New Rag Top

[Hybridbird]

I found a place with a really good price on new convertible tops,has anyone tackled this themself yet?I REALLY need to get a new top on my 98 but I'm not sure if this is a project I can do myself or not. :dunno:

 

[Paul]

They are a huge PIA. A guy I know did it with his dad helping them. It took them about a week, but came out pretty nice. However, his dad had upholstery experience.

It takes a LOT of patience.

 

[eliyarbrough]

I just had mine replaced at a professional place. It took them all day to install it! Just my 2 cents!!

 

[95_gt_convertable]

went to a shop for mine cost me 150 well worth it

 

[veggiemike]

I replaced mine a few weekends ago. Took me 4 days. Now that I've had it all apart and all back together again, I'm pretty sure I could do it in less than 2 days.

There's nothing about the installation that you couldn't do. All you need is a staple gun, super trim adhesive (not much), pliers, and a lot of patience. If you do decide to try it yourself, let me know. I took some pictures.

Are you replacing anything other than the top itself? Headliner? Well liner? Weather stripping? Frame cables?

 

[veggiemike]

You need rustproof staples, too. Either stainless steel or monel rustproof. And you'll probably want new pads, too...

 

[Hybridbird]

The price I got was for the top,rear window and pads ,what are pads BTW could you explain those and maybe frame cables?How do I tell if I need cables?I was thinking weatherstripping would be a good idea as well,I'm glad you mentioned it.I think I will leave this job to the experts. :hammer:

 

[veggiemike]

The pads go in between the steel frame and the vinyl top. You'd be retarded to put a new top on w/out replacing the pads. The new top would just wear out quicker, and you'd only save $50.

The frame cables I'm referring to are riveted just behind the header and run along the sides of the top to about halfway down the back window. They keep tension on the top right/left and fore/aft. They're also pretty easy to replace. You have to drill the old rivet out, and put new rivets in, but it was actually a lot easier than I thought. This is another easy thing to replace while the top's off.

I actually didn't replace my weatherstripping... The full weatherstrip kit from mustangsunlimited.com was about $150 I think, and mine suprisingly still works fine. It was a bit dirty, but functional. My new top (although I still have a few wrinkles behind the backseat windows...) is water tight. My old top only stopped rain drops bigger than golf balls... ;-)

Just curious, what was your quote like?

 

[Hybridbird]

It was $350 for just the top,pads and rear window.I was thinking of adding weatherstrip,cables and headliner,although mines not really damaged anywhere,maybe I'll get a well liner since that is definitely bad.Still havent't decidd if I want to tackle this myself or not.