Quick How To guide on Top removal and install
Thread Starter
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,447
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From: Grand Junction, CO / Tomball, TX
Quick How To guide on Top removal and install There are no pics and I wont have any until I get the chance to do another 4th gen so bare with it. The guide is accurate and if you follow it well you should have no problems other than tweaking the top to fit right. Now bust out the beer and get ready to spend around 12 hours getting pissed, lol, have fun!
Materials needed – Dap contact cement, (I forget the staple sizes but you will need the smallest staple you can get for a staple gun and the next staple is a bit longer, probably the next step above the small staple), 10mm socket, Phillips head screwdriver.
Top removal
You can start from the front to remove the old top. Unlatch the top and unscrew the trim piece from the front of the top. Once you have removed this the cloth of the top is exposed. Pull it up separating the glue from the frame. Pull it back till the side cables won’t allow you to go back any further. Now from the front of the top follow the side cable towards the back, you should find that it is screw down. Unscrew it and pull it through the front of the top, do the same for the other side. Now pull the top further back exposing the first bar or bow that the top seems attached to. There is a rubber strip in the bow, pry it up…I use a flat head for this. Once it is up and out of the bow set it aside. Now you can pull that strip of material up. Pull the top further back till it gets to the back of the windows. Now you will need to remove your sail panel and the strip of metal behind the sail panel. You will need to get inside the car to unscrew the sail panel since it is screwed in on the backside, you will see what I mean. Unscrew it and pull it off. Now unscrew the strip of metal and pull it off. Now you can pull up all of that cloth and continue pulling the whole top further back. Now you are at the last bow, you can see how to pull it up. Lastly you will need to take your 10mm socket and unbolt the bottom bow from the car. Pull it out of the trunk area and remove all of the material. You can see that the back window and the top are two separate pieces; this is where it gets hard on the install. Now chunk the old top and get ready to install the new Just as you took the old top off, the same way.
Top install
The top should have prepunched holes making it simple to align the holes on the new to the bow. The window comes first. Align the holes and staple the window down with the small staples. Once you have done this bolt the bow in and make sure the top is all the way down and locked into position. You will know which hole lines up to the new top holes because you can start from the side and count the holes on the bow and match them with the top. Now take the top of the window and stretch it to the 2nd bow. Once you get it aligned and straight staple it down all the way. Now when you are comfortable with its position unbolt the bottom bow and remove it from the trunk area again. Now align the top up with the holes and staple it down using the big staples if necessary. Once you have done that you can attach the top to the 1st bow, disregard the sail panel area, that will come next. Now fold that material over in the sail panel area and make sure your top is aligning up with your window the way it should. If it isn’t you might have to do a little tweaking in some areas to get it to. Once you get it aligned glue that material to the frame with your contact cement. Now bolt in the metal strip then screw in your sail panel. Now run the cables back through the top and screw them in. Now you can fold over the front of the top and prescrew the top down when you get it aligned. Once it is screwed down close the top and lock it. Does it look good? If not you need to, tweak where you think necessary. Once it is good to go unscrew the front, glue the material down, place your trim piece back and screw it down. You are finished.
There is no art to installing a top, it sucks and you almost always have several hours of tweaking and aligning, I hate it. Also you will probably have creases in your top, more so if you got a vinyl one. I spent up to 5 hours steaming and stretching vinyl just to get all of the creases out, I suggest Stayfast Cloth!. A good company to buy the top from would be A A Best Co, google them and you can find them on either ebay or their direct website. If you have any questions pm me. Let me know when you are doing it so I can routinely check my pm box.
Materials needed – Dap contact cement, (I forget the staple sizes but you will need the smallest staple you can get for a staple gun and the next staple is a bit longer, probably the next step above the small staple), 10mm socket, Phillips head screwdriver.
Top removal
You can start from the front to remove the old top. Unlatch the top and unscrew the trim piece from the front of the top. Once you have removed this the cloth of the top is exposed. Pull it up separating the glue from the frame. Pull it back till the side cables won’t allow you to go back any further. Now from the front of the top follow the side cable towards the back, you should find that it is screw down. Unscrew it and pull it through the front of the top, do the same for the other side. Now pull the top further back exposing the first bar or bow that the top seems attached to. There is a rubber strip in the bow, pry it up…I use a flat head for this. Once it is up and out of the bow set it aside. Now you can pull that strip of material up. Pull the top further back till it gets to the back of the windows. Now you will need to remove your sail panel and the strip of metal behind the sail panel. You will need to get inside the car to unscrew the sail panel since it is screwed in on the backside, you will see what I mean. Unscrew it and pull it off. Now unscrew the strip of metal and pull it off. Now you can pull up all of that cloth and continue pulling the whole top further back. Now you are at the last bow, you can see how to pull it up. Lastly you will need to take your 10mm socket and unbolt the bottom bow from the car. Pull it out of the trunk area and remove all of the material. You can see that the back window and the top are two separate pieces; this is where it gets hard on the install. Now chunk the old top and get ready to install the new Just as you took the old top off, the same way.
Top install
The top should have prepunched holes making it simple to align the holes on the new to the bow. The window comes first. Align the holes and staple the window down with the small staples. Once you have done this bolt the bow in and make sure the top is all the way down and locked into position. You will know which hole lines up to the new top holes because you can start from the side and count the holes on the bow and match them with the top. Now take the top of the window and stretch it to the 2nd bow. Once you get it aligned and straight staple it down all the way. Now when you are comfortable with its position unbolt the bottom bow and remove it from the trunk area again. Now align the top up with the holes and staple it down using the big staples if necessary. Once you have done that you can attach the top to the 1st bow, disregard the sail panel area, that will come next. Now fold that material over in the sail panel area and make sure your top is aligning up with your window the way it should. If it isn’t you might have to do a little tweaking in some areas to get it to. Once you get it aligned glue that material to the frame with your contact cement. Now bolt in the metal strip then screw in your sail panel. Now run the cables back through the top and screw them in. Now you can fold over the front of the top and prescrew the top down when you get it aligned. Once it is screwed down close the top and lock it. Does it look good? If not you need to, tweak where you think necessary. Once it is good to go unscrew the front, glue the material down, place your trim piece back and screw it down. You are finished.
There is no art to installing a top, it sucks and you almost always have several hours of tweaking and aligning, I hate it. Also you will probably have creases in your top, more so if you got a vinyl one. I spent up to 5 hours steaming and stretching vinyl just to get all of the creases out, I suggest Stayfast Cloth!. A good company to buy the top from would be A A Best Co, google them and you can find them on either ebay or their direct website. If you have any questions pm me. Let me know when you are doing it so I can routinely check my pm box.
