Strangely Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 Anyone know what the legal situation is regarding responsibility / liability if a piece of a car decides to depart from the main body when travelling at speed down a motorway? On a completely unrelated topic, anyone got any hints for securing a new tonneau so that I don't need to worry about the above? I've read the threads revealed by a search, but they all focus on poppers. Anyone tried anything else, like Velcro for example? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted October 21, 2003 Share Posted October 21, 2003 Depends on your set up re: aero screens etc, but if you don't mind putting a small hole in the tonneau then a tie-wrap threaded through and round a screen stanchion might help to keep the leadig edge down. A neater solution is to change the 'front' poppers to one of those push through and twist fittings - NO IDEA what they are called, but used to be used on 'ye oldie english roadster' roof - I am sure there is a link somewhere to a fittings company. I am thinking of putting one of these on the lower corner popper on the roof - the one by your shoulder - to stop this popping off at speed and billowing. When it does go it sounds like a gun going off just by your ear. Updated MODEL and Cartoon pictures at mycaterham.com here 50,000miles in 2 years Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myles Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 What kind of speed....? I'm running a JPE screen with passenger-side tonneau, and never had a problem. I would need more horsepower for further research... Alcester Racing 7's Equipe - 🙆🏻 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slomove Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 I broke a few poppers lately and was wondering to replace the junk with TENAX buttons. Did anybody try that? I know they are quite popular for marine applications but I have not seen them on cars that often. Too expensive? Gert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony C Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 Try here - turnbutton fasteners, items 940 and 941. I use them on the leading edge of my passenger tonneau following a similar departure to above 😬 I have heard that tenax are good too. BRG Brooklands SV 😬 It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. (Antoine de Saint-Exupery) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick W Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 Hi Popper that seems to be under the most stress is the centre one by the mirror- at least that's where mine tonneau starts to part company with my car- I think due to disrupted airflow coming from me! Leading edges around the side of the car seem fine- in fact the airflow pushes the tonneau harder into the car. However, tonneau issues only really seem to happen flat out- ie 120mph+. On track I just gaffer tape the whole lot down, effective but admittedly not very aesthetic. Have never had problems on the road- mainly because I just don't go that fast . Ah yes- putting the petty strut in also helps! Cheers Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangely Posted October 22, 2003 Author Share Posted October 22, 2003 Thanks for the leads on other kinds of fasteners - I will take a look. I was doing normal motorways speeds. A little (ahem) more than 70, but not more than most other people. I have survived for 5 years without losing this tonneau, but two things have changed recently which may have had an effect. 1) I fitted a JPE aeroscreen in the spring. 2) My 3-year old son likes to be taken to nursery school in the 7, which means that I remove and refit the tonneau fairly frequently now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiff Posted October 22, 2003 Share Posted October 22, 2003 On my first 7 I had brooklyn screens, and in the early days the tonneau came off and wrapped itself around the face and body of a motorcyclist behind me. Luckilly he managed to stop without incident and proceeded to give me the biggest bo**ocking I've ever had. Somewhat chastened, I went home and resolved the situation by making a small piece of metal, shaped like a roof with flatened ends, with a poppoer at each end. This attached over the existing left front central popper on the tonneau (adapted to a double popper) and onto the right central popper, thus giving a double anchor point. It never came off again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Peter C has some poppers on his tonneau that only come off if pulled in one direction. By clever arrangement you can make it so only one can be removed with the tonneau fitted, one that isn't under any load when driving. Then you can pull the rest in the relevant direction and it only comes off when you want it to. Badly explained, sorry, but I don't know how they work so can't explain properly. Will explore in more detail while mines apart this winter. My tonneau has tried to depart on the motorway too, luckily it wrapped round the cage diagonal. But my car was on the trailer behind the Scoobie at the time. I guess it goes faster like this than when I'm driving it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrone Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Strangely, To answer your first question, my daughters mountain bike came off our bike rack in the Summer and hit an Artic' as I was trying to pull over to the hard shoulder. The Police were called since apparently all accidents involving such wagons have to be reported. The Police took no action since it was a failure with the rack but I was liable for the damage to the wagon. Thankfully it was a company car so they pay. Couldn't claim for the bike I had nightmares about driving the 7 behind myself and the bike letting go (if that makes sense) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevefoster Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Sent you an email... Been there. Almost done that... My racing info site here Hants (North) and Berkshire Area club site here Light blocks here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
millsn Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 Ah, yes, you still use yours don't you? If you park the car permanently in the garage it's never an issue ☹️ Nigel Mills - 2.0 Zetec carbs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philwaters Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 He would be Nigel, if we weren't trying to fix it 😳 It will be leaner and meaner when it comes back out to play though Phil Waters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strangely Posted December 6, 2003 Author Share Posted December 6, 2003 My car's been off the road for just about a month now, and there's no sign of it getting back on until at least January ☹️ But when it is back it'll have a nice BGH gearbox, a 1.8l engine and throttle bodies 😬 Oh, and keeping vaguely on topic, I've also got a new tonneau which fits properly over my Tillet seat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted December 7, 2003 Share Posted December 7, 2003 I have had an ali one made up which is very simple to install and has a dzus fasterner. Easy to fit and will not come off I had the same problem with tonneau and ctr fixing which became a major irritation hence above solution Anthony Engine in, oil lines in, now where's the hacksaw to cut the secondaries... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now