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Gene the Wizard of Queens, original ragtop photos

5K views 34 replies 10 participants last post by  Mehitabel 
#1 ·
Well, folks, I want to thank those who reassured me about Gene, of Gene's German Cars in Queens. What a character! (Eugen Tiganila, Romanian dude).

He gave me a GREAT rate for my oil change, he spent 2.5 hours dealing with my car (and only charged for one); he personally introduced me to his ragtop and interiors pal, McCoy's Upholstery ( https://www.yelp.com/biz/mccoys-upholstery-woodside ), who quoted me $450 - $500 to replace my ragtop when the time comes (I already bought the top).

Then Gene gave me a tutorial about how to take the hardtop off and raise the ragtop. During this escapade, we discovered that my dad (88) and his pals (86 and 90 years old) had put the hardtop back on without latching any of the rear latches!!! Yikes!

I am still stuck with the heat being on All. The. Time, and need to get some scratch together to get that diagnosed and fixed. Gene's hourly rate is $90/hr., and he told me that his charge for doing this depends entirely on what the problem turns out to be.

Then he replaced my windshield wipers with the "new" ones I bought on Ebay, no charge: but pointed out that the portside one was too long. :-( Suggested I get the Ebay dude to swap the blade for one of the correct length.

Photos of "Awesome" Krautzie below, with her newly revealed original ragtop. The ragtop well is in great shape, no rust. Frame looks great. Except for a small tear in the right rear, the ragtop is, says Gene, "in EXCELLENT condition."
 

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#2 ·
A few more photos. (Gene wanted me to take a picture of him posing with Awesome!)

You can see the back/underside of the old German canvas is in great shape. I noticed the contrasting-color topstitching, a nice touch. It feels really substantial and top-quality.

HERE is my QUESTION. Tommy McCoy, the upholstery guy (who does fantastic work, judging by the cars in his shop, e.g. an old Studebaker) said that I would only need to apply a canvas patch, gluing it on, to get me through this season. He also put his finger right on the spots that have some wear, though they feel pretty good to me.

What kind of glue is best for gluing this old German canvas? Something flexible. I know about fabric glue, but don't know if it's strong enough.

Thoughts?
 

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#13 ·
What kind of glue is best for gluing this old German canvas? Something flexible. I know about fabric glue, but don't know if it's strong enough.

Thoughts?
On my previous top, I had a few rips. I tried to patch them by gluing, but the patches eventually came loose. Problem is, if you put patch on inside where it won't be noticeable, you are gluing it to the inside liner. But perhaps there is no lining back there between windows?

Regarding glue, I have used fabric glue to seal minor fraying on my top where it wore against the boot top seal when folding. But not sure how that would stand up where strength is required and to temperature (top can get quite hot in sun). Whatever you use, I would get a clear adhesive rather than those that are yellow.

You may be able to sew on a patch. This can be done using a sailmakers awl. Others here have sewn in windows that way. You need to get to both sides, but in your case, that should not be too big a problem.

Maybe your expert top guy could do the repair? Or maybe a marine top shop? Glue, then sew would be best!
 
#5 ·
Your dark brown soft top looks like the condition of mine before I replaced it.
For a few years I used some like colored patches of canvas and glued the pieces
to the outside of the top. Looked and worked great ... but its only a stop gap
and I suspect in a very few years you are going to need a replacement. Also,
it looks like your soft top is showing some dry rot.

One contact cement that should work with the patch is HH-66.
 
#25 · (Edited)
Gene is now MAD at me. I left the hard top there, because he said I could leave it for a couple of days, and added with a wink, "And, if you say, Gene! I need to pick it up on the weekend, that's okay! Buuuut -- you have to come and get it, I don't store these things..." etc. Fair enough!

So, I injured my eye that night, had to go to the hospital, as a consequence got behind on 2 clients' work deadlines; niece coming in from Texas tomorrow, and I called today and begged his pardon, said I'll have to get it Saturday morning. Just impossible to get it today.

Well, he fussed at me. Sounded really ticked off. I hope I haven't permanently pissed him off.

I'm going to ask him to fix the climate control unit and get it in apple pie order. IF he doesn't tell me to get lost! I sure do want to be able to drive my car without being miserable.
 
#33 ·
Well, I went back to Gene, he put the hardtop back on, and as seems to be his habit, is a lot more agreeable in person.

The cookies were a hit. :wink I handed them to Gene, and said, "These are for the lessons." His face brightened a bit, he peered into the bag, and said to his sidekick, "Look, we have something!"

He was working on this car (see attached photos; didn't realize the blur problem): a car worth >$100,000. ~1975, I think, but I didn't catch the model, as he said he had "No time, no time!!!" as the owner was due to arrive shortly.

I'm going to try to get Krautzie over there for the climate control fix next week, as Gene is very busy.

ALSO, I couldn't release the center rear latch to lower the ragtop (!@!#@%^&*%&%^#$!!), and Gene diagnosed that as cables that need to be adjusted. Just one more item on The List.
 

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#35 ·
It has an Extremely Clean engine; I noticed that Gene and his sidekick had put a wool pad on the front fender to keep the paint from getting scratched as they leaned in and worked on it. Beautiful car, looks like something the Queen would ride in.
 
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