
New tops don't cost too much anyway, don't worry about it. When it
The Labor to install them though IS EXPENSIVE!
Not where I live.
C8oe
I think that if you leave it unlatched, it will cause shrinkage and make the top more prone to ripping. Ford has a lousy vinyl top, period.
There was a guy in the group a while back that left his top unlatched while the car was in storage, he couldn't get it to close again.
Kate
98 Cobra Drop Top with a personal touch.. or two
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Yea. a top can be had for about $500 but the install is another $500-600 if you have it done by a good shop.
| > C8oe | | The Labor to install them though IS EXPENSIVE! | |
and that would be... where?
I ordered my top from Mustangs Unlimited ($260) and paid $400 to have it installed.
When my wife buys me that garage she promised me, I'll look into having a top custom-made in light grey (to match the titanium undercladding). The MU catalog lists only black, white, or tan...
dwight
You might try this site.
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of color choices. I ordered a top this past week. BTW install time willbe about 8 hours. Replacement cost for the 94-03 was $116.00 for the Haartz Pinpoint Vinyl top.
Kate, you're the queen of replacing tops, when it's time for my top to be replaced, I want to get rid of the tan top and replace it with a black top - what manufacturer makes the best top (2002 GT).
Thanks.
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