Help! Can get my soft top up?

[ButlerCl]

Good morning to all,
Happy Friday. I've never raised the soft top on my 67 230SL. Only had it for a couple years and haven't had the top up since the guy I bought it from raised and lowered it. Now it seems the handle behind the drivers seat that releases the pop up panel to access top is loose or stripped. It just spins. I took everything apart as far as I could go and then got stumped. First of all, I couldn't get the handle off (couldn't find a set screw/clip etc) so I gently pulled the carpet over it. This gave me more room to look under the handle but still only see a plastic bushing. Then after removing the thin metal panel covering this area I found it exposed nothing. The mechanism the handle is attached to is completely enclosed and unaccessible unless the panel on top is open. Is there any other way to raise it. I tried pushing and prying a little on the exposed locking mechanism through the hole where the hardtop latches. No luck. Thanks for any advise or help.

Cliff

[Norm]

There are multiple posts regarding this subject.

Here is one that may help.

http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=5681.0

If you need more help try the search function....

Keep in mind you are not the first to have this happen and others have come up with ways to solve the problem,

Norm

[mbzse]

You basically have two options. Open the soft top cover via the hole accessible from the trunk of your car, or via the gaps on top of the B pillars.
In addition to Norm's tip, see http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=16952.msg116967#msg116967
/Hans in Sweden

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[ja17]

I use a right angle allen wrench and clamped the long end to a vice grip, then trip the latch with it after inserting the short end  through the hole in the upper center  trunk.