F355 Spider Top Replacement With Pictures

I am not doing this myself !!!

 

This made me nervous just reading about it. Nice job and glad you got it to fit.

 

Many years ago, I had a 911 cab and had the top replaced due to vandalism. Brand new top from World Uphostery. Gave it to a professional in Laguna Hills. Did a great job on a perfect dry southern california day. Then a few months later, when the weather turned wet, the top got very loose. It seems the fabric stretches by an inch when wet. It was no longer tight.

Ever since then, I believe there is a trade secret that only the good professionals know in order to install the top nice and tight for all weather. It is something that you cannot learn by doing it once every 10 years.

 

What glue did you use for your top? Ive been trying to do some research but have come up empty handed. Ive called several upholstery shops and have gotten mixed answers. Yours seemed to work well though.

 

Similar thing happened with my leather tonneau cover. It was loose in some areas and tight in others. I had to punch the holes for the snaps myself. Once I got it reasonably close I started driving with it in place. Then this past month started parking it in the garage with the top down, cover in place. Over time, the engine heat, sun heat, and fixed mounting allowed the loose areas to shrink and the tight areas to stretch. It's still a little loose around the back edge along the engine compartment but much better than day one.

 

Thanks a bunch, Im going to go ahead and give this stuff a try. Your a life saver.

 

My father in law did this for a living. Trick was to make it super tight from the start

I thought I did an old mustang properly and when he say it laughed

I always send them out now, not worth my time and frustration

 

great thread and hats off to you. i had dealer do mine when car was being resprayed. this is way beyond my capability

 

Thanks for the advice, the glue worked perfectly.

And a tip for anyone who may stumble upon this thread in the future looking for advice. When I got to the point where I needed to stretch the top, and work with it while it was hot, I kept running into the issue of either not having enough time to work on it in the sun, or the majority of the time, it would become overcast and start raining as it likes to do at a moments notice in southern Louisiana, so I couldnt work the fabric enough to do what I needed. I finally settled on trying a heat gun, and carefully and slowly heating up the fabric in the area I needed. It worked like a charm. Just be careful, dont concentrate the heat in one area, and dont apply to much heat to fast. And when working in the corners by the engine cover by where the two screws are, use extreme caution around the rear window. Its plastic, and a heat gun is hot. I dont think I need to say more. That would be a crummy way to ruin your new top.

Just be slow, and take your time.

Edit: Also, use masking tape, everywheres. Anywheres you think glue might get, tape it, and then several inches beyond that, and over there too. You cant use to much masking tape. It is much better to take another 30 minutes taping and covering stuff up, than to spend 2 hours trying to get glue out of your new top or carpet or something. I know 97_Spyder said all that, but Im reiterating, cause its that important.

Thanks again for the info 97_Spyder.

 

Thanks. It took some time, but all in all its not super bad. I think its just more nerve racking than anything. I tried to quit smoking during this, and that didnt work out to well for me. Hah. Any person with some decent mechanical skill can knock this out. Just takes patience and a steady hand.

 

Just a quick thank you to the OP, all these years later i have found a pic useful (removing the release handle)

 

Well, following in the footprints of these intrepid FChatters, I decided to replace the canvas on my '98 spider.

2 hours in, and I'm surprised at how well I'm progressing with some things.

The old glue on the ribs seems quite giving and I'm not having any problems peeling it off.


First problem however:


I'm not sure I understand how to remove the handle. I'm hitting the pin which is at right angles to the axis of the handle with a pin punch but it's not moving. I've applied heat, but still no luck. I don't think penetrant would help. Am I hitting it in the right direction (towards the front of the car (with the roof latched closed)?
Do I simply need a bigger hammer? I'm worried about cracking the windscreen.


There seems to be a roll pin along the axis of the pivot, but hitting that would seem to knock this pin deeper into the pivot point and possibly through the canvas.


Thanks for any suggestions.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure how to attach photos to my messages using my iPhone. My PC is currently not connected to the internet.

 

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Problem #2

Do I unhook the cables from the riveted end or somehow unhook the springs from the cables and remove the cables that way? The channel in the fabric is too narrow to drag the springs through. Also, the rivet head seems too large to remove the wire hooks.

 

Riveted end...

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Is this the pin I hit (from the other side of the handle)?

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I put a drop of Penetrene on the pin and will let it sit overnight and attack it in the morning.

 

You can not drill out the rivet and pull the cables out leaving the spring attached?

I am traveling so I can not look up much, but I think that handle pin has a hat on one side...maybe?

 

I decided not to mess with the rivets, but just prised open the hooks on the ends of the springs a little. I just hope they snap don't snap when I reclose them. I thought about drilling out the rivets, but I wasn't sure if I could find a matching type. The neck or whatever you call it is quite short.
Hard to see in this photo....

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Perhaps there is a hat on the handle pin. One end looks slightly bigger than the other. I couldn't see that in the first post though. I'm attacking it from the thin end, of course, but maybe the person who hit it in flattened out the end and it just looks like a hat.

I'll try again tomorrow with a bigger hammer

 

I'm not sure if all aftermarket tops are the same, but

1. I'm missing a press stud which sits under the middle of the window. I had some replacement studs from another job, but there are tiny differences and don't match. I don't know if the old one can be refitted.
2. My new top comes with 2 of the wires, so I'm hoping these will hook over the rivets. Otherwise I'll have to remove them and re-use the old ones.

I finally got the handle pin out. I removed the canvas from the car and was able to get a good look at what I was hitting. I applied heat and used the biggest pin punch I could fit in the hole (4.8mm). I was repositioning the canvas all the time and I forgot if I hit the pin from the aft or from the front. Also, the pin shot out of the hole onto the floor, so I'm not sure which end of the pin went where. The pin seems to be slightly tapered and bullet shaped at one end, so one end of the pin will go in a little easier than the other. There is an access panel on the roof front section on the opposite side to the handle which allows you to get to the other end of handle spindle. You may be able to release the handle that way if you can't get the pin out. It's held in with a circlip. You may mess up the handle alignment however by doing that.

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In hindsight, I should have covered the whole handle in masking tape as the pin punch was jumping out of the hole and scratching the paint.


The really hard part will be gluing everything back together. I'm wondering how you get tension in the canvas if the new one is loose. as both fore and aft ends are fitted.

Just wondering what to use to cut a hole in the canvas wherever the handle spindle goes through.

Currently feeling a little light headed... I've been inhaling Scotch 700 adhesive remover for the last hour. It works really well, but it leaves you with a hangover.

 

Now going through a similar process with my car....

My first really major hurdle. The new top is way too narrow at the windshield.

Old top fabric 1130mm

New top fabric 1110mm

20mm difference (about 3/4")

I contacted German Auto Tops (North Hollywood) by email but they will probably laugh at me. eBay refunds are limited to 60 days. I've been building up my courage to fit this new top for 5 years.

https://www.germanautotops.com

It's a damned shame because the new top looks like it was bought yesterday. The old top was a bit of a dog's breakfast, but it's better than none. I suppose I could refit it, perhaps with double-sided carpet tape for easy removal.

I could imagine the top stretching a few mm with heat, but not 20. The windshield (front) rail is rigid, so I couldn't win back a few mm there (unlike the fore-aft fitting).