Brighton

I along with many other 3rd gen owners with T-Tops had the tabs on the T-top storage bag zippers break years ago. After spending a few hours online looking for solutions I think I have found the best replacement tab available. It is called the Zipper Fixer from Ohio Travel Bag. I bought a set of 2 jumbo sized Zipper Fixers from Mike Miller at his e-mail address:mkmsolutions at yahoo dot com. You can find the product from him at Amazon and at eBay. His store name at Amazon is MKM Solutions. His seller name at eBay is mkmsolutions. He is currently the only seller of the product at Amazon. I paid $7.99 for two Zipper Fixers from mkmsolutions at eBay. The cost from Amazon with shipping to my address would have been about $10. Mike caught a mix-up with small versus jumbo size in the order and sent an e-mail to me to make sure he sent the correct size. He responded very quickly to my e-mails. We can contact him directly if we want a mixed size order (small/large/jumbo). Shipment was by 1st class mail. The envelope with the product arrived quickly. Installation is very easy. My only concern may be how many years the plastic can withstand the heat under the hatch glass before it may become brittle. The loop should be very durable as it is made metal. I plan to order one or more small or large Zipper Fixers for clothing (coats) with missing zipper tabs. I may also order two more jumbo sized Zipper Fixers as spares for my Firebird if no one has a better solution.

I did not find any threads here with solutions to broken zipper tabs. If you have a solution, then please follow-up with your solution. This is the first product review I have posted to Thirdgen. I have been searching the forum for a few years for solutions to my car's problems. This time I found a solution elsewhere and thought others here would benefit from my experience. I will let you know if I have any problems with this product.

I have attached two photos. The first shows the "top/outer" surface and the narrow side along with the curve in the tab. The second shows Zipper Fixer as installed on my T-top bag. I installed them so they curve away from the bag as I pull the zippers closed (the tabs will curve away from each other when they are touching.)





Update July 26, 2011:

Zippermend may be another solution. The tab appears to be smaller than the tab on the jumbo sized Zipper Fixer. I am not sure how long the split ring would last on the Zippermend. The possible failure point on the Zipper Fixer would be the plastic locking mechanism.

The Dritz Zipper Tabs Replacements is another option. I wanted to avoid a small ring connecting the zipper tab to the zipper. I am not sure how strong the tiny ring is on this option. I did not want a ring in between. I thought it would be easier to open and close the zipper if the connection were more direct. These tabs look small.

The curved portion of the Zipper Fixer is slightly flexible. I have opened and closed the storage back a few times now and am satisfied with the Zipper Fixer. I like the feel and size of the tab. The bag is easy to open and close.

UNCLE TOM

iTrader: (1)

i like !!!

1ADan

iTrader: (4)

cool find, thanks for sharing!

NewJerseyBandit

iTrader: (1)

I used a key ring as a temporary fix, but I like this much better as it will look more like OEM.

burnout88

Good find!!