Moke Canopy

[knocka54]

Hi all.
New to the site. I have restored a 1977 Moke and now at the stage of needing a canopy and side curtains made for it.
I have had the canopy bows made in stainless steel by a boat canopy bow company as it is impossible trying to find an original set.
I was wondering if anyone has any information or contacts about motor trimmers who can do this.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Regards
Terry

[Halfpint]

Hi, and Welcome.

It would help if you could tell us where you are as I know 2 great trimmers in Melbourne that I would happily share their details with you 
Both will make sure you get a great roof and are very used to us Mokers 

HP

[knocka54]

Hello HP,
Sorry about that. I am in Western Sydney.

[Littleislandmoke]

Hi, Hijacking this thread as I'm in a similar position but in Melbourne, and HP, you mentioned you had some contacts here.

I have an original 1981 California 1275, that I'm keeping to factory specs but some parts need retrimming. I have the original bows and the the original side canopy doors, but the previous owner didn't have the roof (he had a bikini top made instead), so I need to trim a new full canopy (roof and doors). I would however like to get an exact replica of the original door and roof set up as per what came out of the factory (and I still have the side "doors" that we can use as templates)
Does anyone know if there are trimmers in Melbourne, who have done Mokes, and can do exact replicas or have the templates to do a late Moke California as per original canopy?

[Terry]

Hi,

I would recommend you put 'Ace Trim' in Google and it will come up with an address in Greensborough. Steve is semi retired now but is still doing Moke hoods and has been doing them for 40 odd years.

To get an original looking hood for a 1981 it would have the rounded zips on the doors and require the material to be cut and extra stitching run along the length of the roof as today's style is a one piece whereas the factory effort was three pieces for the roof as the material wasn't wide enough on the roll in 1980's to get across in one piece.

Even though you have the doors they will likely to have shrunk but take them with you to Ace and he can make new ones to suit the new hood and your Moke.

If your Moke doors are in 'Blue Denim' and not Black, then you wont be able to get original.

Terry

[Littleislandmoke]

Thank you for the detailed response Terry. I had read about Ace on some other posts so will follow that up.
Colour wise, my doors (and therefore assume hood) are white, the seats are also white as not all California models came with the "denim vinyl" look. Looking to most likely stick to white for the retrim as there is no decent replica of the "denim" look vinyl used back in the days

Interestingly for the seats, I note a lot of the choke seats (that unfortunately seem to be heavily used in restorations) are almost flat for the back when it looks like the originals, as the ones in my car, were more bucketed (concave) for both seat and back, so another detail I will be keen to get right when I look at retrimming.

[bnicho]

+1 for ACE.  The top they made me is now four years old and still basically good as new. 

[melbournerob]

+2 for Ace...

Rob

[Halfpint]

+3 for ACE. Steve is very easy to work with.
Some advice though, look at lots of hoods.
Just because its "Original" or "Standard" doesn't necessarily make it best. 

Make sure the vertical part of the hood bows are slightly tilting back, have a play with it without the hood on and see how much the foreward bow encroaches on your ease of getting into and out off the Moke. Its a fine line, but if you can set the position to suit you best and then show Steve ( or your trimmer of choice) he will set the hood up accordingly.

Look at a slightly larger arc on the front to make it smoother to zip.
Can the "door" zip be higher to give more room to enter and exit for the taller?
The rear window, is it better to unzip down and around the bottom and roll up, or better to unzip up and roll it down behind the back seat? And getting the zipper to run behind the spare wheel is a pain, maybe look at the zip running nearer to the top of the spare to make it easier.

Sorry to throw some curve balls at you, but these little things sure can make Moking even more easier and stop the " Grrrr, wish I had have made that easier last time" moments 

Cheers
HP

[Littleislandmoke]

HP, wise words and thank you for the watch outs. The bikini top I have and which fits well/easy to access/use back window will give me and the trimmer a good starting point.

Mokes are often out without their hood or at least full set up so hard to spot them or take reference point. I'll keep exploring and taking reference points and maybe reach out to a couple of owners prior to locking in the trimming design

Any other tips/lookouts in the meantime are welcome as this forum is a wealth of knowledge and I hate reinventing the wheel

[drocelot]

I'm after a canopy as well for my 1980 I have the hood bows. Live in Victoria what the price that ace charges?

[olivierlop]

Hi gents,
I'm new to this site and about to leave Australia.
I'm rebuilding a 1969 Moke and have a spare canopy that includes the doors and rood.
If someone is interested, let me know it knowing that I'm based in Melbourne.

Olivier

[Pauly-built]

Hi Olivier,

I might be interested depending on quality and price 

I'll PM you my details.

Cheers,
Paul