I just ordered a new top from Paradise Automotive. Does anyone who has replaced their own top have any suggestions. Anything at all is welcome. :rockon:
Senior Member
i'm getting mine from robbins auto top,they said it should be installed by a pro.......the have heard lots of horros stories from people who tried to install the top themselves 
TGO Supporter
Yes have a professional do it. It seriously is not easy at all, especially if you've never done it before. Its going to cost more to have to buy it twice and then done right instead of just having it done right the first time 
I've looked this thing over pretty well. It came in today, so I could finally get a look at the inside of the thing. The top that is on it has the inner headliner, a middle barrier that is black, and the outer tan cloth cover.
There is a clamping system holding the pieces together. This has three main parts from what I'm looking at. The large piece that runs across the top of the windshield, the piece that runs below the rear window, and the pieces which are intgrated into the window seals that run vertically.
There is nothing actually holding the outer layer to the others. It is clamped into the sysem on the front, rear and sides. There is also a cable system that runs internally to pull the sides down above the windows.
I'm not seeing how this can be too horrible. It looks to me like the biggest problem is going to be aligning the new top into place squarely, however I believe I can get a pretty good idea of where it will line up by measuring from the old top. This top is a factory original, and I can see no differences in the construction. I should be able to leave the first two layers in place, bring the new outer layer into position, and align it. After that, it looks like it should clamp into place.
I've heard one guy mention that he put the top on too tight, so I'm going to look out for this. The mechanical parts of the top are all in working order, so that should not complicate things. Hopefully, this will not turn into a complete disaster, and I may try to work out a tech article depending on how things go. I wish I had a digicam, but we'll see what we can work out.
Anyone else have any input??
There is a clamping system holding the pieces together. This has three main parts from what I'm looking at. The large piece that runs across the top of the windshield, the piece that runs below the rear window, and the pieces which are intgrated into the window seals that run vertically.
There is nothing actually holding the outer layer to the others. It is clamped into the sysem on the front, rear and sides. There is also a cable system that runs internally to pull the sides down above the windows.
I'm not seeing how this can be too horrible. It looks to me like the biggest problem is going to be aligning the new top into place squarely, however I believe I can get a pretty good idea of where it will line up by measuring from the old top. This top is a factory original, and I can see no differences in the construction. I should be able to leave the first two layers in place, bring the new outer layer into position, and align it. After that, it looks like it should clamp into place.
I've heard one guy mention that he put the top on too tight, so I'm going to look out for this. The mechanical parts of the top are all in working order, so that should not complicate things. Hopefully, this will not turn into a complete disaster, and I may try to work out a tech article depending on how things go. I wish I had a digicam, but we'll see what we can work out.
Anyone else have any input??
It's finally finished. Ok, I have some tips for anyone trying this, but I want to make it a new thread, so it will come up better on a search. :lala: