A top boot cover at last…

The cabriolet now has a top well boot cover, courtesy of John Gagnon of Lyman, ME. He did a great job of custom making a cover, including pouches to hold the side rails and boot when they are not in use. This completes the car. Here's a picture of John when we picked it up at 7:30 this morning:



The big question on this project is where did the fasteners go, and how many of them were there? I have a factory photograph that shows the rear (outside) snaps. There are only six of these, two on each side and four across the back. It was the inside (front edge) snaps that were very confusing.

Here's the back:



A 1935 cabrio that I believe to be original had 4 snaps along the rear edge of the rear shelf, but since the top lays over this section of the shelf when down it made no sense to have them there. You'd have to snap the cover on, then put the top down. The resulting pouch would likely blow in the wind.

John Shore in PA has a 1936 Buick. Since it has the same body and top assembly, it seemed likely that the snap pattern would be the same. As it happens, it is not, at least not on the outside (rear) edge, but both his car and Gary Schuck's '36 Pontiac have snaps along the front vertical edge of the rear shelf. That seems the most logical place for them, so that's how I had it done: four snaps along the shelf edge and one on the corner of the "elbow" in which the top irons fit. Who knows what "factory corrrect" was - maybe it varied by whomever was doing the car – but it's practical and looks good, which is all I need.

Here's how we did the inside snaps. Note the one on the corner:



And here's a shot of the finished product:



It really gives it a finished touch. Still some bugs to shake out of it, but all in all it turned out to be a fine car. I am really pleased with the power it has and how well it handles on the road. It cruises at 55-60 effortlessly and steers/handles quite well.