Convertible top (dumb question)

[jdveterano]

Does the top need to be secured in the down position with straps to drive?

I recently went to put the top down and noticed that not only were the straps from the interior missing, but the top boot was in real bad shape and falling apart.

Do I need to address this before doing any serious driving, or do people drive with the top down and unsecured all the time?

[RRoller123]

I drive with it down and no boot cover all the time, no problem. It will settle in place well on a warm day and the wind doesn't effect it at all. The boot cover is just for looks, and I guess it helps keep it clean, but it is really just for looks.

[fiat218]

i agree , down is fine with no straps

[bradartigue]

The straps exist to keep the top from vibrating and in the down-most position, which also keeps the window from rubbing (things move around less, the window rubs less). Half of the time the straps are installed incorrectly when used, which is why I think people consider them inconvenient. They attach around the pointy end of the windscreen fasteners when the top is down, they take about 2 seconds each to attach correctly.

The boot cover is truly cosmetic; I will say though on a fall day it keeps leaves and other crud from getting into the folds of the top.

[4uall]

I agree with Brad

[124Germ]

And where do they hook on the bottom of that strap?

[fiat218]

They a hole on the side panel,
I am not sure how they are install incorrectly,

[courtenay]

That's not how I was taught (by the Fiat dealer I bought my '72 from many years ago) to use the straps. I put the metal thingy on the strap into the slot in the arm of the top mechanism where it folds right above the stud the strap anchors into. I'd post a picture, but it's cold here, my car is covered and I don't want to put the top down right now.

[focodave]

I have driven with my top down, no straps, no boot cover ---- for thousands of miles.
No problems.
My rear window looks fine.
The top stays in place just fine.
Right, wrong, or indifferent, I haven't seen a need for the straps. (I didn't get any straps with my car when I bought it, anyway)

[fiat218]

I have driven with my top down, no straps, no boot cover ---- for thousands of miles.
No problems.
My rear window looks fine.
The top stays in place just fine.
Right, wrong, or indifferent, I haven't seen a need for the straps. (I didn't get any straps with my car when I bought it, anyway)

Time for you to change u need them

[focodave]

Jim,
Don't tell me ------ You're selling straps for $500 each.
Dave

[4uall]

driving without the strap attached is great for when those impromptu showers happen.

[focodave]

I suppose one main reason for the straps would be to keep the top down, nice and tight, if you are using the boot cover so as to prevent the frame of the top from trying to poke up through the cover material.

[bradartigue]

That's not how I was taught (by the Fiat dealer I bought my '72 from many years ago) to use the straps. I put the metal thingy on the strap into the slot in the arm of the top mechanism where it folds right above the stud the strap anchors into. I'd post a picture, but it's cold here, my car is covered and I don't want to put the top down right now.

Sounds like a FIAT dealer. He was probably the chief mechanic as well. Same guy a few years later tells everyone how crappy the cars were and how the tops kept coming back having rattled the hardware loose. Didn't bother to learn how the car works...

[bradartigue]

I have driven with my top down, no straps, no boot cover ---- for thousands of miles.
No problems.
My rear window looks fine.
The top stays in place just fine.
Right, wrong, or indifferent, I haven't seen a need for the straps. (I didn't get any straps with my car when I bought it, anyway)

Time for you to change u need them

It all depends on your description of right or good. This is as silly as the argument about "needing" timing belt covers or "needing" engine pans. Of course you don't need them. You also don't need good tires, you don't need good brakes, you don't need to use good oil, you don't need to burn premium fuel.

Guys, FIAT was (and is) too cheap of a company to include anything "extra."