Convertible sling fastener

In a convertible vehicle having a top storage well comprising a top opening defined by a seat back, and side and rear walls of vehicle structure, a sling lining the well, and a tacking strip for securing an edge of the convertible top cover to the well side and rear walls, attachment means comprising

• a plurality of studs mounted on and spaced about the well side and rear walls adjacent the top opening,
• a plurality of spaced mounting holes in the tacking strip for receiving the studs,
• a plurality of fasteners, each including a body for engaging the studs atop the tacking strip to secure the tacking strip to the well walls, an enlarged head, and a retention groove located between the head and body, and
• mating retention means secured to the upper edge of the sling, having apertures sized for retention within the fastener grooves,
• the retention means being elastically deformable to pass over the heads and into the grooves, enabling attachment of the sling to the vehicle structure by pushing the retention means onto the fasteners.

In a convertible vehicle having a top storage well comprising a top opening defined by a seat back, and side and rear walls of vehicle structure, a sling lining the well, and a tacking strip for securing an edge of the convertible top cover to the well side and rear walls, attachment means comprising

• a plurality of threaded studs mounted on and spaced about the well side and rear walls adjacent the top opening,
• a plurality of spaced mounting holes in the tacking strip for receiving the studs,
• a plurality of plastic-overmolded steel fastener nuts, each having a threaded bore for engaging a stud atop the tacking strip to secure the tacking strip to the well walls, an enlarged outwardly rounded head, and a retention groove located between the head and body, and mating retention means comprising an elongated strip of elastic material secured to the sling and having a plurality of spaced apertures each sized for retention within a fastener groove,
• the apertures comprising a locating aperture and a plurality of elongated slots that are horizontally wider than the fastener heads and vertically smaller than the fastener heads, enabling compensation for horizontal misalignment of the studs relative to the retention apertures, each slot being elastically deformable to distort and pass over a head and into a groove, enabling attachment of the sling to the vehicle structure by pushing the retention means onto the fasteners,
• the locating aperture being formed centrally of the strip and sized smaller than the head of a mating fastener located centrally of the storage well rear wall to accurately locate the sling relative to the vehicle structure, and connecting to slits in the strip to provide flaps which are elastically deformable to enlarge the aperture sufficiently to pass over the fastener head,
• whereby the outwardly rounded head of each fastener facilitates deformation of the retention means to enlarge the aperture as the retention means is pushed onto a fastener.

A method of attaching the rear edge of a fabric top and a storage well sling to a convertible vehicle having a top storage well comprising a top opening defined by a seat back, and side and rear walls of vehicle structure, comprising the steps of

• mounting a plurality of studs on and spaced about the well side and rear walls adjacent the top opening,
• providing a tacking strip having a plurality of spaced mounting holes,
• attaching the rear edge of the fabric top to the tacking strip,
• aligning the holes with the studs and mounting the tacking strip on the studs,
• providing a plurality of fasteners, each including a body for engaging the studs atop the tacking strip to secure the tacking strip to the well walls, an enlarged head, and a retention groove located between the head and body,
• mounting the fasteners on the studs to secure the tacking strip to the vehicle body,
• attaching mating retention means to the upper edge of the sling having apertures sized for retention of the retention means within the fastener grooves and being elastically deformable to pass over the heads and into the grooves, and
• pushing the retention means onto the fasteners over the heads and into the grooves to attach the sling to the vehicle structure.