As you know the 1.3 Copens don't come with a Tonneau cover, so I have been looking around for the last 4 years for the cheapest deal. From Daihatsu they cost approx. £350, which is mad. I have just managed to get the tonneau, bag & clips from Ebay for £46, but without the modified trim behind the roll bars it does'nt fit So I started investigating what is different on the modified trim , I partially folded the roof and removed the trim under the perspex wind breaker, I found that the switch to disable the roof was present, wired in and working. I decided to remove the existing trim to investigate further, I had to short out the switch cable to allow the roof to be moved. the fixing holes for the clips and the slots for the mounting rods were present, they were just felted over. So I poked the holes through for the clips and fitted them, then drilled out the felt to the same size as the mounting rods. Assembled the tonneau to the trim off the car to check alignment and that the switch operated. All looked good so fitted to the car.
Nice work Coxsie. You got a bargin for £46! I have the part numbers for the mounting arms that allow you to store the Tonneau in the boot & have the roof down still. I'll scan it in at work on Monday & post it up for you.
Cheers thanks for that, If I had the dimensions I could make them myself. Any Idea how much they are ?
Hi Coxsie, good job, but one advise: Usually after fitting the tonneau cover with roof open there is a gap between the tonneau cover and the folded away roof. Please make sure this gap is there. Otherwise the tonneau cover might touch the roof top on bumpy roads or even worse rests on the roof top and causes nasty scratches. Reason for it could be that the part with the switch (=backpanel) is equipped with three metal tubes for the pins of the tonneau cover. These metal tubes also hold the tonneau cover a little bit up, away from the folded away roof. To illustrate, some pics: I also retrofitted my 1.3l with a tonneau cover and got a spare backpanel with metal tubes from a damaged Copen being sold in parts (actually from the UK). Found it on eBay and contacted the seller about whether the backpanel also was available, and it was. Furthermore that backpanel has this yellow hook, to secure the tonneau cover when stored in the boot. The hooks in the boot I got from a german Copen owner, who just did not use the tonneau cover and also did not want to carry it around in the boot. Unfortunately these hooks are only easy to take out or fit if you remove the panel behind the seats. A very good tutorial on how to remove the panel behind the seats was created by Adam K in his thread about "Fitting speaker into the rear panel behind the seats". Andreas
Thanks for the info Scooty, Brilliant photos & explanation I wondered if there was more to the back panel, I guess the metal tube ends are blocked off to stop the pins going right through. Are the tubes welded to the back panel ? also do you know the internal diameter of them, I also guess they are a tight fit to stop any movement. Looking at your diagram do you know the exact positions, as I may be able to make something up similar to enable the tonneau to be lifted from the roof. I cannot thank you enough for highlighting the risk of scratching may roof, Luckily I have not driving my Copen yet with the tonneau fitted. Thanks again
Hi Coxsie, sorry, but the exact diameter of the tubes I do not know. I dug very deep into forum.micro-roadster.de and found some more info for you: The tubes are welded to the backpanel. In addition at either end of the tubes there are some plastic plugs: A complete new backpanel with tubes, plastic plugs, switch and 4 clips will cost around 220 EUR (at least in Germany), Daihatsu part number: 64332-97204-C0 I attached some more pics for illustration and a PDF document (as a ZIP file) which shows all parts and part-number you would require. In addition here's a link from a japanese website (with Google translation) which might help. http://minkara.carview.co.jp/userid/172247/car/262348/473515/note.aspx Now I only hope with all this information I did not put you off your project. Andreas
Hi Scooty, Thanks for the information, at least I have a good idea of what is required. I am looking through some salvage companies for a complete replacement trim, if I do not have any luck I will have a look at what I can do with my original trim. Thanks for spending some of your valuable time finding the diagrams and photo's on the parts required. You haven't put me off yet, but time will tell
After looking closer at the diagrams provided by Scooty. I found that the mounting rods fit snuggly into 15mm plastic water pipe. So I found some clips and mounted short lengths of the 15mm pipe onto the trim below where the mounting rods come through. This works well lifting the back of the tonneau up to give the correct gap between it and the folded roof. See Photo's below. Now there is the correct gap between tonneau and the folded roof
First Copen project Hi, I just finished the mounting of a tonneau on my wifes 1.3 Copen that left the factory without. It ended up to be an international project. I bought the tonneau 2nd hand in Belgium, bougth the clips and spacers from Kenneth at Copenworld and the remaining tubing, bolts and nuts from my local Dutch DIY shop. Thanks to Coxies very clear instructions it was a peace of cake. When I finished it was unfortunately to dark to take pictures to proof how great it looks. Thanks to all the help I definitely earned some bonus points with my wife Bart Copen
Hi Bart Copen, I'm glad Scooty's & my instructions helped, always good to get some bonus points. Nice One.
Hi guys, sorry for the noob question. I don't think my Copen comes with the tonneau cover but I really like the look of it when the roof is down. I have been trying to search for the usage of this thing but I can't really get any answers. Can someone share what is it really used for? Just aesthetics? Can I leave the cover there and still operate the roof up and down without hindrance? thanks!
It is just for aesthetics really It is stored in the boot on special brackets that keep it out of the way of the roof when you are not using it but if you are then you do have to put it on with the roof down and take it off when you want to operate the roof. I hope that helps!
Thanks for the reply ClareL. I have seen a couple of pictures with the cover hooked on while the roof is down. But I really can't envisage how the cover will block the operation of the roof when it tries to lift up. Maybe when I get my car, I will figure it out. In the climate where I live (rain & sunshine within minutes), I think my roof is likely to go up and down quite often. Is there any way to mod it such that the roof can be used with the tonneau cover permanently placed there? Appreciate your patience!
The tonneau fits over the top of the roof when it is down so there is no way to operate the roof with it on unfortunately, if there is any chance of showers I leave mine off - or have a very willing passenger who can help me take the cover off quickly!
Does anyone know the part number of the two metal hooks that go into the base of the cover package? A suitable alternative, or the dimensions of the hooks, would work as well - as I have the cover and clip assembly (after market) , but no hooks to keep the yellow hook from being over stretched.
