Thanks (or because of) Smartin who immediately identified on my pics that I was missing a bow (#2) on my Centurion, my life became a nightmare. (otherwise, I would have lived happy with one bow less, and sure nobody in France wold have noticed !!!) .:Brow: I am planning to order a set of new parts for putting this damn bow back, but before I order, could some body help me on the following: Assuming that there is nothing left on my top that indicates there was a #2 bow, except the holes I can feel when slipping a finger between the arm and the vinyl, and a reenforcement of the vinyl where the bow should fit, what is the exact list of parts I need for installing back this :blast: bow ?.?o No: I well understand that there is the bow itself, and two pivots. Certainly screws, nuts, and bolts. But I have red on this forum (or elsewhere ?) that something must be attached to the side cables. Is that correct ? If yes, what parts are required ? Thanks
there is a "hold down" or "tension" cable running down each side on the top. this is a pic of the frame in general ...part number 3 is the bow you are missing... here is a primer course on the ball joints and why you need them and the second bow. the bow is mounted to the ball joint at the end of a sorta flat piece of metal about 12 inches long.the flat metal piece is held to the topframe with a single nut that allows the flat metal to pivot as the top frame folds inward, keeping the ball joint/second bow/ and top material in their proper place as the top is lowered ........ then they pivot back to their original place as the top is raised......it all sounds confusing but they are easy to install. and once installed, you will see/understand exactly how it all works when you buy new ones they have clear instructions. takes about 15 minutes to install them. dont buy used ones, since most are worn out.
now lets talk about those cables ... this pic shows you the route that the hold down cable takes. they hook to the top frame in the trunk and run through a little tunnel made into edge of the top until the reach the front bow where they screw to the front bow. BUT... along the way to the front of the car, each cable passes by the second bow (view U). the tension cable has an extra eyelet the needs to be screwed to the second bow. if this eyelet is not screwed to the bow, the bow can lose its position when raising or lowering the top causing the top to be ripped and/or damage to the frame/second bow or pivots. the cables being hooked to the bow keep the bow and top in the proper alignment. i think the balljoint pivots are about $125pr. as for your hold down cables, if your eyelets are broken or missing .... you need to buy a new set of hold down cables too. they are $40-$65pr. they are not too difficult to install. keep us posted on your progress.:TU:
BTW jlv58 the second bow can be from any 71-75 buick, olds, pontiac, or chevy full size convertible OR from any 71-76 caddy convertible. all of these cars were scissor-top cars.:Smarty:
Yuk, thanks a lot, this is of great help. I could not expect to find more precise information. Now I can place my order with a better understanding of where I go. Just hope that when I take a chance to see my car (in a few weeks), I will not discover that I need to order the cables too !:ball: :Brow: Thanks again. :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU:
Hi Yuk, I managed to replace all the missing parts (from Hyrdo E Lectric, see my thumbs up to them), and thanks to your precious advice and the above pics. (And Smartin who first noticed on my pics that the bow was missing). I guess the top on my car was replaced just before I bought it last October, and I found a brand new side cable running through the border of the top. But it is a simple cable (with a spring at the end it attaches to the rear), and there is no "Y" knot that goes to the #2 bow, nor any opening on the cable housing of the top at the level of the bow that indicates a cable can be pulled out. Any idea of the mistake that a predecessor can have done ? I managed to make the top work while manually taking care of the bow movements on the way through! Esthetic is now OK, but I think I need to order a new pair of cables and unsew the top housings to get the pieces of cable out. By the way, at which level should the cable go out ? exactly where the bow fits when the top is on ? Thanks
when a new top is manufactured, it has a string threaded throughout the route that the tension cable will eventually be installed. the string is supposed to aid in pulling the new tension cable along the correct path. if the string is missing, the cable can still be pushed through. it just takes a little more time to do it.
after the tension cable is slid installed through the small channel, it still must be connected to the #2 bow. the cable has a small chunk of steel clamped to the tension cable and at the same time clamped to a short piece of cable with an extra eyelet. sometimes reffered to as the "Y". this picture shows the "Y" before it has been connected to the #2 bow.
the extra eyelet should be attached with a 1 -1.5 inch long screw to be threaded into the end of the #2 bow. putting the top about halfway down gives pretty good access to the end of the bow. (see view "U"in th picture up above)
Hi Yuk, this is great...don't tell me you unscrewed the cable just for taking a picture for me !!!! . I really appreciate. I do not remember having seem any hole on the bow to put a screw in, but the bow was brand new. May be need to drill ? :TU: :TU: :TU: :TU:
i have 4 verts around in various states of dis-repair, so getting the pics was easy. i didnt unscrew the cable ... i think someone had too short of a screw in the hole at one time and it got pulled out. there might not be a hole there on a brand new bow (i aint never had no brand new bow) you want the screw to fit tight. so if you drill a hole ... make sure it is tiny. i think i would only drill the hole about 1/2 or 3/4 of an inch deep. let the screw do the rest of the work, putting good pressure against the screwdriver/drill as the screw goes in. dont totally tighten it, the hole can strip out easy so just tighten till the screw is in all the way.
