Replacement leather tabs for the canvas top

[totaljoint]

After years in Swiss caves, Arizona/Nevada desert, my leather tabs on the top of the windshield had shrunk like OJ's glove. They didn't engage the windshield locking rings and flapped in the breeze.

I found that Tandy Leather has a Latigo leather 3/4 inch strap (72 inches length). It comes already waxed so that no further oil will soak in, and is made for exterior applications (thought they told me to oil it again in 6 months if parked outside). The local store only had them in burgundy color, but it looks green when on the Pinz top.

I cut it into 4 3/4 inch lengths (make a couple extra to practice cutting the end taper symetrical). Tandy also has a taper cutting stamp which replicates the original leather shape pretty well.

Drilling out the old rivets took a 3/16 inch drill and was not hard to do with the top still attached to the roll bar. I backed the rivet with a 2x4 for counter pressure. Be sure and keep the brass washer and the leather tab interior backing. I used that interior backing tab to space the holes, and punched two 3/16 inch hole in the new strap. If I could have gotten the canvas off the Pinz, Tandy has some nice rivets, (SS) wich match the original, but pounding the rivets in the cab was not successful.

I used 3/16 aluminum pop rivets using SS washers on the exterior and the original brass washers on the interior backing. The pop rivet left a sharp edge on the snapped stem, but grinding that down with the Dremmel went quickly. The new straps look and work great. for only about 1 1/2 hours work.

[pcolette]

Thanks for the detailed info on that repair. I've got a top that needs the exact same treatment and I've been putting it off for too long. Maybe now that you've been successful I'll give it a go.

Paul

[totaljoint]

Paul:
You'll have fun, but if you're going to try it, here are some trial and error things I discovered:

I used 3/16 x 1/4 aluminum rivets. They were rather short. My alternative was 3/16 x 1/2 which was too long. If you can find one in between those lengths (3/8?), that would be ideal.

I used a common leather punch wheel from the local hardware store on the latigo strap, but it left uneven (oblong) holes. The punch wheels are not sturdy enough to go through that thick strap and the wheel twisted each time. Harbor Freight punches were too stout, but I found better were the punches available from Tandy (single punch size 6, long handle, slim shank, self cleaning and made for thick leather).
The English point strap end cutter is made for thicker stock as well and is sold as a belt cutter. Backing the punches with a polyethylene cutting board gave better/cleaner cuts than wood.
Beware that when drilling those domed rivets, the drill bit may wander and gouge your top (I came damn close!). A point setting punch (carpenter's) on the rounded rivets will leave a nice dimple on the rivet head to keep the drill bit on center.

Here are the links to what I used, got them at my local Tandy Leather Factory store, and available on e-bay as well:
End cutter (English Point Strap End Cutter, 3/4):

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/sear ... 3&kw=punch

3/16 punch (size 6)

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/sear ... 4&kw=punch

Latigo Leather 3/4 strap (72")

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/sear ... &kw=latigo
Best of luck,
Ed

[krick3tt]

An empty .22 shell makes a great leather punch. Not self cleaning but really cheap.

Morris