986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post

Mark_T · 08-17-2010, 02:14 PM

I did my own top replacement and, even though it turned out well, it was a lot of time and effort. If I could find someone good to do it for $500 or less, I would gladly farm it out next time. If it cost more than that then I'd still do it myself.

The top itself cost $500, shipped from England, and included a pair of oem slider clamps. The quality was excellent and the fit was perfect.

The tutorials by Mike Focke and Wayne Dempsey are great. If you have those you can leave your Bentley on the shelf.

I did my first one in about 10 or so hours. I would think that if I did 4 or 5 more then I should have that down to about 6 or 7 hours easily, and a pro should be much faster than that. These guys charging 1000+ for the job are pulling down a pretty mean hourly rate.

I'm told that if you want a glass window the best route to go is to get a complete four-bow top off an '03 or'04. Putting a glass window top on a three-bow means a smaller window and restricted access to the motor in service mode. I stuck with the plastic window for that reason.

08-17-2010, 02:14 PM	#8
Mark_T Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Winnipeg MB Posts: 2,486	I did my own top replacement and, even though it turned out well, it was a lot of time and effort. If I could find someone good to do it for $500 or less, I would gladly farm it out next time. If it cost more than that then I'd still do it myself. The top itself cost $500, shipped from England, and included a pair of oem slider clamps. The quality was excellent and the fit was perfect. The tutorials by Mike Focke and Wayne Dempsey are great. If you have those you can leave your Bentley on the shelf. I did my first one in about 10 or so hours. I would think that if I did 4 or 5 more then I should have that down to about 6 or 7 hours easily, and a pro should be much faster than that. These guys charging 1000+ for the job are pulling down a pretty mean hourly rate. I'm told that if you want a glass window the best route to go is to get a complete four-bow top off an '03 or'04. Putting a glass window top on a three-bow means a smaller window and restricted access to the motor in service mode. I stuck with the plastic window for that reason. __________________ '99 black 986 Last edited by Mark_T; 08-17-2010 at 02:19 PM.