Hard Top

[Domenick Calabro]

I want to believe that the Hard Top comes with a fully functional Soft Top. That is if I am riding around without the hard top and it begins to rain, I can simply press a button and the Soft Top will come up and keep
me and the cars interior dry. Is this true or false?

 

[pbocciardi]

Dominick --

It's absolutely true!

 

[tr cruiser]

Er, I believe the soft top is listed in the ordering guide as "power retractable convertible top". I believe this means some manual adjustment is required to lock/unlock the frame. Probably not a big deal, but not something you'd want to do while driving...

 

[pbocciardi]

According to Ford, "The Easy-to-use Power Retractable Convertible Top features 37.1 inches of head room and is powered by a single motor driving two hydraulic cylinders. It's designed for easy, secure, 'one handle, one button' operation. A rocker-type convertible top switch is located on the bottom of the instrument panel stack. . . . The convertible top will latch to the top of the windshield."

 

[ronj]

Yes, the softtop is always available, Remember the softtop comes like the old model Ts in Color, You have the choice of Black or Black.

There is not much head room with the soft top in place, I don't know what it's like with the hard top on. The softtop is motorized and operates very similar to a Mercedez Benz CLK, but with a couple of odd issues

 

[mikedmeyer]

Regarding raising/lowering the soft top while driving, my friend has a '96 Mustang GT convertible, and the soft top won't function without the parking brake engaged. I expect the same or similar on the new 'bird.

 

[thenewtbird2]

Picture this: driving down the road and trying to put the top up or down. As soon as the header latch is released or tonneau lifted, the wind fills the inside of the top and keeps the top from lowering/raising and in the process the motor burns up or bows are sprung. Not a good idea to think about when driving. That's why the safety feature on the Mustang. My sister had a 57 Ford convertible once, that she didn't latch the header securely and just after leaving my home, the wind caught the one loose edge, twisted the top and popped the bolts out holding the bows in place - expensive repair.
When you get your owners manual for your new Thunderbird, it'll probably also tell you to be on flat ground when raising or lowering - Convertible bodies flex much more than a standard uni-body and you will get a better seal if the car is flat or on level ground.
Aside from that, am happy that all the new Thunderbirds will be coming with a soft top - that was not so with the 55-57 t-birds.

 

[tbird]

Originally posted by tr cruiser:
Er, I believe the soft top is listed in the ordering guide as "power retractable convertible top". I believe this means some manual adjustment is required to lock/unlock the frame. Probably not a big deal, but not something you'd want to do while driving...

Most convertables will not let you retract the motorized top unless the car is in park or the emergency brake is set, or both.

 

[Tom W]

How will the cover over the top work when the top is stored? Is it one that has to manually removed

 

[tr cruiser]

I'm not sure if I'm parsing your question correctly, but if you're asking what happens when the soft top is retracted, it gets stored under a tonneau cover. The dealer ordering guide describes that as a "semi-soft foldable boot cover". Seems like I've seen it pictured as a snap-on piece, but I can't say for certain.

You can see the soft top retraction in operation by going to Ford's Thunderbird 360d image web page and rotating the exterior view to the passenger side: http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/thunderbird/views/

Ah, I found this in the transcript of an Edmunds' interview with brand manager Mickey D'Armi -

<Edmunds_Moderator> Don: Will the convertible have an automatic boot?

<Mickey_D'Armi> Don: The retractable convertible top will have a manually installed soft tonneau cover.