Soft top won't retract all the way

[Joe]

I've still not got this resolved. A mechanic I queried didn't know what is wrong, and I can't figure it out either. The soft top on my 1971 280SL lacks a couple of inches of retracting completely into the cavity. Something has apparently gone haywire in the mechanism. It goes up and latches in place just fine. When I retract it, the front goes back about 18" and then I have to force it a little bit. It then pops and goes on back, but won't go all the way down.
Once I let the bottom slip into the cavity too soon, and the whole top got stuck. I pushed hard on the top, towards the rear, and it popped down. I was able then to lift it out. I think this current problem may have its genesis in that event.
Sure would like to get this remedied. Any advice is appreciated.
Joe

[Joe]

Keeping thread alive. Surely someone has had this happen to their soft top!
Joe

[J. Huber]

Sorry Joe. I can't help -- mine seems to retract pretty well, although I have issues with the sides getting crimped/chewed as mine goes in. Also, I usually have to do CPR to get the topcase to latch... Good luck.

James
63 230SL

[signalred280sl]

Joe and James,
There are some older threads on this subject that you can find in a search. Make sure that the front locking "pins" are retracted before you finally close the cover over the folded down top - that will give you maybe an inch of extra clearance. Sometimes we forget to retract those pins. I ended up mounting four heavy picture hangers in the bottom of the soft top well, two on each side mounted fore and aft, and ran a tan military web belt through each set. When I close the top down I can then cinch it down another inch or two using the two belts - works great! The other thing I do is to lay another web belt fore and aft on each side before putting the top down into the well. When I want to put the top back up I grab the ends of the belt (and if I have a helper, have them grab the ends on the other side) and lift the entire top out of the well at one time. Of course if you don't take it out all at once you can be in big trouble! As to fraying on the sides next to the folding mechanism - I found that the little metal "pockets" on each side had some really rough edges where they were joined together and I used a Dremel tool with little cut-off blades on it to grind those rough edges smooth. I then gave them a coat of black paint and covered the area with 2" wide black vinyl tape from Lowes Hardware to make them really smooth. I always put 1 gallon ziplock baggies on each side as I close the top to further ease it down into those "pockets". Others have used 3-liter bottles cut in half to do the same thing. Hope this helps and good luck!
Les 1970 280 SL