I've commented to many members on many occasions on elements of soft top replacement. I replaced my top a few years ago, and documented the entire process with a view to writing an article for the Wiki. I haven't given up on that idea just yet, but a number of members have asked for the photos that I took. Having sent out a few memory sticks with the hundreds of photos, and being on the verge of sending another one, a fellow member suggested that I list the photos on an online photo hosting site. This I have now done as an interim measure to my Wiki article.
To view this site/album, click on the link below, which will take you straight to the PICTURES tab, then select the 'View Album' option which is in the middle of the page. Link:
http://w113softtopreplace.shutterfly.com/pictures The 250+ photos are unsorted, but are in the correct order. So, they show pictorially:
- The roof as it was on my car, with measurements, where screws are etc.
- The correct order to remove the roof, the routing of the 2 wires, etc.
- They show the frame off the car, and my shots really for me, just showing the frame being cleaned up. The biggest pain is the removal of old glue, which takes an age even with a good solvent.
- There are a number of shots of the inside of the door, showing the window mechanism, because I was preparing the car for the new softtop by adjusting the windows to the hard top.
- There also appears to be a photo of a green woodpecker on my bird table.
- The remaining shots show the order of replacing the roof, and the detailed jobs involved, like making holes for the wires.
- What they don't show is what a colossal pain it can be stretching the roof on even with two people (forget trying to do this alone). The hardest part is getting the roof to sit properly on the back bow. We had to pull it off about 3 times before I was happy, but the end result is good enough.
- It shows the other major bore which is getting rid of the gap in the elbows over the window. There is a photo in there of the shims that I removed from under my frame when I put the new roof on. There are also duplications of some of the photos.
Anyway, it's all there more or less. From one old roof on, removed, frame cleaned to new roof going on, finished.
It lacks a write up, but if anyone wants to do this and has questions about the photos, please do ask and refer to a photo and I'll see if I can remember what I did.
Please note that the slide show may run slowly because the photos are pretty high res so they can be downloaded and blown up for detail. (That was my idea, anyway).
Finally, I'd offer that this is a perfectly do-able DIY job if frustrating at times. I'd never done it before, but I had a friend to help, and a good period of free time over Christmas in 2007. Doing it ones' self, like so many other things on these cars, will often produce a better result than most commercial enterprises, although the big penalty is the time it takes to get it right, trial/error, cut hands, etc. My top fits very well and better than some I've seen professionally fitted. The downside is that the window gap still isn't right, and I suspect the frame has a bend in it somewhere given the difficulty in getting the damn thing into the box.
Tschuss!
James
