Fast forward to a few years back, Bill sells Catvert, WTF, over?
Now, about this girl and the tear in the roof thing, sounds like a great way to get the “headlights” (other than the cars) to turn on…
Hey I’m tryin’ to keep that quiet. I don’t want Peg to find out. 
I think the solution is brilliant. If that plexiglass was formed into shape it would be a lot stronger and less likely to vibrate etc. Anything that can extend convertible season seems like a great value to me.
Ah, but I didn’t sell my other convertible (at least not yet, anyway). I still have my Crossfire roadster and that can come out even when the weather is a little iffy.
How true - just old farts with no hair so a wind deflector doesn’t matter - as long as the top is polished with sun block to improve the airflow
Getting back to my boot project. As I previously reported elsewhere, I’ve determined that making my own, custom top boot from scratch was simply not going to happen. Even if I had some upholstery skills (which I do not), determining the shapes of the pieces, allowances for stretch, etc. was beyond my abilities. So on to Plan B: find a stock boot that is close enough to either modify to fit or use as a pattern for someone else to work from. Thanks to a generous fellow board member here, I secured a complete (if somewhat ratty) 69-70 boot for testing. Strike one. It’s shape and size are nowhere close. In desperation, I turned to ebay and although all of the top boots there were well beyond my cheapskate price range, I did score an unused and complete tonneau cover for a 67-68 Mustang. It’s basically a big vinyl sheet that covers the entire interior area of the car when the top is down. It has a zipper running lengthwise between the driver and passenger side so you can unzip and fold away just the driver side if you want to drive around with the rest of the interior covered up (not sure why you’d ever need to do that unless you’re hauling cats or contraband). Anyway, the price was right and I figured that since it snaps onto the well moldings just like a top boot, it would at least give me some idea how a 67/68 boot might fit. As you can see, it’s actually a pretty good fit.
Not surprisingly, it’s overall length is about 2" too short (Mustang’s are shorter than Cougars) and unfortunately, that difference in length comes into play right behind the quarter window opening.
Still, this opens up two options: 1) go ahead and buy a 67/68 Mustang boot and pay someone to add in the extra two inches; or 2) modify this cover itself into a boot.
Jody - I read a couple pages up that you were looking for top cylinders. If you’re still looking, I have a used pair (worked when removed) from my '69 that you can have for cost of shipping.
Jody, Looks like it’s not a bad fit. If it were me, I would ad some padding in the area under the cover where the metal parts of the top are trying to poke through.
Hey, thanks. That would be great. PM me shipping cost to zip code 54923 and I can paypal you whatever it is.
cougar2: Some padding is definitely needed (although what you see poking up is actually the corner of the rubber weatherstrip so it’s not sharp.
Thanks to Rob, the final bits have come together. For better or worse, I assembled everything outside the car for a test and am happy to report everything works- with no leaks!
Jody,
That’s great, the pump and cylinder can run into some pretty serious money! Now what sort of lines are those? Lines are expensive too! Can’t say that I have ever seen black ones.
The lines are from a set of FOX Mustang cylinders I had bought for $25 way back when I started this project. The fittings are identical to the older style and the only issue with them might be whether or not they are long enough. I’ll find out next week when I install everything.
Jody you are HANDS DOWN the king of doing things on the cheap (but doing great stuff)!!! You are my hero!
Success! Copycatvert’s top now moves under its own power. I haven’t installed any wiring yet (it’s currently operated by jumper cables LOL) but it’s getting there. Question for you convertible guys: did the factory systems have some sort of overlimit switch to kill power to the pump when the top gets fully up/down?
No.
Congrats, Jody! Awesome that you are modding, AND driving, at the same time!
The factory switch required you to hold it down until the top was fully in position (up or down) and the motor kind of bogged down. Then you release the switch and the motor stops trying to move the top.
And if you hold the button after it reaches that point, for example when trying to close a new top that is a little too tight, with original, age-brittled hydraulic hoses, you will need a couple rolls of paper towels to clean up the ATF. Don’t ask.
Fortunately, the lines I have are fairly new. But here’s another question: where does the main power lead go through the firewall?
On a '69, my recollection is that it is up high just under the pinch weld in the center area but a little toward the PS. I will see if I can find a picture for you. It comes through the firewall all by it’s lonesome.
Sorry, the picture is not that great resolution for some reason. You can see the red/yellow coming from the top switch, that is the motor harness. The power feed black joins fairly near the switch and I believe goes through the firewall to the right of the center AC vent and above the AC/heater box. I can check for sure later on but I’m thinking you just put it where it is convenient for you, on a first gen you won’t have good access to the area I am talking about anyway, because of the dash design.