Parrish Hard-Top

[jamesw]

I recently obtained a Parrish hard-top for my '69. It's orange, and a complete wreck, but I contacted Parrish/Smoothline and ordered a new rear window and seals for it, so I'm "all in."

Question: what is the best way to do the rear "latches" for the top? Any feedback or pictures from folks that have them appreciated.

I intend to do some gel-coat repair on the top, and have it painted the same color as my car. It's a SWEET looking top. Wish me luck.

James

[notoptoy]

Good luck!
My top has eye hook bolts just behind the doors on either side that go into the Soft Top tensioner brackets. I had posted a picture of this a long time ago in response to a request, so you might be able to search on the topic and find pics. I of course don't have a Parrish top so it might not apply.
I am jealous, those are by far the best looking hardtops for these cars.

[Alvin]

parrish top:





Eddie's

tom's

HARD TOP BACK HOLD DOWN.JPG

http://www.311s.org/phpBB3/download/fil ... &mode=view" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jamesw]

Thanks guys!

Cheers
James

[Natenate4s]

That top is sweet!! Good luck with it.

[Datsun.David]

Anybody ever tried to peel/sand otherwise separate the rubber/vinyl off of the usual suspect hardtops to get a fibreglass surface that could be sanded smooth?

[greydog]

I haven't but....
I have an old porthole top that is in very rough shape. Someone drilled holes for eyebolts where the front latches should be. When I removed the eyebolts and rotten silicone, I remember that the textured surface appeared to be directly bonded to the mat surface with little or no gel coat between.
I concluded that I might be able to grind off the outer coating (might help to freeze it with dry ice) but once removed, I'd have quite a job of trying to smooth the surface and cover with either epoxy or polyester resin. Didn't seem worth it to me.

[Datsun.David]

Good information... I was wondering how the vinyl was attached/bonded. Having said that, I wonder if you could sand the vinyl smooth? I have an inexpensive top coming my way, but I will need a tonne of work to get it up to standard with the 67.5... But it would be cool to have a smooth colour matched top...

dw

[fixitman04]

i would love to get a hold of a parrish top for the purpose of making a mold..... especially one in poor condition, so i have no worries about damage...

[shifty]

The tops I have seen are textured and not covered in vinyl. The texture is the outer surface of the top.

I saw a top that was smoothed by sanding and bondo - it was very heavy!

[jamesw]

I spoke w/ Smoothline and the reason they don't offer the low windshield top anymore is that they were not able to obtain the mold from Parrish. They use a female form to lay up the fiberglass.

If someone were to send them a low windshield Parrish top they could use it to make another female form.

I think the bumps on the other brands of hard-top are cast into the gel-coat.

Cheers
James

[68DSU]

I think the bumps on the other brands of hard-top are cast into the gel-coat.

Cheers
James

Mine is. Way back when I was lazy/in a hurry and didn't use the bolts on the side, the front latches popped and the top caught air. It went up like a big sail and when it made contact with the pavement, it "sanded" a bit so I could see that leatherish bit is cast right into the top.

[pebbles]

Good information... I was wondering how the vinyl was attached/bonded. Having said that, I wonder if you could sand the vinyl smooth? I have an inexpensive top coming my way, but I will need a tonne of work to get it up to standard with the 67.5... But it would be cool to have a smooth colour matched top...

dw

not an expert, but the glass feels very thin. Interior has gelcoat, exterior not.
I am going to "test" an out of the way spot. As mentioned, the faux vinyl is molded.
I am thinking about sanding half the Faux depth and filling half, trying to retain density/thickness. if all was sanded, it would be terribly thin, or worse, holes.
just thinking out loud.

[Datsun.David]

Pebbles,

That is exactly what I was thinking... My old top was textured and it appeared that with persistence you might be able to peel the outer layer. It had scratched through in a couple of places... But I think sanding might be the way to go...

Are you going first or am I?

Think how great it would be if we had a definitive answer to this question... Imagine how many crappy old tops would get revitalized!

dw

[Linda]

Way back when I was lazy/in a hurry and didn't use the bolts on the side, the front latches popped and the top caught air. It went up like a big sail and when it made contact with the pavement, it "sanded" a bit so I could see that leatherish bit is cast right into the top.

That happened to me too. I was driving the car when I first got it, had the top on but it had no clamps. My friend said it would be fine, we'd go slow on residential streets, only about a mile to travel, and he would follow me. Top blew off like a canopy off a jet! No damage and my friend was laughing his butt off.

Linda