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Does anyone have any pictures of the Sportster tonneau? I just received mine from Marlin and there doesn't seem to be any cut-out at the back to take into account the roll bar. I could just be being a bit thick but there are no instructions for fitting which doesn't help.
Also the centre zip is fitted at an angle so that it starts at the centre at the back and then angles towards the drivers side. By the time it reaches the front the panel is only about 12 inches wide. (I will post a picture later) I am sure there is a reason for this but I can't think what at the moment.
On the plus side it looks well made and is supplied with good fixings (lift-the-dot rather than the cheaper press stud things you sometimes get)
Not sure if these are Marlin supplied?
I guess the angle is to keep as much covered as possible.
I expect you have to cut your own roll bar holes to suit.
I've got some pictures of another car but it has the zip straight down the middle so suspect it's not a Marlin one.
...peter
The Marlin Tonneau looks like the one on the red car. It's in three parts with the centre zip offset towards the driver at the front. (Mine doesn't have the headrest pods) I spoke to Terry and she confirmed it should have cutouts for the roll bar. Marlin have the covers made by a 3rd party so it's not really their fault other than perhaps they should have checked it before it was sent out.
Apparently Marlin are now away for two weeks so they have given me the name of a contact at their supplier so I can try and get it sorted.
Personally I wouldn't want to make the roll bar cutouts myself. The material has to be reinforced by being doubled up and stitched - not really a DIY job. I spoke directly to the manufacturer and they said to send it back directly to them - which I have done. It will be interesting to see the results....
When I spoke to Lang & Potter (who make the Tonneau) they told me that they had the pattern for the cutouts - but their seemed to be some confusion between them and Marlin as to if they were standard.
Hmmmm.......
Robin
PS - I beleive that there is a tool that you can buy to fit the bits to the tonneaue - but it is expensive.
Still at L & P having the roll bar cut-outs made. Supposed to get it back by tomorrow but I am not holding my breath. Fortunately I haven't paid for it yet....
I will post up some pictures once it has returned.
Still at L & P having the roll bar cut-outs made. Supposed to get it back by tomorrow but I am not holding my breath. Fortunately I haven't paid for it yet....
I will post up some pictures once it has returned.
Robin
Actually, they were pretty fast getting me my right size hood so you may be surprised!
When fitting the "Lift the dot" fixings on your hood did you use the special tool - or did you improvise?
Robin
I tried to find someone with the tool to borrow but no luck.
I used a hollow ground hole punch for the holes (you get some pretty cheap sets off ebay) and then I sacrificed one of the fixings. If you put a block of wood behind and hit it with a small hammer the tabs will pierce the material. Use the end grain of the block of wood as its softer. Then replace with a new one and bend the tabs over with a pair of long nose pliers. A bit time consuming but quite easy once you get going. I've got some spare fixings if you need any extra.
I tried to find someone with the tool to borrow but no luck.
I used a hollow ground hole punch for the holes (you get some pretty cheap sets off ebay) and then I sacrificed one of the fixings. If you put a block of wood behind and hit it with a small hammer the tabs will pierce the material. Use the end grain of the block of wood as its softer. Then replace with a new one and bend the tabs over with a pair of long nose pliers. A bit time consuming but quite easy once you get going. I've got some spare fixings if you need any extra.
...peter
Great idea! Fitting has come to a halt at the moment though. I don't know why - but the cut outs for the roll bar are - err - in the wrong place. Hmm....
After a number of delays (long story) I now have a tonneau that I can fit.
Can anyone tell me which way up the base of the lift-the-dot fastner goes? (I mean the fastener that fits to the material - not the stud) It is slightly concave and has four little pressed out areas. I assumed that the pressed out bits are positioned towards the material thus offering more grip. But now I have fitted a couple I am not so sure. Does anyone know?
After a number of delays (long story) I now have a tonneau that I can fit.
Can anyone tell me which way up the base of the lift-the-dot fastner goes? (I mean the fastener that fits to the material - not the stud) It is slightly concave and has four little pressed out areas. I assumed that the pressed out bits are positioned towards the material thus offering more grip. But now I have fitted a couple I am not so sure. Does anyone know?
Cheers
Robin
Hi Robin, glad you got your new tonneau. I think I fiitted mine the other way round with the concave side towards the material. No idea which is correct as i've never seen any instructions for these. It just seemed neater that way to me.
...peter
I asked Woolies (well I did buy some there 20 years ago when I built my last kit car...) They confirmed that it should be as Peter suggested - concave side towards the material.
Well the tonneau fitting is almost complete. (Pictures tomorrow) It's been pretty tricky to fit and in the end I have come to the conclusion that it would have been better to go to a local coachtrimmer and had one made to measure.
The problem is that, as Marlin leave the body fitting to the builder, each car is slightly different. After struggling to get the tonneau to fit satisfactorily (it seemed to fit fine one side but not the other) I carefully eyeballed the rear body section. And - I found that it it is not quite square - only about 6mm out - not enough to even notice - but enough to make fitting the tonneau difficult.
I suspect the problem stems from when I had to remove the plates on which the door catches mount. These are the only thing that locate the rear body so that it is square with the chassis. Of course I fitted the new plates so that they lined up with the doors - not thinking about the consequences of mounting the rear tub. I also suspect that rear tub is also not quite symetrical.
So my advice - if you intend to fit the Marlin tonneau make sure your body is a 100% perfect fit first!
My hood fitting is not symmetrical either.
With a hood you have the added dimension of the position of the hood sticks.
I couldn't figure out if it was the chassis, bodywork, hood stick mounting, position/angle of the windscreen or the hood?
The good thing about a hood is it's bloody difficult to see both sides at the same time, so its generally only me that can see the diffrence
I am actually quite pleased as it was the first hood I had fitted and I reckon its as good as Marlin's own fitting.
As you know I don't have a hood but I did try to fit my tub scientifically using a tape measure. I gave up pretty quickly as both the chassis and the tub are not symmetrical, so I would guess that will translate into a wonky hood as well!
How frustrating! 