I discovered if I pull the steering wheel all the way out, it gives me more room for my legs.  Some people have suggested changing my seat tracks to a manual seat will give me more leg room. I would be interested to know if anyone has ever tried this?

I don't have headroom problems with either top, though friends have complained about hitting a bow on the factory soft top.  Should note though that  though I'm six foot, half is in my legs and I have changed the seat to allow it to recline a little more.

I'm just going to toss this in since the subject came up. When Les was on those long road trips with the soft top up, he used cheap foil covered bubble wrap between the bows and the fabric for insulation. I never saw it, as he didn't use it around town, and I'm not quite sure how he did it. He's 6'3" or so and the car has a black fabric top. So his head was real close. But he wouldn't have said that if he hadn't done it and didn't think it helped.

I'm not tall enough to notice the headroom between hard and soft tops, but it's the ducking to get in I notice, and they're the same. I'm only a couple years behind you Phil, so I'm doing the same thing.

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Do you find the headroom is better with the soft top or the hard top?

I have a Prestige top and am pretty happy with it, though it seldom gets used.  Cost was the major motivation for my decision to go with the Prestige unit, after finding a good original frame and swing arm, which are not getting any cheaper, plus the cost of any repairs and restoration, hew attaching hardware and such the savings were significant.  The Prestige is manageable for one person which I haven't heard about the original.  I haven't had mine out in any significant rain, but I suspect that there would be a fair amount of water coming in at the front of the windows as the top billows op and allows the rain deflector to rise above the window.  The deals on mine remind me of the top on my old Healey which weren't the best if rainy weather while the original top seals more like a hard top would.

Had I to do it over again, I might rethink the whole thing and just stay with the hardtop only as I probably only use the soft top once or twice a year when I want protection from the sun and the ac on.  On anything over about a 50 mile drive we use the hardtop, quieter and better insulated than the soft  and around town it's either top down weather or top up weather.  On longer trips the room that the soft top takes up could really be used for extra storage, so much so that I have even thought about removing it for longer 3-4 day trips.  Your experience might be different depending on climate, here in central California I use the ac most of the time in the summer and the hardtop's better insulation comes into play and the chance of showers in the winter keep the hardtop on then so the spring and fall are the only true convertible months.

Don
55 Bird

Thanks for the feedback.  I thought I was the only one with TBird top nightmares.  The top on my car is not original.  It's black canvas and looks OK from ten feet away.  It was a couple of tears that have been repaired with patches from the inside. For a driver, it's not bad.  I am thinking about using a dye to freshen it up.  Has anyone tried that?

I will be replacing it in the near future.  If I can get someone to install a new canvas top, it will stay up most of the time. I'm 73, so getting in and out is a challenge.  I use the head duck leg pull technique and it works OK.  When I'm 80, if I can still drive, I will probably keep the top down all the time.

The look of the TBird with the convertible top up is very classy.  I have a hard top also. It makes the head room even tighter, so I haven't had much experience using it.

A word of caution when just leaving the top on the deck. I did that after someone suggested it to me. It was there for about a day and the paint polish stuck to the back window. It was not easy to get the polish off and it effected the window clarity. The window still looks good, but before that happened it was crystal clear.
 I could put a cloth there to protect the window but the car just does not look as good as when you have the clear deck and trunk/boot. After all I have the car because of its  gorgeous lines, so I don't leave the roof on the deck.
If you are not so worried about how it looks with the roof down then leaving the roof on the deck is a much easier option.

I had a Prestige top on my 56. Framework wise, it is a completely different top..  It attaches to the Ford swing bar ok.  Uses all factory hardware for bolting down.  The above mentioned problem when raising the top is what I found.  It has a flap over the windows to keep the rain from coming in, and the flap is a little difficult to get on the outside of the window when outside of the car with the windows up.  That being said, it is a very serviceable top, looks nice although not the exact  copy of a factory top.  A non Bird owner would not know the difference.  I had it on my car for a couple of years, including a trip across country and it kept me dry through some horrific rain storms.  It was easier to raise it over a stock top.  Mine was white vinyl.
When I restored the car I went to a later factory top because that what I wanted, not that the Presitige top went bad.  The Prestige top was still in very good condition and I sold it for almost what I had into it.

There is a company named Jewel Parts that offers a top that is very close to the original tops so I understand.

I think whatever top you will buy is really a two man operation to raise, especially if stowed behind the seat although I can do it by myself.  A lot of time I will lay the top down on the rear deck baby carriage style.  This makes it a lot easier to raise.


54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

Just to add to that. They are also noisy at higher speeds as they don't have the insulation of a modern roof so they drum a lot.

http://forums.y-blocksforever.com/Topic111986.aspx
Hopefully this link takes you to the topic I started when I had problems with the top from new. They eventually credited me the labour costs and sent the parts to do the work. It cost them quite a bit for their sloppy quality controls.  Maybe just by coincidence nothing was happening until I started posting on forums about the issue.
As mentioned, the Tbird tops are a poor design. I found that I still get full travel on the seat but it can't be tilted back as far. They are a pain in the arse to put up and down, taking care not to pinch the material or do damage elsewhere. To put up or down behind the seat I push the seat all the way forward and straddle the tunnel to lift it on and off the rear deck. I think Corvette probably had the better design with the flip up panel and compartment that the roof folds into.
I bought the soft top because I wanted to have the choice of top up or down while I was out. I went the canvas at much greater cost as I feel it looks so much better. The hardtop is cumbersome to put on and off and I had stick with what ever I  left home with, with the hardtop.
In saying that, I am reluctant to put the soft top up or down on a whim because it is such a pain to operate. I unzip the window so that it is not folded when top down and wrap the top in a sheet to protect it. It is a pain to realign everything and zip the window in when putting it back up. I can spend 10min-15min putting it up or down. It is a shit of a job.
It was quite an expense to purchase the canvas roof and get it back to Australia. Knowing now how much hassle it is to operate, I'm not sure if I would spend the money again to have one. I do think it looks classy when up though.