Staples coming out of soft top??

[berogersjr]

I know I am goiing to sound like an idiot, but here goes: For the past several months, off and on, I keep finding one or two rogue staples just sitting at the base of the soft top right after I've put it up. They sit right below the rear glass, at the bottom of the top itself. They don't even appear to be used (not bent in or anything, like you'd expect a paper staple to be), and look like they just came out of the box. I've looked, of course, around the seams, the glass, and the soft top stowage area, but I can't figure out where they are coming from.

My questions are: Is this a bad thing (I'm being sarcastic...I'm betting it is DEFINITELY a bad thing)? Where are they coming from? Are they used to attach the top or the glass in some way? How hard is this to get fixed?

Any guesses?

Thanks,
bobby

[5bird7]

Re: Staples coming out of soft top??

not sure where staples are used but if they're showing up on the "outside" of your top, ie, catching at the bottom of the glass, then possibly the liner in the softtop well should be looked at. or maybe some gremlin is tossing a couple of staples in when your top is down and you're not looking.

[FritsB]

Re: Staples coming out of soft top??

Never steen staples in the soft top. Can not imagine they would be used in that. They are used in the wheel wells. Maybe they crawled up?

[RQTBIRD]

Re: Staples coming out of soft top??

I think they are used to hold some sort of padding over the bars going from side to side. I had a spot on my roof (over the cross bar) that looked like a nail or something was trying to poke through so I lifted the top half way up and went between the window and roof and saw what looked like a staple or metal wire clamp. Anyway I used a small hammer to tap it flat and then put some tape over it to give it a smooth surface so when the top went down and tightened up it would not rub on that metal piece. Haven't had a problem since.

[steelblue5505]

Re: Staples coming out of soft top??

Hey Roger,
Great idea. I've seen those similar marks in my top as well. My show on the bar that goes across the top just forward of the rear window. I put the HT on yesterday for the winter months, but when it comes off next March I'm going to follow your fix.
Thanks!

[steelblue5505]

Re: Staples coming out of soft top??

Just checked the service manual for our TBirds. YES There are many many staples used to attached the cloth top to the bows. Primarily the lower edge below the rear glass and the bow above the glass.