[happysails2you]

They say you should never see how a hot dog is made, and perhaps the same is true of seeing the surgical removal and replacement of convertible tops.....



Warning, these photos may turn your stomach, but she'll look great after the surgery. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Thought you might find it interesting to see what's under the covers, for those of you who haven't torn your top and interior apart recently. Here are photos of the naked cabriolet top and also naked doors (I'm having the top panels recovered).



Cheers,

Kathy



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[flash]

hehehe - i know hwat you mean - you should take a look at the pics of my car when she was being painted - body panels off and sitting on racks



i'm probably not far behind you on the top - i have a couple of marks starting on the canvas - still good, just not brand new

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[Mark]

Very cool Kathy, who is doing the work?

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[bob blackwell]

Wow! Nothing like a "bare bones" restoration. Good luck, Bob Blackwell.

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[Larry Currie]

Been there and done that with your car's sister. Good luck! They kept my car for over a month, but I was happy with the results.

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[happysails2you]

Bay Country Custom Van and Upholstery in Annapolis is doing the work. They've been around for 30 years and do really nice work. They do half their business in car restorations and half in boat interiors and canvas work. She went in last Monday and she was finished on Friday, so I'll pick her up on Monday. The shop owner said he's pleased with results. He said the door panels look just like new too. Can't wait to see her on Monday. Wish I had taken some "before" photos of the top. It wasn't really in horrible shape and the fabric itself was fine. But the stitching was bleached white, there was a small 1" tear on the very top, and the window was brownish and hard to see through.



Now I know I'll be paranoid about keeping it in great condition. I was told to put a towel in the back window fold when I put it down so the plastic doesn't scratch itself, and just a light washing with non-abrasive car soap. I'll look around for other car top care hints...any suggestions welcome.



Flash, would like to see your restoration photos (and yours too, Larry)...are they posted somewhere?



Larry, it does look like I'm following in your footsteps with your car's twin sister. You replaced the carpeting, too? Other items? Or maybe I don't need further encouragement to spend more $$$ right now. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Thanks for your encouragement, Bob Blackwell!



Kathy

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[Darryl]

Kathy,



+1 for the towel recommendation. I've been using PlastX on the rear window. Also, NOVUS plastic polishes are good for serious scrathes. There are 3 levels of abrasive. Great pics of the top removed by the way!



- Darryl

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[flash]

i wholeheartedly agree about the towel - my top is original, and the back window is perfect - also straighten out fabric as it goes down, to prevent creases



and yes, i think i posted the shots of the paint process here, but i can't remember what thread

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[Larry Currie]

Carpet would not cost you that much more. I used German carpet, but I can't remember how much I paid. I think it was small compared to the leather.

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[chris]

Please! Some of us are at work!

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[BigL2U]

Awesome pics. I'm sure you're going to love it. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



I used Palmer and Cray in Laurel MD when I had my top replaced. They ordered an original classic grey german canvas top (from Germany). It took two weeks for the top to arrive and then they called me for the install. After three days and $2200.00 they were done and my car looked brand new.



My installer had me wet the top twice a week and leave it outside to sun dry. After four weeks of this they had me bring the car back to make final adjustments to door seals and such.

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[happysails2you]

What a difference! The car looks like it just came off the showroom. The new top is awesome, and the new door panel tops are a perfect match for the dashboard again. Glad I had them recovered, made a huge difference.



The shop used GAHH in California for the top and door fabric. They specialize in Porsche and other luxury cars only and the shop said they're the best fitting tops and best for them to work with, never had any problems. The top is made of German fabric, identical match to original. They did tell me to leave the top up, and that it will settle in with exposure to sun and water. I washed the car when I got it home, and the top didn't have any leaks and water beaded up nicely.



I'm just happy to be able to see out the back window at last. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/blush.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Will post photos; wish I had taken some good "before" pic's!

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[Mark]

Well, Kathy you've inspired me to get my top taken care of, I ordered the new top and have an appointment to get it done next Wednesday. The rear window was ripping out and a lot of the stitching was gone so it needed to be done. Now that I got rid of the ice and then the 6 inches of snow in front of the garage I was able to get the car down there for him to checkout. Of course the top on the car was not a standard color so they have to make one and I get to wait a week. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



For the top of the door panels, did you have them cover it with leather?

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[happysails2you]

Hey Mark - Glad to provide inspiration! Did you take it to my guys at Bay Country in Annapolis or somewhere else? I was thrilled with the work they did on the top and on the doors. They covered the tops of the door panels with a leather-grain vinyl fabric in Porsche Classic Grey, and it matches the dashboard perfectly, makes the car look showroom-new. My interior is all vinyl, with all-leather seats (I think a PO did the seats in leather; the sticker says "part lthr seat" so I assume they were a mix of leather and fabric or vinyl originally. BTW, my shop ordered the top from a place in California; took about a week to come in.



I'll post photos of the doors and new top, when the car's back from the brakes/tires/wheels doctor this week.

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[Mark]

I went to a local shop that has been doing tops for at least 20+ years. I've dealt with them before on a couple of other things and they were a lot closer than Annapolis. I may have to talk to them about the door panels though as that sounds like something I need to have done.

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[Larry Currie]

I did leather on my door panels, but really had a problem with the panels being damaged at the bottom from getting wet in the past. Hard to put them back on. I've got some like new ones I bought after this problem stored in case I needed them in the future. I might consider selling them if someone else has this problem.

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