Is anyone running a non-powered top?

[rickjames8]

I've always loved the power top on the Sterling. However, it does seem that they can be difficult/expensive to set up, and pose some potential challenges when installed (stuck inside with a dead battery). While these are solvable problems, I was wondering how many people have manual tops with gas struts? I did see one thread where someone was doing that, and they found that 155lbs of lift was too little, and 165lbs of lift was too much,. so they went with the 155s.

But what if you added more lift than needed, say 175lbs of lift force? Then added latches to keep the top in place when closed. You could pop the top with a remote control triggering a solenoid on the latches. Then your closing would be manual by applying ~15lbs of downward force. Thoughts?

 

[Brett Proctor]

I've had that setup for a few years and made numerous changes to it to try and make it better.

After having to change out the oem struts twice and having to spend more than they were worth I looked for a less expensive alternative.
First was to find out how many pounds of force were needed to lift the canopy with no effort. As you noted 155 lb. was the magic number. (as I remember)
The leverage ratio changes as the canopy goes through its travel. So the amount of force needed changes also. As you can test for yourself, lifting the canopy from a fully closed position requires more force than does holding the canopy open in the fully open position.
Also the location of the lifting force made the front of the canopy lift and not sit flat (even after numerous attempts at adjusting the canopy). I modified the lifting arms and moved the location of the lifting force to the rear arm instead of the front and that fixed that issue.

OK now the latch issue. Getting the canopy to close level so each side would make contact with the latch at the same time was a issue. I tried a single latch in the oem location but that meant that only the rear of the canopy was secured and the front would bounce around going down the road because it wasn't secured down.
I pondered using the latch mechanism from powered trunk releases and have one installed on each side. I went as so far as buying a couple to test out that theory and it had potential but I never went so far as installing them, my ideas went in another direction to what I have now. (I think I dismissed the idea because it had no manual release option)

OK quick answer on the struts idea. I think 175 lbs. of force is to much. I would try the 160-165 lbs of force struts first and see how that works for you. The site I found has struts at reasonable prices so if that doesn't work your not out a whole lot of money.

when putting in dual latches I used a cable splitter so I had a manual override to opening the canopy.

OK thats it for now. (getting tired of typing)

 

[rickjames8]

Thanks Brett! I'd seen your original post earlier, but then couldn't find it later when I wrote mine.

Thanks for taking the time to write that all up. The latch placement was something I thought might be an issue. I figured if the latch was in the back, then the struts would push up the front. Didn't even consider the wobble while driving. I thought about dual latches, but wondered how hard it might be to get them syncd.
>I pondered using the latch mechanism from powered trunk releases and have one installed on each side.
This was sort of my idea too. Well, the one latch per side. Maybe not the powered part. That's an interesting idea.

>my ideas went in another direction to what I have now
Still manual, or powered?

So the seller of my car included a hydraulic unit. I originally thought it might be useless based on the ultra-small diameter of the hoses. I'd call them "pencil thin", but they're way smaller than that even. But it had a part number on it (gm 93162375) so I looked it up. It's a convertible top motor for an Opel TwinTop (a hard top convertible). It has 4 struts and a connector with a lot of pins. I believe that in the OEM car it cycles through various stages where it opens the trunk, then lifts the top, then closes the trunk. I don't have the computer that controls any of this, but I bet I can figure out which pins control which sets of pistons. If I could, I could use all 4 struts, with 4 pushing through the first phase of the motion (which as you noted requires more push) and dropping down to 2 for the final phase.

I'd wanted to stick manual for the simplicity of it, but if I'm syncing dual latches maybe power is just the way to go. I'd imagine you'd pair any power system with gas struts. If you got 150lb ones, then your motors are only assisting with the final 15lbs. This decision is likely not something I need to solve today. I'm just excited.

Oh, and Brett - I may have said it before, but I've always loved your styling choices, interior and exterior. It seems you always find the right balance between modernization and staying true to the Sterling's roots.

 

[Brett Proctor]

The power trunk latch that I found was in Cadillac's. The striker would engage the latch and the latch would pull down about a inch more.

The latch that I was going to use for the canopy in the non-power setup was out of a 2000 era Mercedes. It was the hood latch.
Very compact and simple.

Some had switches in them that you could wire into a light to tell you that it wasn't secure.
Aside from attaching a cable to it I suppose you could rig in a solenoid to it also to remotely release.

In the pick a part yard these were only $5.

I did a search on that hydraulic pump using the part number you posted.
Personally I would not even think of using that pump. There are other pumps out there that are a lot simpler that will work.

 

[Brett Proctor]

Oh, and Brett - I may have said it before, but I've always loved your styling choices, interior and exterior. It seems you always find the right balance between modernization and staying true to the Sterling's roots.

Thanks

 

[farfegnubbin]

Just adding my two cents:

Go powered.

There are so many good sources for little pumps, etc. that there aren’t many reasons to go non-powered. The canopy is the single biggest “wow” factor for the car and having it dramatically raise with a mechanical whirr just adds to the moment. There are dozens of ways to make it safe in an emergency. Go for the whirr. Embrace the whirr. Become one with the whirr.