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Bringing back this thread coz I finished off the '06 soft top install yesterday. Gonna swing by United Cycle to snag a pair of these things, $15 each.
That said, I think that the newer OE soft tops have an additional wear patch on the inside? Have to double check, but it looks like it's made of a harder, but still flexible, plastic type material.
Here's a pic of my car now. Awesome being able to see out the back now...next project will be the AP2 transmission swap with aluminum flywheel and Exedy OE replacement clutch kit!
Not too difficult if you wrench on cars. Everything is pretty straightforward. The only 'special' tool was a hand riveter, and that's pretty easy to get.
The install instructions by Clovis (in a PDF, see the DIY forums) indicates using 10mm rivets to secure the top to the rain guard. Well, these are just huge and then you would need a special riveter. I ended up using 5mm rivets with washers and it was all good.
Honestly, the most time consuming and annoying bit was the re-assembly of the interior! The top itself is much easier to do than I thought. Everything comes out easily and goes back in easily too. Mind, I did have a slightly used '06 OE soft top, not a brand new one. Apparently there are some minor variations with the aftermarket tops.
I took my time and worked three afternoons over the long weekend, breaks for beer and such. Probably 12 hours total? I'm sure with experience it could be cut down considerably. Spent more time than typical as instead of riveting the new elastic and nylon straps to the frame bars, I looped the ends and sewed them. Just not confident of the straps staying in place and not fraying with just rivets.
As another aside, I used the instructions by Clovis and the other one by Cyclon36 (Joe from JPM). The latter sets out removing the roll hoops and everything, but this was really unnecessary. I took out the seats and the trim panels from the sill to the rear tray, and that's it. I did loosen the trim on the roll hoops to help move things around though.
Anyway, definitely happy. Just need to sort out the defroster wiring, but I'll leave that to later.
Oh yeah, and for people who need to R&R or upgrade their fuel pumps...I would loosen the rear tray from inside the car, but remove it from the trunk, and then get at the fuel pump from the trunk. More room to work there!
04-22-2009, 01:22 PM
Premature wear on your soft top.
Probably 12 hours total? I'm sure with experience it could be cut down considerably. Spent more time than typical as instead of riveting the new elastic and nylon straps to the frame bars, I looped the ends and sewed them. Just not confident of the straps staying in place and not fraying with just rivets. 