XJS Cabriolet Tonneau Cover – Remanufactured

Started 8th July 2017 at 03:10 · Martin Ball

📷 No photo added

Dear All, I am in the process of having a Tonneau Cover manufactured for my XJSC. I have borrowed one from a forum member and it is with the auto trimmers now for a copy to be made. I have a question about fitting. The cover has a strip of velco along the boot side of the cover. I see my soft top is held down partially by mating the velco on the soft top to the car strip. Presumably I have to pull up the soft top along the boot, fit the cover and then press down along the velco. Is that right? I hope that makes sense ‘cos its not clear in my mind how to secure it. Many thanks in advance, Regards
Martin

Author

Replies
- 8th July 2017 at 13:45 #5951
  
  Alex Finlay
  Participant
  
  Yep, that’s basically it. There should also be a few press studs that it clips on to. The position of these vary a bit from car to car so you should have the auto trimmer match the position up to your car rather than the borrowed cover unless you know for sure it fits your car correctly.
- 9th July 2017 at 01:23 #5953
  
  Martin Ball
  Participant
  
  Thanks, that is really good advice
  
  Regards
  Martin
- 9th July 2017 at 11:57 #5956
  
  Laurence Jones
  Keymaster
  
  Might be worth noting. I have two different Tonneau covers.
  
  One has the Velcro strip around the boot edge, but nothing on the inside of the car edge (no Velcro and no poppers). When fitted this tends to allow wind to get up under the Tonneau cover on the inside of the car edge, so I intend to fit female poppers on that edge myself (if I can find suitable that mate with the male studs).
  
  The other has no Velcro strip, but has poppers on the boot edge and the inside of the car edge.
  
  If you follow Alex’s note above, you’d end up with best of both worlds – Velcro around the boot edge and poppers on the inside of the car.
  
  Laurence
- 9th July 2017 at 21:55 #5970
  
  Mark Thorley
  Participant
  
  Laurence, in my experience the new material can slightly shrink after a few months due to general weather conditions, washing/drying out etc etc so I would maybe allow for that when it’s been made. My tonneau cover is quite tight and aligning the poppers can be a tricky affair, then again my cover has seen decades of use
- 9th July 2017 at 22:26 #5979
  
  Laurence Jones
  Keymaster
  
  Hi Mark Thorley that’s a good point about fabric shrinking. Martin Ball trimmers are probably aware of that fact but it might be worth him mentioning it to them.
  
  Cheers,
  
  Laurence
- 10th July 2017 at 09:42 #6005
  
  Martin Ball
  Participant
  
  Laurence, thanks for that. Two types – didn’t expect that. The one I have to copy has the velco and my original post was working out how to fit that onto my car. Can I ask a favour, could you photo the two covers you have front and back and I’ll compare with my car and the one have to copy. I am hoping to avoid a future problem here. Many thanks
  Martin
- 11th July 2017 at 06:27 #6056
  
  Laurence Jones
  Keymaster
  
  Hi Martin,
  
  I will do that tonight for you
  
  Laurence
- 12th July 2017 at 22:16 #6159
  
  Laurence Jones
  Keymaster
  
  Hi Martin Ball ( @ball )
  
  Here are a couple of photos of the my Tonneau Cover fitted that doesn’t have any poppers – it just has Velcro on the boot side and nothing to clip the cabin side down
- 12th July 2017 at 22:34 #6164
  
  Martin Ball
  Participant
  
  Thanks Laurence,
  
  My car has five popper studs along the the top of the panel above the parcel shelf. The top I am having copied has the poppers. What I don’t get is the velco. When you put the soft top down do you pull up the soft top velco alng the top of the boot and tuck it somewhere so there is velco on the car that mates with the soft velco on the cover.
  
  Thanks for the guidance here. Regards Martin
- 12th July 2017 at 22:45 #6166
  
  Laurence Jones
  Keymaster
  
  Hi Martin Ball ( @ball )
  
  The bottom of the hood itself is fixed to the car by 8 – 10 flat head bolts spread around its perimeter. All around this perimeter is Velcro, which has the visible part of the hood itself stuck to it when you’re not using the cover – hides the bolts 🙂
  
  When you want to make things nice and neat by using the cover, you simply go around the bottom perimeter of the hood pealing back the Velcro and folding the visible part of the hood (that had be stuck to it) back on itself – by back on itself I mean in such a way that you’d see the male part of the Velcro strip and the female part of the strip one above the other all the way around – or another way to describe it would be that the bottom 2″ of the visible part of the hood is turned back on itself so it shows the Velcro strip.
  
  Then you pop on the poppers on the cabin side, and pull the soft Tonneau cover down over the outside edge and push down on the Velcro – and you end up with a nice neat car.
  
  I’ll take a picture tomorrow.
  
  Laurence
- 13th July 2017 at 09:42 #6177
  
  Martin Ball
  Participant
  
  Thanks Lawrence
  
  I reckon I’ve got it now. Yes, the car has the hex head bolts and I understand the need to folder the soft top back to expose the velco for the cover to mate to. Thanks for the patience here. I have waited long enough for a black one to come up on ebay, time to act. The next project is the cruise control 🙂 Regards
  Martin
- 13th August 2017 at 02:19 #7191
  
  Martin Ball
  Participant
  
  Thanks to Greg in the Forum I was able to borrow a XJSC Tonneau top and had a copy made last week with a very pleasing result. I’ll post a photo on the photo site. Regards Martin
- 13th August 2017 at 23:07 #7206
  
  Laurence Jones
  Keymaster
  
  That looks really neat and tidy Martin Ball
  
  Result 🙂
- 14th August 2017 at 18:32 #7236
  
  John Bleasdale
  Participant
  
  Interesting thread until today as far as I was aware all hood covers were the same, Yet although Martin says his was made from one borrowed & used as a pattern something looks wrong, Compare the following photos & see if you can see what I mean. It looks as though the hood has not been folded correctly only last weekend Bryan had to show a lady who has owned her Cabriolet for 20 years how to fold it & her cover fitted perfectly for the first time in 20 years.
  
  Photo 871 does not exist
- 1st September 2017 at 22:03 #7684
  
  Steven Foster
  Participant
  
  Reading this thread with interest. What cost was involved making this cover?
  Cheers
  Steve
- 3rd September 2017 at 12:47 #7704
  
  Martin Ball
  Participant
  
  Hi Steve
  
  It cost A$440. It took just over 4 hours to make
  
  Regards
  Martin
Author

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