That’s definitely cheating! Fun though.

Great stuff! Did you drive to Spain? How was that?!

Thanks, good to know. I got my hood from Exmoor in a pre Christmas sale and from what I can see it’s very high quality. I used their bikini hood during the summer and was very happy with that. Just got to sort the metal bits and put it all together!

Thanks. This is interesting, and makes sense, given Exmoor’s core products. What’s curious is that the Britpart items I need are about 48hr lead time, Exmoor stuff is all 6-8 weeks because it’s “made to order” Perhaps Exmoor are using a small local supplier for the metalwork, so they can supply...

This video shows the fitting process and so helps identify the parts you need.

Yes. You need front and rear hoops, side rails, over door channels, screen rail, corner braces, rope ties. Etc. All the parts are available from Rimmer, Craddock etc, either as kits or separate parts. By the time you’ve bought a canvas and metalwork you are looking at ~£700-800. Canvas can be...

Thanks @flat! I know which bits I need, but appreciate your offer.

Hi All, and happy New Year. After my summer experiment with a bikini top I’m going all out for a full canvas. Got the hood at Christmas from Exmoor, now sourcing parts for the frame. Basically, price difference between Exmoor and Britpart items amounts to £30. Britparts are available almost...

hi folks I’m looking for parts to complete a hood stick set for my Series 3 88inch Needed: Rear hoop Side tie bars Middle hoop Left and right over door drain channels Left and right side door channels Thanks

Thanks, that’s a useful point of comparison. Fingers crossed.

First run with the patch on seems to have gone ok. I left it 24 hrs to set up. Then 12 hours with some fuel in the tank and a clean rag underneath to test for drips. No drips and no seepage. First drive went fine. I’ll be keeping a very close eye on it and I’m still fairly sure there is a new...

Thank you for the clarification about the number of expected explosions...;-) I’ve heard lots of horror stories about using heat/soldering/brazing/welding fuel tanks. It’s frustrating - my welder is 4 feet away and would deal with the problem in .5 seconds. Granted, there would likely be a...

Thanks @Rodeo Joe. I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. I’ve got and applied gunge: We shall see whether it works. It seems a lot like JB Weld, but thicker.

@Rodeo Joe - won’t fit? Aren’t the new tanks just patterned on the old ones? What am I missing here?

Thanks everyone for the input. I’m going to try a fix with some sort of gunge. I’m working on the basis that I’ll be replacing the tank but it’s worth trying as well as getting the experience of whether a fix is doable.

Opened the garage this morning. Strong fuel smell. I see some bubbled paint on the fuel tank. I wipe with a rag. Paint comes away and a pinhole is revealed - and starts a stream of fuel out of the tank. I’ve drained the tank (petrol). The hole is tiny -literally a pinhole. Do I use some fuel...

Totally agree on side windows! Lovely photos on IG. Your “ejector seats” toggle made me laugh

Yes, you aren’t the first to say that you wouldn’t go back to the HT. I guess it also gives lots of options in terms of having the sides rolled up or down etc. Is yours with side windows or not? One other side benefit of a full tilt or bikini is that it means you have the fold down tailgate...

An update on this experience: I finally put the hardtop back on yesterday, concluding that the weather was getting cold enough. Overall - I’ve really enjoyed the open top experience. It’s just a lot of simple fun. Driving at night under a clear sky is very special. It’s made the really hot...

Great! Post a pic? It seems to me that it would be quite possible to have the full tilt on with the back and sides rolled up, just using two hoops and the shark rail. The cab rails are just for waterproofing and shape as far as I understand. But they slow the tilt removal as it has to be tucked...