how easy is it..
Discussion
It's pretty easy. I'd get someone to help though since the roof is large and unwieldy and you don't want to be banging it around for the sake of the roof and the car.
Wind the windows down and remove the rollover bar cover and put it in a safe place for over winter. Check the seal stuck to the rear window and fettle it if necessary. They can become unstuck and tatty.
Line up and insert the front of the hard top over the windscreen rail first and then lower on to rear. The little prongs on the roof tails should line up with the holes in the rear buttresses where the soft top allen key mechanism goes.
Check that the over centre catches inside the car are open and don't get caught under the roof. Getting the back window lined up and seated with the roof tabs seems to be the biggest faff. It’ll be hard to get the catches locked if everything isn’t lined up properly. Watch your fingers!
Take your time and don’t force things and it should eventually sit down and lock with the catches. Then you can tighten up the bolts that lock against the windscreen surround, pop on the 3 plastic bolt covers and you’re done.
I have a feeling that the roof isn’t a precision part so the intricacies and difficulties of fitting may vary from car to car and roof to roof.
Hopefully you should get a good seal with the wind up windows. Mine has a tiny gap at the front corners that worried me initially, but rain water doesn’t get in. The hard top seems to disperse water better than the soft top so no drips build up.
The hard top might creak a little at times, but most S1 owners are familiar with rattles and such. I think my brain just filters them out these days…or the car has made me go deaf.
When removing the hardtop in the future keep an eye on the rear screen. It has a habit of sticking to the roof as you lift it and if this happens you just know it’ll drop off and break at some unexpected moment.
BUT THE QUESTION REMAINS….
What do you want a hard top for in this weather anyway?
Wind the windows down and remove the rollover bar cover and put it in a safe place for over winter. Check the seal stuck to the rear window and fettle it if necessary. They can become unstuck and tatty.
Line up and insert the front of the hard top over the windscreen rail first and then lower on to rear. The little prongs on the roof tails should line up with the holes in the rear buttresses where the soft top allen key mechanism goes.
Check that the over centre catches inside the car are open and don't get caught under the roof. Getting the back window lined up and seated with the roof tabs seems to be the biggest faff. It’ll be hard to get the catches locked if everything isn’t lined up properly. Watch your fingers!
Take your time and don’t force things and it should eventually sit down and lock with the catches. Then you can tighten up the bolts that lock against the windscreen surround, pop on the 3 plastic bolt covers and you’re done.
I have a feeling that the roof isn’t a precision part so the intricacies and difficulties of fitting may vary from car to car and roof to roof.
Hopefully you should get a good seal with the wind up windows. Mine has a tiny gap at the front corners that worried me initially, but rain water doesn’t get in. The hard top seems to disperse water better than the soft top so no drips build up.
The hard top might creak a little at times, but most S1 owners are familiar with rattles and such. I think my brain just filters them out these days…or the car has made me go deaf.
When removing the hardtop in the future keep an eye on the rear screen. It has a habit of sticking to the roof as you lift it and if this happens you just know it’ll drop off and break at some unexpected moment.
BUT THE QUESTION REMAINS….
What do you want a hard top for in this weather anyway?
davidf4 said:
It's pretty easy. I'd get someone to help though since the roof is large and unwieldy and you don't want to be banging it around for the sake of the roof and the car.
Wind the windows down and remove the rollover bar cover and put it in a safe place for over winter. Check the seal stuck to the rear window and fettle it if necessary. They can become unstuck and tatty.
Line up and insert the front of the hard top over the windscreen rail first and then lower on to rear. The little prongs on the roof tails should line up with the holes in the rear buttresses where the soft top allen key mechanism goes.
Check that the over centre catches inside the car are open and don't get caught under the roof. Getting the back window lined up and seated with the roof tabs seems to be the biggest faff. It’ll be hard to get the catches locked if everything isn’t lined up properly. Watch your fingers!
Take your time and don’t force things and it should eventually sit down and lock with the catches. Then you can tighten up the bolts that lock against the windscreen surround, pop on the 3 plastic bolt covers and you’re done.
I have a feeling that the roof isn’t a precision part so the intricacies and difficulties of fitting may vary from car to car and roof to roof.
Hopefully you should get a good seal with the wind up windows. Mine has a tiny gap at the front corners that worried me initially, but rain water doesn’t get in. The hard top seems to disperse water better than the soft top so no drips build up.
The hard top might creak a little at times, but most S1 owners are familiar with rattles and such. I think my brain just filters them out these days…or the car has made me go deaf.
When removing the hardtop in the future keep an eye on the rear screen. It has a habit of sticking to the roof as you lift it and if this happens you just know it’ll drop off and break at some unexpected moment.
BUT THE QUESTION REMAINS….
What do you want a hard top for in this weather anyway?
Thanks for the good info. hardtop would only be used for the winter and one has just come up so I thought I might get it. Top down this week!!Wind the windows down and remove the rollover bar cover and put it in a safe place for over winter. Check the seal stuck to the rear window and fettle it if necessary. They can become unstuck and tatty.
Line up and insert the front of the hard top over the windscreen rail first and then lower on to rear. The little prongs on the roof tails should line up with the holes in the rear buttresses where the soft top allen key mechanism goes.
Check that the over centre catches inside the car are open and don't get caught under the roof. Getting the back window lined up and seated with the roof tabs seems to be the biggest faff. It’ll be hard to get the catches locked if everything isn’t lined up properly. Watch your fingers!
Take your time and don’t force things and it should eventually sit down and lock with the catches. Then you can tighten up the bolts that lock against the windscreen surround, pop on the 3 plastic bolt covers and you’re done.
I have a feeling that the roof isn’t a precision part so the intricacies and difficulties of fitting may vary from car to car and roof to roof.
Hopefully you should get a good seal with the wind up windows. Mine has a tiny gap at the front corners that worried me initially, but rain water doesn’t get in. The hard top seems to disperse water better than the soft top so no drips build up.
The hard top might creak a little at times, but most S1 owners are familiar with rattles and such. I think my brain just filters them out these days…or the car has made me go deaf.
When removing the hardtop in the future keep an eye on the rear screen. It has a habit of sticking to the roof as you lift it and if this happens you just know it’ll drop off and break at some unexpected moment.
BUT THE QUESTION REMAINS….
What do you want a hard top for in this weather anyway?
cheers.
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