bob964

Hi folks,

Need some recommendations. We had a mishap last week when my wife decided to go for a summer ride. From as far as I can tell, one of my cables for the convertible top that drives the top trasmissions came away from the motor when trying to take the top down. Not realizing what was happening, she kept driving the motor, but the top was only coming down on one side until she heard a "snap". When I got home and was trying to figure out what happened. Boy, what a snap. I found the main beam of the roof had snapped. Yes, snapped...I have the unfortunate pictures.

I assume that I need to replace the entire mechanical canopy. As far as I can tell, a new one will cost over $7K!! I am looking for a recommendation on where I might find a "salvaged" one. Can anyone advise me a good source that I can find one? My car is a black 91 cab and I live in Northeast Pennsylvania.

Thanks in advance.

Bob

jimq

You are not the first this has happened to. Do a search on this forum and you should turn up a bunch of threads with information. You can have the piece welded or order a new one. Its not a cheap fix but no where near 7K.

Chimera

I'm going through the same thing at the moment. The following will provide excellent guidance:

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...1&page=1&pp=15

I removed the broken "main folding top bow" (911 561 927 00 70B) yesterday, and will have it welded. Once everything is back together, I think I'll open/close the top manually.

If it weren't for this forum, I wouldn't have attempted this DIY. A special thanks to garrett376!

Doc
'90 C2 Cab

Chimera

BTW, my wife suggested I use a hair dryer to aid the separation of fabric from metal -- the heat seemed to help the adhesive let go.

Doc
'90 C2 Cab

bob964

Chimera and jimq,

Thanks for the help! My heart sunk when I saw the broken top bow...I thought the whole top would need to be replaced. garrett376 put together a great procedure on this one. I will give it a try. However, I think I will order a new part instead of the welding.

Bob

jimq

Bob
Where are the pictures of your car

Jerry Garwick

Way to go Bob. Blame the wife!

I did the exact same thing the very first day I bought my "wife's 964." The crux of the problem was worn cables. The ends wear and get rounded off. I did the disassembly of the top and took the strut to a good welder. It cost me $125 bucks and I couldn't tell where the weld was made. I really thought the work of doing the top was not such a big job. I did it "blind." The current web site will make it a piece of cake.

While the top and motor was all apart I had new cables made at a local farm impliment shop. Apparently lots of these type of cables are used for various types of agriculture purposes. Good luck and save your money.

I reassembled my top and use the electric top all the time. It works like a charm and personally would not consider going mechanical. I tried it for a time and found it to be a pain in the butt with the top locking mechanisms.

bob964

Now wait a minute...the only reason I mentioned my wife is that I wasn't around when it happened, so I was only guessing as to "how"... there, now I feel better.

Jerry, thanks for the tip on where to get some new cables. I would like to keep the top automatic so (my wife) and I can lower and raise it easily. Do you order the cables slightly longer than the originals? If so, by how much?

I may also rethink on whether to weld the old piece or buy new. I guess it doesn't hurt to try welding first.

I will post back as I get the repairs underway.

Bob

By the way, here is a picture of my car:

jimq

Nice car! I hate cab top problem stories

SNOWBIRD

I did the exact same thing within minutes of it coming off the truck. The part cost about $400 and had to come from Germany.. Part is collecting dust in the garage. I manually put it up and down (still broken) no problem...

Chimera

I had my broken "main folding top bow" welded for $40 after seeing the price of a new part.

Doc
'90 C2 Cab

SNOWBIRD

Yeah, thanks, I feel much better now...

Jerry Garwick

Bob

WELD THE PART!!!! Save the money and take wife out to dinner to impress her what a great guy you are and hold no grudges.

Secondly, I had the cables made a total on one inch longer than the old one. The ends come compressed into a square by some kind of machine which permits you to grind off a bit at a time until you have just the right length you need without binding.

garrett376

Me too! My top could have broken months ago and I'd never know - it's been open and covered with the tonneau (is that what it's called?!) for about 3-4 months straight!

bob964

Jerry, I agree, welding is what I will do... I also noticed tonight that the Vertical Door Window to Top Seal (993-561-321-008VB) is also bent. I haven't taken the weatherstripping off to find out if I can bend it back into shape.