I've never seen such a good looking Cayman-style hardtop
 

What do those Cayman style hard tops cost?
How hard is it to install?


https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/d/san-diego-boxster-with-cayman-style-top/6821226392.html

https://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/d/novi-porsche-boxster-manual/6817990064.html

Most tops look like this. I never liked this look.
https://rennlist.com/forums/attachme...0-dsc07484.jpg

But, look at this! Looks like a Cayman!
https://images.craigslist.org/00t0t_...dz_600x450.jpg

I've never seen such a good looking Cayman-style hardtop
 

You're rather late to the party.

How hard they are to install seems to depend upon how rough you are willing to accept the fit to be.

Z-top.

https://www.facebook.com/porsche986hardtops/

Jan did a good job on his, check it out.

http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/69896-z-top-thread.html

Ya know...
 

.....you can buy a Cayman. Just sayin.

You act like you discovered something new. :D

Do Cayman's have a removable roof with a motorised soft-top underneath now?

Can't afford a Cayman? 😭🙄😀


http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1551446790.jpg

Here's my solution to a Cayman with a motorized soft-top underneath.

1 of each.
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1551447277.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1551447333.jpg

They are $2600 US + fitting and paint. Approx $4000 finished.

Show off 😉

man, the internet is a fantastic place, full of the most interesting people.

Sexy!

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

So Husker...you anywhere close to puttin' Punkin' on the market yet? I'm a patient man, but everyone's got his limits. I wasn't a fan of orange...til I laid eyes on THAT car!

No, not really.
Read the first word of the thread title.

You can learn math. Just sayin.

Cayman $28k

Boxster $6k
Z-top $4k

You have a point :)

Do you think that you might go down this path? I agree that the styling is great.

Thank you.

What's the leading brand?
Z-top?

Wow, that does NOT look plug and play.
Looks like a major job.
This explains I've never heard a single mention of this.
Very few people have ever done this.

search this forum for z-top or zeintop. originally made by a grifty german guy named andreas zeineke or somesuch that took a lot of money but didn't make so many hardtops. hence the name zeintop, or z-top for most of us who could never remember if it was i before e or e before i. i actually spoke on the phone with him a few times, but could never develop enough trust to send him thousands of $. i've since had two z-tops, but never bought new; all acquired by scouring the interweb. eomak has my old one (sold in a fit of porsche hatred and poverty when it all was for sale, but the only thing that sold was the z-top to someone like me scouring the internet for the unicorn).

the top finally got ripped off and sent offshore and now the ones you find are (a) cheaper, (b) much improved, (c) more plentiful (when was the last time you got to use that word, hey?) and (d) made in china by the nimble little hands of industrious 9-year olds.

they are not perfect. fiberglass is not designed to do what z-tops do; be pulled in opposing directions by the four offset mounting points, or come out of the mold and maintain trim lines along multiple axis. the result is not oem; fitment is always slightly off, they squeak and rattle when cold, they put weight up high which is noticeable if you are a track guy, they can form stress cracks.

and they look cool. the end result is not a cayman (although the top is taken from a cayman roofline). the cayman is modern; aggressive front and rear bumper covers, sharkfin side intakes, designed to provide enough headroom to wear your ball cap to the side. the boxster has styling cues from 50's and 60's porsches; flowing lines, a curvature to the door, subtle side intakes. the result of putting a cayman roofline on a 986 is not a cayman. perhaps a bit 996TT mini me, but not a cayman.

there are other, similar options out there; look for dmoris (or is it d'moris?) for a high-end option. there's a british company making a clunky version of the dmoris top, and boxtcars/renegade hybrids was doing a cayman race top for the 986 for a while. eric on this forum was making a 996 race top for the 986; while he doesn't seem to be on this forum any more, he might be found at hgr? but realise that a race top is a LOT of work to make street worthy.

but really, if you want a cayman just get a cayman. but make sure it's smog legal in california (sorry; inside joke that probably only i get).

Sorry Frodo, #5 Punkin is resting nicely in the garage, just waiting for all the snow, ice, and cold weather to disappear in the rear view mirror. It is nice to know I could liquidate my inventory IF that day ever arrived. The former #2 salesperson at Porsche of Omaha (now Alfa sales mgr) covets my CSS. Anytime there was a new Porsche intro, he would make a ridiculous (in my favor) offer for my CSS. He once offered to take both of my cars straight up for a new 2016 Boxster Spyder! :eek: It was such a stunning offer (the Spyder had a sticker of $95K) that I actually thought about it for a second - I couldn't believe he was offering that much for my cars. Then my senses came back to me and I declined.

Not really as bad as it looks reading that thread. I had never undertaken anything close to this magnitude before. Was overly causus and made alot of mistakes. Finally got it right. If I did this again I could finish the prep in a few days. I just wanted to do it myself.

I've had both a factory hardtop and this top. The factory top is a little easier to switch and quieter but I found the look odd. The Z-art top, in my opinion, looks much better but it is noisier and takes several more steps to remove. The D.Morris top is more like factory but shipped to US was around $2000 more. As for the Cayman, I guess it you didn't care about having the ability to remove the top, that would be the way to go. I've never driven one but I assume its similar.

They are the only brand making this type.

actually, if you go to the latest website they are not called z-tops any more. but it's a good search term if looking for more info.

Can you post the latest website URL?

Here's the dealer in Ohio where I purchased mine:

https://www.acustomhardtop.com/

Oh man you are stronger than i would be! i love the 981 Spyder and short of a GT4 there isn't another "nice weather" car i would want. If i wont the lottery tomorrow i'd have a Spyder and GT4 in my garage. Spyder prices are outrageous, you can get a GT4 and SAVE $20k over a spyder...didnt see that coming!

Link is broken :(

I was planning on doing a Zeintop on my car... Planning is a light way of putting it. I noticed on Ebay that the top costs almost $10 000. If that's the case I might as well scrap my car and gut a Cayman to get the results I want.


Is this just a fluke or something?

If its not a fluke anybody want to sell their damaged or not wanted z-top; perhaps one that they couldn't complete? hehe

I’m in a sloooow process of getting my money back from that clown.
I also found out who his supplier is and talked to them. They are no longer ordering the tops from their Hong Kong manufacturer. So, as far as I’ve been able to find, no cayman-style tops available at present.

I don't know why they are suddenly $10000. on Ebay.The 986 top cost me $2600 including all parts except spinlocks and is was available at the Ohio dealer. Not sure why the link is broken but you might try calling them. They have active ebay auctions going on now for a factory second cheap.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1580316705.jpg

Im curious. Getting your money back from who?

This guy: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F18 2453537329

Who, it turns out, buys them from this guy (the seller you posted from your iPhone): https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F32 4050765947

Who told me on the phone that he’s getting out of importing the tops from Hong Kong and only has the damaged 987 top left in stock. After that’s gone, he’s done.

Who told me on the phone that he’s getting out of importing the tops from Hong Kong and only has the damaged 987 top left in stock. After that’s gone, he’s done.

Sorry your having trouble.
I emailed the Ohio company and got a blow off response. I bought one several years ago, $2600 and never had a problem with the Ohio company. Weird.
Ive dealt with extreme before and never had a problem. He must of bought out their stock. Ad says he has 8 left.
Did you buy one and are wanting to return it?

No, he has none in stock. I ordered one only to find out that he doesn’t have them in stock. I then went on to find out that his supplier, whom I’ve listed, also doesn’t have them in stock and is not getting any more.

And he’s taking his sweet damn time refunding my money too. Been almost a month.

I without mentioning you asked him about the status of the tops. He bought out the Ohio dealer and is going to be the only US supplier. He's waiting on a shipment and will have more soon. The same thing happened on my led taillights. He ran out, I ********************ed, I had to wait but the came when he said. If you end up getting the top and have any questions let me know. I love mine.

PM me. My line of work permits me to engineer correspondence that assures the recipient quickly will remedy the matter. Never have I had a recipient of my "consumer correspondence" fail to pay up. Never.

;)

Thanks, I appreciate that very much. No worries though - I went through PayPal, so if he doesn’t pay, they will take care of me. Although I’m sure he will pay, he’s just being slow about it. :-(


JBauer - pictures and threads here about your top have been an inspiration to me. Hopefully he does eventually get more tops in stock. If so, I may reorder.

I’m planning a track car, so the weight of the top might be an issue. May just go with a spec Boxster fiberglass top. Decisions, decisions...

some of the cali guys on this forum might be able to help you find member eric523; he was making/selling a 986 track top molded from a 996; a search on here will get you pics, etc.

I know I saw that... Sucks its for a 987. Too pricy for me to risk "making it fit"

I messaged him and he said he only had the one top, none for the 986.


Man, I finally get a 986 that I'm willing to do body work on and they stop making the top I want.


How often do these things come up used? I've never seen one used, but I haven't been really looking hard being that they are not too expensive new.

He's stalling.
You're clearly getting scammed. Refund takes 10 seconds.
Look up the Paypal refund claim deadline limit timeframe.

Thanks. I’ll search that and see.