Just over a year ago I was offered the chance to purchase the only Factory produced hard-top for the CRS range of Cobras. The hard-top was manufactured for, and fitted to, CRS chassis #20. The original long term owner of the vehicle has just sold the car and the new owner preferred open motoring and offered me the chance to buy the top.
This hard-top is unusual in its shape, being of "fast-back" design, rather than the normal round-back. The shape was designed to follow the lines of the early AC race cars, however, the original owner who commissioned the top loved the fast-back sides but wanted a vertical back window. Because of this the top follows the design cues from vehicles such as the 246 Dino and XJS Jaguar. A true fast-back style hard-top would have had a sloping rear window and would have needed one of the short bottom hinged boot lids. As the CRS Cobras used a moulded Carbon-Fibre construction based upon a Lightweight MkIV bodyshell, I had assumed, wrongly, there would be good uniformity between each CRS body shape.
Circumstances deemed that once the hard-top was removed from Chassis #20 it was offered onto Chassis #06, to check the fit against the windscreen and rear body work. Once in position it was quite obvious by the mis-match between the hard-tops' lower shape and the cars' rear bodywork curvature, that some extensive reworking was required. The top was also offered onto Chassis #10 and again the bodyshape mis-match was evident, although on all three cars the windscreen was in the same position.
Fixing of the original top onto the car used bolts through the inner mounting flanges on the the top, just behind the doors, through the hood stick ferrules. However the original front windscreen attachments were small U shaped brackets with Velcro strips, which suprised me somewhat.
Due to obvious car to car manufacturing differences, it was quite clear some extensive reworking of my new purchase was required. The reality was my top would have to be used as the pattern for some serious reworking. I made a call to long time fibre-glass expert Pete Goodman [01327-843585] asking him if he would get involved with me in the hard-tops extensive redesigning and upgrade. He agreed, and for the last year Pete has been back and forward from his workshop, which is near Weedon on the A5 in Northants to my home in Milton Keynes as we worked through redeveloping/redesigning and enhancing the top until we had reached the current finished item. These new tops still use the rear fixing postions, but, at the front, small ears have been added. These ears are extensively reinforced with Kevlar and sit down over the sides of the windscreen and use original style over-centre catches, as used on the soft-tops to lock the hard-top down onto the screen frame. No more Velcro!!!
Pete's diligent work has provided a beautifully manufactured item, which fits superbly, will clear Factory installed roll-bars, is light, and a joy to look at.
Because of this work Pete is now able to offer other AC Cobra owners one of these Hard-tops should they want one. The top would be matched to the owners vehicle for a precise fit and the cost for a bare fibre-glass top including a rear screen/seal kit/weatherseals and catches would be £1250 + VAT and are directly available from Pete.
I have hopefully attached some pictures [with the help of Bruce Classen, thanks for that] of my top fitted to my CRS.
If anybody would like to see the top or discuss it, please feel free to call me
Alan Faulkner-Stevens
