I have TOO sitting in Egham if you need a candidate folks! Not far from spurs fan and Lee. lol Sean tells me I have another top with the rotted stitching around the rear window so may as well just swap out the top. JIM
BMW Z3 SOFT TOP REPLACEMENT
- Thread starter Stumpy
- Start date
Hi Rudyrov, the link you refer to is very informative and the guy who put it together did a superb job.
Having posted my two minute video for a bit of fun I guess I should share some of my experiences that may be useful to others who are thinking of replacing their soft top.
Please bare in mind I have never attempted a project like this before but I am quite methodical and mechanically minded.
I did as much research as I could before I started and soon realised no two sets of instructions were quite the same even the BMW TIS instructions left a lot to be desired. I guess no two cars are exactly the same and no two tops are identical so it is not an exact science.
Even today I have been tweaking the top a mm here and a mm there to try and get that perfect fit.
The first unforeseen problem I had when tackling the job was the factory fitted headlining on my car wasn't mentioned in any instructions I'd seen but thankfully it wasn't to much of a hurdle. Also I luckily removed the top the hard way removing the back bow from inside the car. I very nearly did it the easy way by cutting the old top off around the boot area with a box knife as suggested by the experts but just so glad I didn't because they don't mention the webbing straps attaching the back bow to the frame which I could so easily have cut through. The brackets holding the end of the tension wires both broke on removal but were quite easy to fix and rivet back in place.
Refitting the rear bow is really frustrating because of the access. Patience is a must, I found the two end bolts next to the B pillar so problematic. You're in the lap of the God's, the right hand bolt took me 5 minutes, the left hand one probably took me 40 minutes just to get the thread started, very bruised arms too. Once the back bow is secured the making good is quite straight forward but time consuming. The rear quarters are fiddly and I made several fixes before I was happy. I also found the front rail fixing very time consuming, all the instructions make it sound so easy but there are no holes to guide you on the new hood, you have to decide how tight to make the fit and again it took four or five attempts to get it right. So easy to make it to tight, no wrinkles - but makes latching impossible.
My hood is now latched down, tight but not to tight, and that's how it will stay for a couple of weeks even if the sun does come out.
Hopefully it will settle but I am prepared that I may have to make some small and final tweaks then.
I also found another useful set of instructions at
http://www.roadstersolutions.com/media/PDF/GAHH%20Install%20Instructions%20Z3%2096-02.pdf
I don't think there is anything technically difficult for the average mechanically minded person with basic tools (+ heavy duty electric or air stapler) to fit their own new soft top.
Experience is a wonderful thing but doing a 'one off' like this you have to be brave and just take the bull by the horns!
Do your homework, take your time and be patient.
Having posted my two minute video for a bit of fun I guess I should share some of my experiences that may be useful to others who are thinking of replacing their soft top.
Please bare in mind I have never attempted a project like this before but I am quite methodical and mechanically minded.
I did as much research as I could before I started and soon realised no two sets of instructions were quite the same even the BMW TIS instructions left a lot to be desired. I guess no two cars are exactly the same and no two tops are identical so it is not an exact science.
Even today I have been tweaking the top a mm here and a mm there to try and get that perfect fit.
The first unforeseen problem I had when tackling the job was the factory fitted headlining on my car wasn't mentioned in any instructions I'd seen but thankfully it wasn't to much of a hurdle. Also I luckily removed the top the hard way removing the back bow from inside the car. I very nearly did it the easy way by cutting the old top off around the boot area with a box knife as suggested by the experts but just so glad I didn't because they don't mention the webbing straps attaching the back bow to the frame which I could so easily have cut through. The brackets holding the end of the tension wires both broke on removal but were quite easy to fix and rivet back in place.
Refitting the rear bow is really frustrating because of the access. Patience is a must, I found the two end bolts next to the B pillar so problematic. You're in the lap of the God's, the right hand bolt took me 5 minutes, the left hand one probably took me 40 minutes just to get the thread started, very bruised arms too. Once the back bow is secured the making good is quite straight forward but time consuming. The rear quarters are fiddly and I made several fixes before I was happy. I also found the front rail fixing very time consuming, all the instructions make it sound so easy but there are no holes to guide you on the new hood, you have to decide how tight to make the fit and again it took four or five attempts to get it right. So easy to make it to tight, no wrinkles - but makes latching impossible.
My hood is now latched down, tight but not to tight, and that's how it will stay for a couple of weeks even if the sun does come out.
Hopefully it will settle but I am prepared that I may have to make some small and final tweaks then.
I also found another useful set of instructions at
http://www.roadstersolutions.com/media/PDF/GAHH%20Install%20Instructions%20Z3%2096-02.pdf
I don't think there is anything technically difficult for the average mechanically minded person with basic tools (+ heavy duty electric or air stapler) to fit their own new soft top.
Experience is a wonderful thing but doing a 'one off' like this you have to be brave and just take the bull by the horns!
Do your homework, take your time and be patient.
Hi Stumpy, thanks for that post.
I think your 2 minute video was fun and I went back and looked at it over and over, I kept looking for the slow motion button!
You know I am looking at doing this as my next great repair so I have been collecting links and pictures as I go along. When I saw this post I thought it would be a great place to share what I have found.
It's definitely not for the faint of heart and I haven't started it yet because I think it will be a couple days work just to get to the first satisfaction point. I did the hard top install over a period of a couple weeks and it took a while until I figured out why I had an air leak at the front while at highway speeds.
I thank you for your post, you can never have enough information !!!
I think your 2 minute video was fun and I went back and looked at it over and over, I kept looking for the slow motion button!
You know I am looking at doing this as my next great repair so I have been collecting links and pictures as I go along. When I saw this post I thought it would be a great place to share what I have found.
It's definitely not for the faint of heart and I haven't started it yet because I think it will be a couple days work just to get to the first satisfaction point. I did the hard top install over a period of a couple weeks and it took a while until I figured out why I had an air leak at the front while at highway speeds.
I thank you for your post, you can never have enough information !!!
Hi Rudyrov,
I think you ought to leave yourself at least a couple of full days to replace your soft top unless you have experienced help. Apparently the pros can do it in <5 hours! It took me nearly that long just to take it apart on the first evening, then the whole of the next day cleaning, stapling and fitting the new hood. The day after that a couple of hours readjusting, so probably 16+ hours in total, but I did take my time, I spent time labelling parts and fixings. I did waste time taking unnecessary photos for my spoof video but I was never in a hurry, if it took me 5 or 25hours it didn't matter, it wasn't a race. I cannot stress the importance of protecting your cars paintwork too, working over the boot/trunk with sharp tools and flailing steel bow can so easily cause damage and I made that my very first task before anything else. Also when stapling the new hood to the old bow I placed a 5 foot plank across the back of the car so I was working on a solid base which made the stapling job safe, easy and accurate.
I wish you well when you replace your soft top and I will be really interested to hear how you get on.
Cheers Stumpy...................
Thanks for the encouragement Stumpy, you have given me alot to think and plan for, lets see how I make out this tax season and then make a decision.
Cheers!
Cheers!
I'm glad you enjoyed the clip but not sure about spilling blood, sweat and tears on another one for a while! 