[alfa] Re: Tops (NAC)

[George Graves <gmgraves@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I once had a magnificent old Jaguar XK-140 roadster. While the car was
a blast to drive (when it would run), the top was the most miserable
rag I have EVER encountered.

1) The frame dwelt in the trunk - in two pieces, when not in use.

2) By the time you put it together and erected it, you were already
drenched by the downpour, and it STILL isn't finished.

3) The folded top was in the trunk as well, along with the
side-curtains (a primitive form of window) and is yet to be erected.
Meanwhile the rain pours on.

4) If you have someone else in the car with you, it is POSSIBLE to put
the top on the car, but your passenger is likewise soaked to the skin.
Better hope that this isn't a first date, because I assure you, there
won't be a second. And if it's just you trying to erect the top - well,
good luck.

5) After the top is stretched over the frame and fastened to the car,
and the side curtains are slotted into place and screwed down, the car
suddenly is uglier than a clapped-out Borgward Isabella. I simply
cannot imagine the designers of this car standing around looking at the
car with the top up and saying "yeah, that's what we were looking for."
But then, some British board of directors OK'd the design of the
Daimler roadster too. And it's ugly with the top down!

6) As you and your passenger sit soaking wet and steaming in the now
buttoned-up 140, it dawns on you that for all that effort, the
worthless rag has done nothing to stop the wind and rain from entering
the cockpit. As you drive off, the top starts to thrum so loudly that
you can't hear yourself think. Most Jag owners never put the ridiculous
thing up. What happened when it rained? The same thing that happened
WITH the top up, you got wet.

How does that compare with a recalcitrant Giulietta Spider top? At
least the Alfa top went up fairly quickly, fit tightly, and with the
windows rolled-up was fairly snug against the onslaught of the elements
- even if the demister did barely work. Oh, that's another thing about
the Jag. The demister didn't  demist, I mean.

George Graves
'86 GTV-6 3.0 'S'





On Nov 20, 2004, at 11:09 AM, alfa-digest wrote:

> Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2004 15:08:15 -0800
> From: Will Owen <nashwill912@domain.elided>
> Subject: [alfa] Tops (NAC)
>
> George Graves writ thus:
>
> "He-he. You've obviously never erected a top on the competition. Try a
> 50's Healey top, or a TR3, or a Jag XK140 top. Compared to one of
> those, the Alfa top is a dream come true."
>
> A friend and I were printing some brochures in a fourth-floor office
> in Anchorage one fine summer Saturday, when we heard a whooshing noise
> outside. Looked out over the parking lot, where his Healey 100-Six sat
> with its top down, just as the skies opened. We ran madly down the
> stairs and across the street and started building the damn top...and
> of course the second we finished the rain stopped, the clouds parted,
> and a nice little collection of puddles glimmered from each seat and
> footwell.
>
> Will Owen
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