I know this sounds dumb and all but day one, it took me about 45 minutes to figure out how to roll the top back on my 2CV. Particularly how to get the metal pieces off in the middle brackets (if that makes sense). I was afraid I might break something until I figured it out.

Can someone tell me the purpose of this piece (Matt's soft tops calls it a front strap)?



There is another shorter snap at the front of the top that wraps around the front bar. Assuming I have that right.

Last night I hastily put the top up and forgot to tuck this front strap inside the cabin and this morning heard this knocking sound that got faster as I drove and realized the snap was bouncing against the windscreen.

I noticed the center bar as a female snap in the center. So my assumption is the male end of this longer strap snaps onto it which allows you to put the top back halfway if you wanted to. Like as in this photo:





How does this piece snap to the center bar? Since the front snap would be inside the top when the top is rolled back?

Like I said these questions may seem dumb but this car seems as if it was built on another planet by aliens. But that's what I love about it!

The front bar folds and you connect the strap to the centre bar with the corresponding press stud.

Dumb question but do you release the clamps but leave the pegs in the front bar, then just fold the front portion back and then attach the snap from the long strap to one in the center bar?

I'll take a look after I get off work. I initially assumed the entire top had to be rolled back until I started looking at photos on the internet and saw where only half could be folded back.

You leave the roof clipped to the bar and you don't unhook the roof from the middle catches.

The orange and white "SPOT" in your photo has a different type of roof to yours. You have the internally latched roof, with a frame to flip the front half back. The external type (as on the SPOT in your photo) didn't have that frame: the roof was rolled to the half way position and held to a different shaped bracket with a metal hoop on a strap that was attached to the end of the roof's front bar.
On your type of roof, when putting it in the half-open position, I've never bothered to clip the centre strap onto the middle bar. It stays there without the popper unless your at a standstill with a strong wind coming from behind the car.

Yeah, if you take a good look at both photos from your original post, you can see the bar in the folded back position. The strap just folds under the bar and attaches to the fixed centre bar where there's a press stud to locate the strap to. Means you can quickly open/close the hood whilst sitting in the driver's seat (not on the move though-I have heard of somebody trying....didn't end well! ).

Does this help? ...[from 1988 Owners Instruction book.]
Pages 19 & 18 .....["Botophucket" ....{true toform} decided to mix the pics up for me ]



best regards
T.

I took some photos but the turned out cloudy.

At first I must have done something wrong because I was driving down the road and the front center bar fell all of a sudden pivoted downward and hit me square on the head! OUCH!

I think it was because I did not secure the small strap to the front bar.

So I pulled over, installed the pins back into the front bar. Snapped the small strap around the front bar, then snapped the longer strap around the center bar. Now everything seems stable.

However at 50 MPH, the rear portion of the top is no longer taught and the rear center bar now bounces and makes an awful racket.

Perhaps I still need to use the rear straps? Or maybe I'm just not folding the top back correctly?

Looks to me like putting back half the top takes about as much effort as rolling the entire top back. I actually prefer the entire top rolled back anyway.

I think most 2CV'ers have been smacked on the back of the head by that bloody bar at some time. Welcome to the club.

I very seldom drive with the roof "half" open .....the folded part and the rear bar flaps & bangs, and I've never [in 30years of 2CV ownership] found a way to fold it which does'nt let it "flap & bang"
And tbh, I think it gives a good chance of tearing the roof where the two little clips which attach to the lugs to hold the roof taut to the central bar.