tenax fastener broken on convertible top

Not being familar with the 355, I have a 308, but if you have access to the tenax from the bottom you should be able to either if it is a sheet metal screw end use a nylon nut and secure it or if a treaded nut, tighten the nut (it the nut is out of threads use a nylon washer and tighten the nut against it. I suggust nylon in both case to eliminate chance of corrosion.

Stephen

 

If it is a bolt and nut type and the nut is out of threads on the bolt post and it still spins
then you need a washer AND the stainless nut with the nylon insert (to keep it tight).

If it has sheet metal threads the stainless nut with the nylon insert will not work. (the sheet metal thread won't screw into the stainless nut with the nylon insert even if you
put the nylon end on first it won't go on far enough to make it tight.

But if the problem is it is just gets loose then the stainless nut with the nylon will work.

Stephen

 

My 355 does the same thing. Surprising thing is that I have a couple of friends whose car's hood open just fine without undoing the back two boot fasteners. I guess it's the beauty of hand built cars.

I just have formed the habit of undoing the snaps before I open the hood. I suspect your boot has shrunk somewhat. I just bought a new boot (OEM) from a fellow FCHatter that couldn't use it and I was surprised at how much better it fit and came down much closer to the body. It was clear that my original boot had shrunk quite a bit. Also, there are three clasps inside the fastener. Many times these break if you don't hold the fastener in the open position when putting the fastener over the mount on the car. You won't notice it until your driving down the road and the boot keeps coming loose. PM if this doesn't make sense...be happy to help.

 

As stated above, you MUST always unfasten the boot snaps around the engine compartment before opening the engine lid. Otherwise, there is a lot of stress on both the female and male Tenex fasteners. New fasteners can be purchased from Eagle Day.com at a reasonable cost. I had one of the male fasteners come loose from just below the rear window (They have a sheet metal thread 22mm long, and screw into a spring clip). To reinstall, I had to remove a bunch of trim from inside the car, as the male Tenax fastener threads into a spring clip, and it is extremely hard to line up, without exposing the spring clip from inside and having a helper to install it. I am not sure you would want to use the style that allow the use of a threaded nut, as the base of the male fastener is much smaller, and will neither match the rest of the male fasteners, and may require a stainless steel washer in order to be properly supported when mounted.

I also purchased a new factory oem boot cover. They are probably close to $4k from Ferrari these days...I found a new one on Ebay in the original Ferrari wrapper, with black vinyl storage case for a very reasonable sum....I just got lucky.

 

Agreed. These are getting harder and harder to find. If you can find one, get it.

 

They do not make longer screws. The longest version is the 22mm that is likely on the car now.