J's_Racer

I want to get a car but he has a gutted soft top , he removed everything to put on a hard top just to save weight , he will add another $500 if i want to put back everything on for labor.

is it easy to do it yourself guys or is it a PITA kind of job?

faukengenius

i think if anything it's time consuming, i'm hoping someone that's done it can chime in

tak_one_77

A guy in Sydney just put a Robbins Top on his AP1.

Took him 13 hours by himself. Irecall another thread in which to guys (in the US) did it in 5-8 hours.

If you can take your time and are patient then do it yourself and save some good $$'s on labour. Otherwise if your like me have someone do it. I'm not patient when it comes to fiddling with cars.


Refer to
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=484089

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...0&#entry7005322

A real good topic with pictures

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...0&#entry9362535

Saki GT

For a car missing its soft top and gear, that would be a $1,500 rebate if you ask me - its a major pita to get it back in and aligned correctly. If everything's gone, this isn't just a vinyl top replacement, you have to get the motors back in, the frame back in, hang the vinyl, and then align everything and hope nothing is damaged or out of whack.

Personally, if you can't get $1,500 off for the missing top, look at another S - there are plenty out there that haven't been lobotomized.

J's_Racer

tak_one_77: again thanks for the help bro , great threads

saki_gt: thanks for the help too , he is included all the parts to put back the soft top in but just that if he wants me to do it , it will be another $500

hmm so it's not worth it to get it done myself eh.... i have rebuild engines before (rx7 and a couple of mitsu) so it shouldnt be a problem* i hope*?



and saki , i tried to find a lot of S already but most are not in my area ( midwest , i'm at KS) and most that are in texas as all above 2004 and the prices are out of my reach.

tak_one_77

I'd give it a bash.

Just make sure the roof is cool before you buy and get half way through putting it on!!

Of its got the Plastic window, as the 500 and look for a robbins top with the rear glass.

Anyway. Good luck with the decision.

J's_Racer

thanks a lot guys ... well it's my first s2k , though an AP1 but thats what i can pay for right now. hope i can get a great one

Saki GT

Well, you can tell the owner to put it back in for you to buy it. I'm of the camp that S2000s are convertibles, so they should come with the top functioning - there are a few S owners who prefer the hard top and strip out the soft top and assembly, but when they go to sell, they need to restore the car to its true form. An S2000 without a soft top is a problem, just like a rough idle, or smoke outthe tail pipe - it needs to be fixed before you pay money.

If there are no S2000s around you now, start talking to dealers - let them know what you're looking for, since they travel to auto auctions and trade cars with each other. Just tell them what you're interested in and what your price range is. If they're at auction and see a possible car, they can buy it knowing they have a person to sell it to.

s2kst3v3

When you say that he gutted the soft top, do you mean that he just removed the soft top and all of the hardware is still intact? Or do you mean that everything (motor, frame, etc.) has been removed?

If it is just the top that has been removed then it is fairly easy to do with basic hand tools. It took me about 11 hours to do by myself and it was the first time that I have ever done it.

If you need more info or help PM me.
-Steve

Billman250

you'll have to get this far to access the rain rail retaining bolts.....