[Darryl]

I received my tonneau cover earlier this week just in time for some fall weather here on the east coast. I had been waiting for this to arrive as an excuse to install some new A-Pillar covers since I knew I had to R & R a couple of screws to facilitate the tonneau install. I had a little time for the Cab today, so it was A-Pillar, sunvisor and tonneau day this afternoon.



Installation is very easy but the two forward most screws (one each side) put up a fight in that the screws you remove from the convertible top fabric are smaller diameter then the snaps supplied and the hole needed to be drilled one size up. That all looks good on paper, but first your battery dies so you switch to the corded drill and then the proper size drill bit breaks off in the hole, etc, etc. Eventually, I got the snaps installed and could proceed to the easy part(s). It takes a little wrangling the first time but once it gets installed, everything lines up nice and fits exactly as it's supposed to.



My new A-Pillar covers are super straight and clean and removal was easy since I replaced the sunvisors at the same time. You have to remove the sunvisor screws to gain enough slack to "unlock" the A-Pillar covers from the overbridge trim piece, but that piece does not have to be removed.



After everything was complete, it was late in the afternoon and the temperature had already dropped to 53F, so it was off for a drive. If it's at least 50 and sunny, I usually have the top down anyway, but I wanted to put the new cover to the test. I set the themostat to about 2 o'clock and put the fan one "1". That was all the was needed to make a noticeable difference and I didn't have the seat heater on at all. I'll probably drive the car home one evening this week to really give it a try as it's been in the 30's here overnight. I'm thinking it'll be good down to about 40 or so with a light jacket. Kudos to a great product and something that probably should've been done by the factory. Speaking of which, I don't think Porsche makes one of these for the Boxster either...too bad!



I've included some pics of the install. Although it's hard to tell, the one photo shows how nice and straight the A-Pillar covers are as compared to how warped the old ones were.



- Darryl

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[astroede]

Darryl, that tonneau cover looks awesome. I had one like that with my 1969 MGB Roadster. Very convenient. Where did you get the new A-pillar covers? I recently acquired a used one for the left side but when it arrived it was warped too bad to use. I ended up re-installing my old one, which looks a bit like your photo.

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[968gene]

not to hijack the thread....but I installed beautifully straight A pillar covers on my cab recently. They warped in short order. I think that some of the covers are not a great fit for certain cabs.

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[flash]

looks good daryl - glad you like it



how much did you have to drill out the holes? i didn't look at the fasteners on this one, but the last ones screwed right in (albeit with some "persuasion") - i wonder if the upholsterer changed the tenax size?

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[Darryl]

Much persuasion is putting it lightly. Of the two snaps, the one towards the rear of the car on both sides went in albeit pretty sung. It felt like it was going to cross thread, but then once you got past a certain point, it went the rest of the way and snugged right up. Both holes towards the front of the car were another story. There must be something in the cab frame that you can't see that stops the screw from going in. It goes in about two turns and stops dead. I used a 7/64" drill bit and even then it was tight. My palm is raw and sore from the extra pressure necessary on the screwdriver!! It snugged up and didn't cross thread, so they're on there to stay. The snap/screw thing is a significantly larger diameter than what gets removed.



With regards to the A-Pillars, I sourced these (and the sunvisors) from someone parting out a car and although very nice and indeed Marine Blue, after I cleaned and treated them, they are pretty close to black. I may have them sprayed blue next time I do some interior touch ups. The sunvisors are super nice and very Marine Blue, so very happy there. My car spent it's entire life in Florida and Georgia, so it probably got lots of sun on those covers. Now it's indoors and cockpit covered when outside, so I hope these stay straight.



- Darryl

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[flash]

hmmm - i'll have to look at that - the others didn't fight like that - must be a different size tenax



yeah yeah - blame the raw palm on the car - a likely story

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[rxter]

I also replaced my A-pillar covers. Separate thread on that here. Got them from a 944 and they fit better than the originals and looked great. If you are looking for black you should be able to find a set no problem.

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