Boxster 97 (2.5) Tale of roof woe

[schoir]

Originally Posted by stiggerq

Managed to source the parts i need for the car, came up with a result....!!

A guy on E-bay was selling his cd tray
after a few questions turns out he's race prep'ed a 3.2 boxster S and after a bit of haggling provided me with the entire roof with frame, boomerag shaped bracket and linkage as well as two door cards (with speaker enclosure) Center pod (cd/tape/ glasses holder) complete for £275 all in. i would hate to think of how much the guy has saved me.

Car booked in on manday to have roof fitted and a full service.

"happy days"

Steve

Steve:

I don't know if you are into DIY, or if you have someplace to do the work, but if you are up for it, I can talk you through the entire process of replacing your complete top and frame assembly, and replacing your broken V-lever and pushrods.

If the repair shop's estimate for that work is high, even if you can't do it all yourself, if you have a friend that's handy we can do it... Then you can buy some goodies for your Boxster! :dance:

Regards, Maurice.

[stiggerq]

Hi guys, quick update

Last weekend I chose to replace the roof myself. having the spare with me inspired a little confidents.. Took about 2 hours. Worst bit was aligning the gear boxes either side, chose to strip them down and overhaul with new grease etc. Set them at mid point ( the gear is only approx 200 degrees in size) All fitted back together. The broken cable was easy enough to fix as there is plenty of spare at the end. took the silver crimped collet off and used a set of pipe cutters to remove about 25-30 mm of the black sheath. As the square drive is continuous inside I then had enough fresh material to fit back into the drive (once the collet was replaced). Setting up the drive equally was not too bad as long as you use a battery drill on the end of the square drive to locate each boomerang bracket and linkage. Job done. Also removed the wallet when rebuilding the back section as this was IMO rubbish. Much prefer the carpet look.

Next booked it in for a service instead of roof install and as it was a major ( Doh only had it two months, should have checked !!) £600 pounds later and an additional £600 for a set on Continental tyres. So we are skint but up and running !!!
Glad I did the install my self and sourced that parts as I think I have saved A LOT of money.

Love the car but boy has it cost me !!

Next project lower control arms requires replacement!! Ho-Hum.....

Thanks for all your help and advice !!

[schoir]

Steve:

Way to go!

Sounds like your DIY saved you a boat load of $$, certainly enough to pay for those new shoes for your baby!

Regards, Maurice.

[Steve Tinker]

If you are clever enough to repair your roof, you will have no problems in servicing your Boxster yourself and save even more money.
Honestly, even the major service is relatively easy - just buy yourself a copy of the Bentley Service Manual, 4 x jackstands and a hydraulic jack and you are ready to go. Everything (apart from the air / cabin filters and power steering fluid) is accessable from below and you don't need to be a rocket scientist to maintain these cars.......

[stiggerq]

Excellent advice Steve,

As it hadn't been done for a while i thought i'd stick with the professionals on this one. There's still a few things that i have to do...

Two front control arms
Replace the MAF sonsor
change the door cards for ones with speakers in and change the colour to black along with the rest of the interior.

brake lines need changing and the rear discs and pads need changing too !!

Air con A/C has a leak in the system apparently....

so it's turned into a bit of a project now........

So in few weeks in anyone has any problems with their car then feel free to ask as i may have already done it.......

Steve.