SOFT TOP Whitby, FFR or other

[Jeff's First FFR]

Hi there,
Has anybody used the Whitby soft top (half the price of FFR) or some other solution.
I think $3500 is too much for a top.
Jeff

[Papa]

If you haven't seen them side by side, the price difference may look steep. The RodTops (FFR Premium) top is very well made and fits like a glove with minimal modifications to the car, and is worth every penny. The Whitby top requires several Lift-The-Dot fasteners and two holes for the windows in each door and it has a more "add-on" loose-fitting look to it compared to the FFR offering.

[Rook]

Looks great, Papa! Does the FFR top work like a convertible top once mounted (meaning it has the option to sit on the car in the retracted position), or is it all-or-nothing?

[chmhasy]

Maybe this will help, I plan on buying a top in a few years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwvtEutfGqY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnL-JRQ2oXg

[Papa]

Looks great, Papa! Does the FFR top work like a convertible top once mounted (meaning it has the option to sit on the car in the retracted position), or is it all-or-nothing?

It does not. It's either on or off, but not retracted like a typical convertible top.

[GTBradley]

Everything Dave said. The thing is though, what’s the look you are going for, refined or replica? Lift-a-dots were a hard decision for me, but now I love them! The original cars had ugly tops and zip-down-the-middle tonneaus. The tonneau in my opinion is far superior in function, but if you want a clean, more refined look you may want to avoid posts all around the cockpit. I would have gone the Whitby route anyway, even if it wasn't less expensive, but the lower price is a very nice perk.



This might help too, I have a 3500 mile report on my build thread where I give my impressions on the top and tonneau. Just skip forward to about 11 minutes in the you tube video if you're interested:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...x-Added/page13

[Jeff's First FFR]

Everything Dave said. The thing is though, what’s the look you are going for, modern or replica? Lift-the-dots were a hard decision for me, but now I love them! The original cars had ugly tops and zip-down-the-middle tonneaus. The tonneau in my opinion is far superior in function, but if you want a clean, more modern look you may want to avoid posts all around the cockpit. I would have gone the Whitby route anyway, even if it wasn't less expensive, but the lower price is a very nice perk.



This might help too, I have a 3500 mile report on my build thread where I give my impressions on the top and tonneau. Just skip forward to about 11 minutes in the you tube video if you're interested:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...x-Added/page13

Hello,
Your car is fantastic. I think hte Whitby topwill work for me; just neet to keep the sun off my cancer prone skin. I have a few questions:

The honeycomb: where can I get it?
What is your paint color called?
How did you mod the license plate mount?
Did you make or buy the door cards?

Thank you,
Jeff

[Jeff's First FFR]

Everything Dave said. The thing is though, what’s the look you are going for, modern or replica? Lift-the-dots were a hard decision for me, but now I love them! The original cars had ugly tops and zip-down-the-middle tonneaus. The tonneau in my opinion is far superior in function, but if you want a clean, more modern look you may want to avoid posts all around the cockpit. I would have gone the Whitby route anyway, even if it wasn't less expensive, but the lower price is a very nice perk.



This might help too, I have a 3500 mile report on my build thread where I give my impressions on the top and tonneau. Just skip forward to about 11 minutes in the you tube video if you're interested:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...x-Added/page13

Hello,
Your car is fantastic. I think hte Whitby topwill work for me; just neet to keep the sun off my cancer prone skin. I have a few questions:

The honeycomb: where can I get it?
What is your paint color called?
How did you mod the license plate mount?
Did you make or buy the door cards?

Thank you,
Jeff

[GTBradley]

Thanks Jeff, I've worked really hard to get the car where it is right now, but stay tuned as there are still some more upgrades coming.

The honeycomb is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The paint is a custom creation that my painter Bart and I came up with, essentially it is Guardsman Blue with all the black tint taken out. The stripes are Wimbledon White. The paint is Axalta (formerly Dupont) but we found the formula for Dupont on the 1964 Ford Mustang and used that as the starting point. I nicknamed the color Sky Blue Cumulous because of the way a sunny day with puffy white clouds is reflected.
The license plate mod is post #385 on my build thread. On the first page you'll find an index for most of the mods I did.
The door cards are from Herb's custom door panels: http://cobra-herb.tripod.com

[JohnnyB]

I’ll give another thumbs up to the Whitby top. I love mine. It fit's great, looks authentic and keeps me mostly dry. It really extends the driving season for those of us up north. I normally install it in October and leave it on until May. This summer I was using the car as my daily driver so I left it installed. I was concerned it would be stifling on hot sunny days but honestly as long as I was moving it was cooler being shaded from the sun.

[SJDave]

Hi there,
Has anybody used the Whitby soft top (half the price of FFR) or some other solution.
I think $3500 is too much for a top.
Jeff

Hi Jeff,

If your main concern is "sun exposure" I am offering a lower cost solution in my Bimini Top ($950 for single color Sunbrella Fabric Top). I just became a forum Vendor (Dave's Workshop) and am in the process of setting up vendors to help take some of workload off my shoulders in my small Garage Workshop, and getting a website set up. I have 10 sets in process right now that will be available in 6 weeks, once you place an order I will send a Sunbrella Fabric Sample book to you to select your fabric...alot of choices. The Tops are being sewn by Sierra Canvas Works (http://www.sierracanvasworks.com/) who has many years making both boat tops, car tops and lawn furniture repair; BUT...been on hold for 6 weeks as they are relocating to northern California from Bakersfield over the last month to an new bigger shop, and will be set up in a couple weeks to start again. Send me an Email for now to DAlbertalli@comcast.net and I'll send an information packet to you on construction and installation. I just turned 70 and am good friends with the liquid Nitrogen every time I go to the Docs...it sucks but we didn't know better when we were young!
The other benefit of this top is that it virtually eliminates the wind buffeting, I was working on a plexiglas baffle that mounted to the roll bars a few years ago but dropped it due to health issues, the buffeting is really tiring on drives over 3 hours. Here's a few pictures!

[CobraboyDR]

The soft top and side curtains by ERA are excellent units and offer the vintage look.

Yes, lift-a-dots & ferrules, but so what?

There is a South African outfit that also makes really nice tops, and used to supply SPF.

[R. Button]

with the lift-a-dot, just a suggestion, get them threaded and then put in blind aluminum nuts. Then, when you take off the top you can also unscrew the lift-a-dot leaving a smoother surface.

lift-a-dot.png

[CobraboyDR]

with the lift-a-dot, just a suggestion, get them threaded and then put in blind aluminum nuts. Then, when you take off the top you can also unscrew the lift-a-dot leaving a smoother surface.

lift-a-dot.png

People install them in actual fiberglass without backing???

Seriously?

[Papa]

Not sure how many have seen some of the components of the FFR top, so here are a couple of pictures:

[GTBradley]

People install them in actual fiberglass without backing???

Seriously?

They can be the screw in type or the threaded nut type. Where you can’t access the back side, like the dash area for the tonneau, the screw type is required, but they hold fine. The threaded nut type have a washer for backing.

[Jeff's First FFR]

Thanks Jeff, I've worked really hard to get the car where it is right now, but stay tuned as there are still some more upgrades coming.

The honeycomb is on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The paint is a custom creation that my painter Bart and I came up with, essentially it is Guardsman Blue with all the black tint taken out. The stripes are Wimbledon White. The paint is Axalta (formerly Dupont) but we found the formula for Dupont on the 1964 Ford Mustang and used that as the starting point. I nicknamed the color Sky Blue Cumulous because of the way a sunny day with puffy white clouds is reflected.
The license plate mod is post #385 on my build thread. On the first page you'll find an index for most of the mods I did.
The door cards are from Herb's custom door panels: http://cobra-herb.tripod.com

Hi there,
Thanks for the info. I will order the honeycomb and check into the door cards and plate mod. For the paint color I will have to experiment. Probably will go with Whitby for the top. I had "Lift the Dot" on my Sprite and they worked just fine. The Sprite's top bows were a very simple affair which stowed behind the seats. The Whitby can fit in the trunk as you showed.

Your build is excellent.

Jeff

[Jeff's First FFR]

Hi There.
Your build is looking great.
Looks like a lot of pieces for the FFR top. How long does it take to put on out in the wild? Do you have to re-assemble all the pieces each time?
I remember my Sprite's top which had two folding bows stored behind the seats and a loose top that fastened with Lift the Dot. Could put it on in less than 5 minutes.

Jeff

[Jeff's First FFR]

Not sure how many have seen some of the components of the FFR top, so here are a couple of pictures:

Hi There.
Your build is looking great.
Looks like a lot of pieces for the FFR top. How long does it take to put on out in the wild? Do you have to re-assemble all the pieces each time?
I remember my Sprite's top which had two folding bows stored behind the seats and a loose top that fastened with Lift the Dot. Could put it on in less than 5 minutes.

Jeff

[Papa]

It takes me about 15 to 20 minutes to install the top, but it's a once per season thing for the most part. It does fit in the trunk, but you won't have room for anything else.



I just couldn't get myself to put all those holes in my car. I'm actually looking closely at Dave's Bimini top as the real reason I wanted a top at all was for long drives in the sun.

[R. Button]

People install them in actual fiberglass without backing???

Seriously?

No you do not installed the threaded lift-a-dot into the fiberglass directly. You install aluminum blind nuts also called rivet nuts or rivnuts. Then you screw in the threaded lift-a-dot into the rivnuts. I have used that system for about 10+ years. The tops have worn out but never had an any issues with the rivnuts. I was on my third top - their, FFR's original soft tops, NOT the Whitby tops! The old tops started to split in the front from taking the top off and folding it up to put in the trunk. I used the older FFR soft top a LOT on my road trips. The older FFR soft tops are no longer sold so I collected all the parts others had to have spare parts to keep my top workable. I have a Rod Tops premium soft top now.

Helps to be reasonably dry when you come into meet with a customer!

[CraigS]

Dang all the 60s MGs, Healys, Triumphs, and Jags that I and my friends had used lift-a-dots. I thought they were normal and never removed one.

[CobraboyDR]

Dang all the 60s MGs, Healys, Triumphs, and Jags that I and my friends had used lift-a-dots. I thought they were normal and never removed one.

I hear you on the Brit car thing. I was infected for 30+ years.

Original Cobra tops also had lift-a-dots. It's a Brit thing.

I would imagine a top & tonneau sourced from ERA, SPF, Unique, Backdraft, or Hurricane would fit a FFR. Same with side curtains. Options are out there, all with the same windshield as a FFR.

My SPF had side curtain with sliding Lexan windows in a metal frame. I really liked them. And the top could be put on in 5 minutes easily.

[canuck1]

Does anyone have a pic of a Whitby top folded up and stored in the trunk? I'm curious how it compares to Papa's pic of his premium top filling the trunk?

Sean

[GTBradley]

It’s about the same. I bought a jeep soft top bag to keep it in and it fits fine. The jeep bag is nice because it has a bunch of fabric dividers to keep the windows, metal bows and top separated.

[GTBradley]

It’s about the same. I bought a jeep soft top bag to keep it in and it fits fine. The jeep bag is nice because it has a bunch of fabric dividers to keep the windows, metal bows and top separated.

The bag it’s in is bigger than it needs to be so it looks bigger than it is, but the doors, bows, and top fit with room above and room in the drop-trunk.
6B7AA3DE-D223-4716-B241-E055485AD77C.jpeg