James,
Don't panic yet--see last year's Pagoda World for my story of buying on eBay. Not only was the seller honest and the price right, but Carling was beyond my dreams when she arrived.
I do believe that Tosh is correct about how the tops fit. Makes sense you could just buy one, paint it, and plonk it on. You will need the little chrome handles that are normally in our toolkits. Probably another eBay search for you. Also, the hard top is pretty heavy (see the threads herein on lifting it using girlfriends, wives, and whomever you can grab at the time--luckily I have a big strong man). Therefore you may want a hoist to lift it and to store it out of harm's way. You see how this goes? Each acquisition leads to another...
Good luck! When do you get to meet her?
Trice
1968 280SL US, signal red/bl leather, auto, kinder seat
Sarasota FL; Alsace France; Switzerland
You only need 2 tools in life: WD40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop.