Lee Janssen's TR6 - Surrey Top

Surrey Top

The surrey top on my TR6 was obtained from various sources. The frame is a fiberglass reproduction from Revington TR and was imported from England. The glass and fittings (including soft top) were obtained from The Roadster Factory.
Note: as of Sept 2007 it appears that Revinton TR no longer stocks the frame.

The original units had an aluminum frame and either a steel or aluminum hard top. The hard top is really a pain because once removed it is too large for the trunk. The original units are rare and usually sell for about $1200 or more.

The reproduction units run about $1200 outfitted with the soft top (hard tops are no longer available). The surrey top was fitted to the TR4 and TR250 but was not an option for the TR6 even though the tubs are identical for all cars.

Conversion Steps

• The complete conversion from TR6 soft top to surrey soft top can be summarized as follows:
• If you are working with a fiberglass reproduction don't bother with painting or installing the glass yet...
• Remove the existing soft top from TR6. This includes all bolts and mounting hardware from the tub surround.
• Remove the aluminum trim from the top of the windshield.
• install the aluminum trim from a TR4 (still available). There should be a gap between the windshield frame and this trim. This gap must be wide enough to admit the leading edge of the soft top (super important)! If you gap is too small (and most are) simply use some non-hardening weather strip caulk (from your local hardware store) to adjust the gap. I used a large quantity of this caulk to seal the trim and provide the correct gap. Remember that when you set the rivets the gap will squeeze down a bit. The gap needs to be wide enough to easily insert the soft top but tight enough to prevent the metal strip from rotating a lot.
• Remove the aluminum trim from the top of the B post.
• Position the surrey top on the car. At this point the rear studs should align with the holes used by the soft top rear mounting stiffener. If not you need to expand or redrill the holes so the studs will go through the body shell.
• The front of the surrey top is held in place with a stud that attaches to the top of the B post (rear door frame). Threads for the studs were normally located on the TR4s and 250s but were not installed on the TR6.
• Install the studs in a manner that best suits your personality. I used a center tap to "drill" a hole through the top of the B post, expanded the hole to an approximate diameter and then threaded the hole.
• Install the surrey frame via the two front studs and the five rear studs. This took a fair amount of time to get the holes and the bolts correctly aligned. Take your time and if you get frustrated take a break :)
• If you are installing a soft top on a fiberglass frame you must drill the holes now. Initially I simply drilled two holes in the fiberglass that was the same size as the soft top frame. These holes were located about 1 inch outside of the holes that are used to attach the hard top. Eventually I decided I didn't like the fit so I redrilled the holes to 1/2 inch in diameter (this removed some material from the underside of the frame). I then expoxied in place thin wall fiberglass tubes that extend about 1/2 of and inch forward of the frame. This gives me a good surface for the adjusting nut to fit against and also provides better lateral support for the end of the frame. All of this fitting had to be done with the surrey top on the car to ensure the frame fit correctly.
• With the soft top frame in place determine where the 6 snaps should go. Two should be on the front trim, two goes on the edges of the bow frame and two fit on the rear glass frame. There is very little room on the front frame and I really had to play with them to get them to look right.
• If you didn't finish the top yet do that now that all of the holes are drilled and the fit is correct.
• Install the rubber moulding that goes around the bottom of the top and tighten down the nuts.
• Install the surrey soft top frame (still available and specially designed for the surrey top).
• Install the soft top(still available and specially designed for the surrey top). I glued the rear seal of the soft top to the metal strip that hold it in place. If you don't the seal will slide and the rear seam will stick up like a duck tail.
• Install the fuzzy strip around the frame. Call me an I'll measure how much you need.
• DONE.

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