I posted here for advice when I did my convertible top. I got lot's of great advice and followed nearly everything to a tee and pulled off something I never thought possible, that I could do it! WHOO HOOO
I say I followed "nearly" all the advice, but the one thing I did that the pro's told me not to was to tighten up the top as I had been told by some guys on this forum and another. I was told to do as you see in the photo below, lifting the header off the windshield and holding it somehow so you can pull the material down a bit more and re-staple it so your top is nice and tight. As you can see by the photo, I did this, going against what the pros had said. I was WRONG, the were RIGHT.
I thought "well, they are pro's and they can get it tight enough with their skills, I need a little trick". I was WRONG, I hope this thread comes up when someone does a search on this subject and sees this so they hopefully won't make the same mistake I did. I BARELY tightened this top more than it was originally stapled on. I BARELY pulled it tighter, maybe a quarter inch or so, maybe a little more, but not much. This made all the difference to make the top TOO TIGHT, my top doesn't fit nearly as well as if I had left this alone! I have to push the header forward when I close the top, I can barely do it and usually need to put the top up then let it set there a until the next day to push it all the way in and clamp the clamps.
To open the top I have to PUSH the header up because the guide pins are binding in the holes because of the pressure being pulled back by the top. I also have a gap in the middle of the header to the windshield when I go down the hiway, I believe this helped in making that happen too, the top is just too tight and pulling up on the header.
Now, I may be over thinking this and it's really my top iron adjustment or what ever but I really think it's the tightness of the material that is causing the most of it. I put this top up and down with just the irons MANY times before I put the material on and it worked fine. So I have to think it's the material being too tight.
Don't do as I did! Listen to the pros!
Brian; Humble student. :sweat:
I say I followed "nearly" all the advice, but the one thing I did that the pro's told me not to was to tighten up the top as I had been told by some guys on this forum and another. I was told to do as you see in the photo below, lifting the header off the windshield and holding it somehow so you can pull the material down a bit more and re-staple it so your top is nice and tight. As you can see by the photo, I did this, going against what the pros had said. I was WRONG, the were RIGHT.
I thought "well, they are pro's and they can get it tight enough with their skills, I need a little trick". I was WRONG, I hope this thread comes up when someone does a search on this subject and sees this so they hopefully won't make the same mistake I did. I BARELY tightened this top more than it was originally stapled on. I BARELY pulled it tighter, maybe a quarter inch or so, maybe a little more, but not much. This made all the difference to make the top TOO TIGHT, my top doesn't fit nearly as well as if I had left this alone! I have to push the header forward when I close the top, I can barely do it and usually need to put the top up then let it set there a until the next day to push it all the way in and clamp the clamps.
To open the top I have to PUSH the header up because the guide pins are binding in the holes because of the pressure being pulled back by the top. I also have a gap in the middle of the header to the windshield when I go down the hiway, I believe this helped in making that happen too, the top is just too tight and pulling up on the header.
Now, I may be over thinking this and it's really my top iron adjustment or what ever but I really think it's the tightness of the material that is causing the most of it. I put this top up and down with just the irons MANY times before I put the material on and it worked fine. So I have to think it's the material being too tight.
Don't do as I did! Listen to the pros!
Brian; Humble student. :sweat: