Roof straps

ward00

True Classic
I see references on Facebook that the Montecarlo Hospital roof straps don't fit. Any bad experiences with their roof straps?
 

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I've had them on my car for over a year, holding down a TMH fiberglass double-bubble roof panel. No issues.
 
Scorpion Reproductions double bubble roof. No straps. Someone needs to recreate a decent hardtop that fills entire space and without straps again. Ditch the 20 pound front roof ledge by mounting directly to the front two threaded holes or capitived nuts (forget which) and uses original latches for rear. Aluminum, fiberglass, carbon fiber, 3D printer,....?
A0B5570A-9D57-4678-8EBD-8DFB6DC4F480.jpeg
 
Scorpion Reproductions double bubble roof. No straps. Someone needs to recreate a decent hardtop that fills entire space and without straps again. Ditch the 20 pound front roof ledge by mounting directly to the front two threaded holes or capitived nuts (forget which) and uses original latches for rear. Aluminum, fiberglass, carbon fiber, 3D printer,....?
View attachment 55473
That is how my hard top is mounted.
1E9C049B-43AB-4280-A51E-F841B2051585.jpeg
 
That is how my hard top is mounted.

One machine hex head screw in each front corner and the original latches mounted to it in rear to release it? Removing to go topless is just two machine screws and turning the release for rear. No more problematic straps.
 
Back in the Nineties, an individual (name withheld) on this side of the pond reproduced the straps. They didn’t have the original patterned surface texture and unfortunately, were also too short. I also heard the plastic would split longitudinally at the front attachment point. I seem to recall, but can’t confirm, the Montehospital straps were the same straps.
I have an NOS set of both the Lancia originals and the Montehospital reproductions; shown below for comparison. Note the Montehospital’s do not have the correct angle at the rear and more importantly, do not have the pre-formed bend at the front. Somewhere toward the bottom is a picture showing the difference in length.

Montehospital:
44AFFAAC-EEE3-439C-890E-BBD75A4C2C7C.jpeg
E91D95B3-5C14-4FC9-AB31-962E562156E0.jpeg


Lancia:
4C874B68-7122-4291-BA52-B80A67607597.jpeg
C6D17FF8-64C4-4E28-90B3-BC2D0881AAD4.jpeg
8E5048A3-E1B1-40F5-B3AB-4D629C9EFB17.jpeg


Montehospital:
AE384D97-C3CC-4177-81AE-8F58BAFEA339.jpeg


Lancia:
382F03C1-3C81-44FE-8A90-16FC6B246F74.jpeg


35E0DD05-2E40-452D-A62A-9A4F0984C3CC.jpeg


Montehospital vs Lancia:
D49BFDC8-26B8-4B83-AC87-2C2C729F31F9.jpeg




Length difference:
8E934CB6-34C0-4430-9579-082A43B52F6B.jpeg


Lancia:
70886D9B-A9FA-4ACA-89F5-8C79B39F233C.jpeg


2 sets of Lancia and the Montehospital:
5D2EA0D9-D71C-4B5D-A47E-186EB545F9C7.jpeg
FEC0E064-0C38-4826-B0B2-00FAFD56D248.jpeg


Front end difference:
4288B445-2485-487D-8907-B982E8FDD17B.jpeg


11E78EDA-8693-400F-BFF3-C3930971A898.jpeg


Texture difference:
36CF2A27-EED5-4F80-A40A-FE2C63D04962.jpeg
 

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So based on the differences how is it possible that anyone that has used the Montehospital straps not had issues installing them?
 
So based on the differences how is it possible that anyone that has used the Montehospital straps not had issues installing them?
The originals haven't been available since the Eighties, so anything is better than nothing...
 
So based on the differences how is it possible that anyone that has used the Montehospital straps not had issues installing them?
The curvature doesn't have much of an effect on fit in my experience, using a hardtop panel. I noticed it when installing, but I've been using the TMH straps for over a year and 500 miles with zero issues.

If you're looking for a perfect OEM-correct fit, they won't be an acceptable solution for you. But then, as Mark says, there is no other solution besides old straps.

All part of the fun of owning a fairly low-volume and low-dollar Italian sports car!
 
I made my own full width hardtop using a combination of TMH bubble top and rear roof panel. If I had any skills I should have made it one piece and incorporate the ears.

 
I also have this two-piece roof panel set, but the ends of the rear section are about a quarter-inch longer on each side than the car is wide. Maybe a Grantham prototype or something.

The main roof panel has depressions where it would be screwed into place, but they are not reinforced with anything and would probably need to be. I've never worked with fiberglass before, so it's probably not a good project for me to start with. I suppose modern panel adhesive may work also, for a very permanent solution.

I'm not quite ready to lose the possibility of open-air driving yet, so I'll stick with the TMH roof for now.

Scorpion roof panels.JPG
 
I bought and installed TMH roof straps several years ago. They still work fine. Not OEM, but better than nothing...and I want the sunroof, no bubble top.
 
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