Posted by Chris Davis - UT on Tuesday, July 04, 2006 at 1:52AM :
In Reply to: Congrats and a question posted by Bob in N. GA on Monday, July 03, 2006 at 7:06PM :
First, thanks for the kind words on the WC51 and WC53. It's nice to have the work noted by by fellow collectors/restorers.
As for the WC53 soft top...
How did I rig it? I picked up foam pipe insulation tubes from Home Depot and lined the opening with them to prevent wear of the canvas on the sharp bits of roof. See:
http://www.surplustrucks.com/wc53/Assets/Top2a.jpg
I installed a piece of rope channel (or "c" channel) a couple inches ahead of the opening and had the canvas top made to fit with a couple inches overlap. I had straps sewn on the canvas top, three on each side and back and installed footman loops to match just above the windows.
Where did the idea come from... My own creation, nothing I had seen done by anyone else I recall anyway. I lived in Southern California at the time and felt it a shame to close off that big sunroof when the weather was perfect for it 350 days a year. :)
Was it weather tight? Not in heavy rain... but I think it would have been if I had just made the canvas a couple inches bigger all the way around. It leaked because it was trimmed too close to the opening.
Hope that helps... I liked the system a lot and will do it again if I ever restore another Carryall.
Chris
Follow Ups: