[millstoneman]

I am having great difficulty getting my hard top (orig Pininfarina top) to fit the body contours of the car, and where it rests on the windshield. I'm curious if 1958 spiders were partially hand made at this point? This may explain the misfit. I have a 1/2inch gap at the center of the windshield when resting the hard top on the car. Also some gaps where it meets the body. I am trying to customize the gasket (it is correct gasket from Matt Jones) by shaving the width where the channel is narrower, and depth which varies considerably in the gasket channel, at the body to hard top contact point. As far as the windshield contact point, I guess the only thing to do is shim the gasket where needed. Any one else out there having the same issues? Thanks, Jon

 

[AlfistiSA]

Jon all the Spiders were hand made, the good news is Pininfarina's creation evolved a lot less than Bertone's Sprint. Back in the day if you ordered a Spider with a hard top, that hard top was matched to the car by Pininfarina. Hard tops ordered separately had to be fitted by a body shop & it would have required quite a lot of work to get them to fit. So yes yours will require serious fiddlling & fettling to get it to sit snugly on the top of the screen.

A 1/2 inch gap in the middle sounds like there's a chance your screen isn't perfectly seated on the dashboard deck - how is the fit of the side window angle to the screen angle ?? If you raise the rear of the hard top, how high do you need to lift it before the front mates evenly with the screen top ??

Often during restorations the screen post holes get filled with paint & sometimes a scraping of filler, this needs to be completely removed so the taper pin of the screen frame will seat into the tapered slot in the dash top. The good news is that the screens are relatively easy to get off with 2 people. I use a wire brush on a battery drill & then a little grease in the tapered hole to prevent rust before I step the screen back as a unit - Tip: Measure from the top center of your screen back to the middle of the rear deck bar before & after & if the measurement changes you know you that the screen has seated properly. You only need a miniscule lean back to make a big difference on top fitment

Of course this would upset your current soft top fitment too, so better check that well first

Aye
Greig

 

[millstoneman]

Jon all the Spiders were hand made, the good news is Pininfarina's creation evolved a lot less than Bertone's Sprint. Back in the day if you ordered a Spider with a hard top, that hard top was matched to the car by Pininfarina. Hard tops ordered separately had to be fitted by a body shop & it would have required quite a lot of work to get them to fit. So yes yours will require serious fiddlling & fettling to get it to sit snugly on the top of the screen.

A 1/2 inch gap in the middle sounds like there's a chance your screen isn't perfectly seated on the dashboard deck - how is the fit of the side window angle to the screen angle ?? If you raise the rear of the hard top, how high do you need to lift it before the front mates evenly with the screen top ??

Often during restorations the screen post holes get filled with paint & sometimes a scraping of filler, this needs to be completely removed so the taper pin of the screen frame will seat into the tapered slot in the dash top. The good news is that the screens are relatively easy to get off with 2 people. I use a wire brush on a battery drill & then a little grease in the tapered hole to prevent rust before I step the screen back as a unit - Tip: Measure from the top center of your screen back to the middle of the rear deck bar before & after & if the measurement changes you know you that the screen has seated properly. You only need a miniscule lean back to make a big difference on top fitment

Of course this would upset your current soft top fitment too, so better check that well first

Aye
Greig

Greig, Thanks so much for that bit of knowledge! My windshield is seated properly and because I believe the hardtop was destined for another car, that would explain the gaps. I am just going to have to be creative with removing material and adding rubber shim material to the gaskets. Again, thank you. Jono

 

[Gordon Raymond]

The hard tops for both 750 and 101 cars were hand formed by PF panel beaters. No two are exactly alike. As Greig mentioned, if a car was ordered with a top, that top was fitted to that chassis. It may or may not fit another. Many years ago (50+) the owner of a grey' 64 build 101 Normale ordered a top for the car from Knauz Continental Alfa. Delivered, it did not fit. The second owner of that car offered to sell me the unused top, but I could not afford it. 30 years later, our paths crossed again, and I bought the top with storage dings because it was a late 101PF top that matched the build period of my car. It did not fit my 65 Spider Veloce either.
I had done some work for McCabe Automotive Restorations, a vintage Ferrari body shop and had watched them fit PF hardtops to 250 Ferrari's that were not originally fitted with the top now owned. I had them fit my '65 PF 101 Spider top to my car, maintaining the storage patina of the 50+ year old top.

It was not a simple job.

 

[Barn101]

Beautiful. Great grab in the second try!

 

[Gordon Raymond]

I needed it. I've owned that one from new. Still unrestored and regularly driven.