I am having my soft top replaced next week by a local shop that has been doing convertible tops for 20+ years (family run business). They have ordered me a top from GAAH out of California. Supposed to be the "original" dark brown German canvas material with light tan liner. :?: Is this any good?
I spoke to Gernold yesterday about the elastic straps that reside between the canvas and the 2 main straps. He said just use any standard elastic, nothing special. Gernold also had me remove 2 chrome frame posts (~3 inches high) that reside in the soft top compartment. These posts pivot on a pin and are under slight tension with a spring. Gernold said they were added on the later 70 and 71 models and he doesn’t see a good reason for these posts to be there. What they do is to prevent you from folding the top down until you have bent down the front part of the frame first, part of the take down process. He removes these as a standard practice when he works on these top frames. He mentioned that many times they cause the frame to bend while folding the top. He’s the expert, so I removed mine.
Last weekend, I removed my old canvas and spent many hours cleaning the frame of old glue and some slight surface rust, so I know the frame pretty well now. The guy doing the top is the son of the owner and has been doing tops for many years. However, while he has done many 107s, he has never done a 113. :?: Can anyone provide me with some pointers as to the differences between these 2 models and their soft tops? Want to make sure it’s done right!
Thanks!
Bob
bpossel
Memphis, TN.
1971 280SL
1997 E320
