I have ordered a new top, has any one removed the old top and installed a new one, just wondering if its a good DIY project. I done a lot on my car, it seems it cant be that hard ?
I recommend this project for professionals. I have installed several tops on other makes, but the E stymied me. I later read that Robbins had a run of tops that were âshortâ behind the B pillar.
I paid $300 to get the top installed. It was the only thing on my carâs Restoration that I did not do myself. Worth it.
It takes the pros about 10 hours. It took me closer to 25. Thatâs with cosmetic restoration of the header bow and frame. Just take your time and use great caution before cutting anywhere. Ask many questions, search the archive for clues.
There is a lot of information in the archives on this topic. Many folks have done it successfully themselves. Search for old threads on the topic and read them all, and ask questions if you have them. Good luck!
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Depending what else you have done to your car, this may be one of the easier projects. But, of course, just because you are good at some items, does not mean you will be good at all. Obviously you must decide where your talents are, and what you wish to claim you have done yourself! Good luck either way.
Tom
I didnât find it to be that hard, if you do some research youâll find plenty of information on how to do it.
Itâs been a long time since I did mine so I wonât be much help but it was very doable and I have to say some of the ones Iâve seen that were âprofessionallyâ done look like crap IMHO.
Cheers,
LLynn
I also did my own and am satisfied with the result. (though it was one of the badly cut Robbins tops mentioned above).
I spoke to the local go-to installer for E-Types and he wouldnât even quote a price - just an hourly rate until he got it done.
He showed me a fairly ordinary Mercedes where the owner was into him for $15K for interior work.
Then he told be about the part of the E-Type install is the most time consuming - the chrome trim across the front bow. Heâs putting the clips on first then struggling to get the chrome to go over them (nearly impossible). If you put the clips in the chrome the whole thing goes on in seconds with a rubber mallet. I didnât bother to educate him - didnât feel like it would be appreciated.
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If you find the rear tack strip rotted, consider using a V-belt for the tack strip. I only learned of this after I had laminated wood to fit the curves of the car. I just did this on my 70 OTS. PM me with any questions.
v belt source for the tack strip?
What I used (whittled a bit to get the ideal profile):
thank you
is it pliable w heat?
I did not try heating it, might help.
I whittled on the backside to match the area it would fit into:
And relieved the inside of the curves with some notches:
Fitted, it looked like this:
Note: The above should very much be viewed as âwhat I didâ not a âhow toâ or âbest solutionâ.
Thanks who ever did mine did a good job I donât know if its an old vbelt but it is rubber, noticed blue marks on our drop sheet what are those for ?
John Bald
Broker/John BaldTeam
9059841110
Those indicate where the screws for the chrome trim were/will be fitted.