Call me foolish, but I decided, after going through a new vinyl roof in two years, that I could have a go at making my own roof out of fancy cabriolet canvas. After four days, much swearing and very sore thumbs (from pushing the rear window rubber back in), I seem to have something that I'm very pleased with ... EXCEPT, when trying to put the new roof on, I'm struggling to locate the rear window correctly with respect to the rear gutter bar and the body cross member ... the window tabs got bent out of shape and I'm not sure how they're meant to be; should the upper tab be straight or bent? Does the gutter bar sit slightly in front of or behind the rear window frame?

I wonder if anyone might be able to take a couple of snaps for me of their 2CV from the inside showing the rear window tab entering the upper cross member and the rear window frame where it meets the gutter?

Thanks all and one for your time!

PS If anyone would like to know more about my process of creation, I'm happy to share ... I took detailed photos of the dismantling process, but have no shots of the creation (because I simply did the dismantling in reverse!).

start a thread, it sounds quite interesting!!

you could try ringing someone like ecas, or matts soft tops, asking about the tabs, but im sure many people on here will be able to tell you!

I wouldn't mind a 'how to make a roof' thread!

I have thought about giving it a try. It would be useful to have
a 'howto' posted.

All the best

I've thought about this too so a 'how to' would be great. Also some info on what type of material was used, how much and where from, that kind of stuff would be very helpful.

old hood taken apart to make a pattern
rivets for roof bars ..crushable rivets from saddlers
normal bungee chord from ships chandlers and even BnQ
pu coated canvas , tarpaulin material etc ....google

contact adhesive for the rear frame and even the sides but i was planning on stitching

Sean

Well, here's a pic of the finished job, but the process was rather as Sean said (ie carefully dismantle the old hood and use it as a pattern), except I also used the cords from the old hood.

I also took copious photos of the dismantling process so I was sure about how to recreate it.

One thing I did find is that, despite meticulous measuring, the new hood is very tight, and I think this is because it's hard to glue the fabric round the end rods as tight as the previous hood was - maybe this will stretch out in time, although the cabriolet canvas I used does not seem to have much give. So if I were to repeat the exercise, I would allow an extra couple of centimeters in total length.

I bought the fabric from a warehouse (in Hungary!) that supplies parts to manufacturing industries; it wasn't cheap, cost me £85. The glue was a very smelly rubber based impact adhesive ... I was worried about stitching it as I thought this might compromise its waterproofness.

The only other thing I bought was a little rivet gun thing for a fiver.

The toughest part, by far, was massaging the centre of the window rubber back into place.

When gluing the sides down I tied strong string to the ends of the cords, so they weren't under any tension, and then, when everything was cut and dried , I could simply pull on the strings to drag the cords through.

If anyone has any specific questions, I'm happy to answer them.

If you'd like to see the dismantling photos I can put them up, but I'm afraid I didn't take any of the creation phase ... I was concentrating too hard!!

wow! thats amazing, very proffesional!

it doesnt look too tight, although id be concerned on it wearing on the bars where its so tight, but if it gives in time that shouldnt be an issue!

ps did you reverse into a post of some description?

That does look very nice indeed. There is a special trim tool to aid the rear window fitting by the way.

There's obviously no getting past your eagle eyes James ... yes, that's exactly what I did!!