Did you need any special tools to install the top?
I needed, a T25 and a T15 screwdriver, a utility knife, heat shrink tubing and a hairdryer, a small blunt punch/hammer, 3m super trim adhesive, and about 8 small spring clamps. You probably have half of these items already, and can purchase the others for a few dollars.
What did you feel was the trickiest/hardest part of the install?
I would have to say that nothing was really extra hard, it was just tedious and time consuming. I would guess that maybe reinstalling the rear bow weatherstripping was the most frustrating, but just took perseverence.
Any other tips or tricks?
Yes, you will have to re-use the aluminum molded plates off of your old top if you don't want to buy new one. As long as you are careful there is no reason you cannot reuse your old ones by removing them and using the 3M adhesive to reapply to the new top. Also, I did not remove the side slide clamping rail that you will see in the install instructions if you buy the top from Cabrio world. I performed the tasks on this piece without removing it, but others may not. I just did not have new plastic plugs to re-install them if I would have broke on while removing the rail. Maybe someone else would go ahead and order these plastic pieces and just replace them. They cannot cost too much.
There was a guy on this board that installed his own top a little while back, and he recommended against doing it yourself mainly because he couldn't get it tight enough, so it was always flapping.
I do not know what kind of top he put on. That may be the case. With the one that I installed the only way that I see I could have messed it up was to not get the rear section centered and it to be lop-sided. The entire setup is precut with specific places the top conects with holes drilled in the fabric so you know where to put the aluminum plates for alignment. If these holes were not pre-drilled then it would have been very hard to know how tight it needs to be. I used the holes they provided and it was a perfect fit. However, I do not want to encourage someone to do it themselves and then be upset with me because they screwed it up. I am just saying that given my limited experience with tops I was able to succesfully install the top with absolutely no flapping. It is as tight as the factory top.
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Originally Posted by larez2
Thanks for the pictures, and thanks for the cabrio world info - that is a great price!
Hey a few questions:
Did you need any special tools to install the top?
What did you feel was the trickiest/hardest part of the install?
Any other tips or tricks?
There was a guy on this board that installed his own top a little while back, and he recommended against doing it yourself mainly because he couldn't get it tight enough, so it was always flapping.
Thanks,
Larez2
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