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#1
03-20-2007, 12:51 AM
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Soft top installation --> Done!
A while ago I posted in this forum asking for advice on what glue to use when installing a new top on my 88 560SL, at that time some of you asked for a report back since you were thinking of doing it yourselves (in particular I seem to recall that John Roncallo mentioned he needed to do three!) Well here it is.
In first place I must say that while I blelive I am an average mechanic, I am very clumsy in what I consider "artistic" enterprises that do not involve nuts & bolts. I had never done a top before or anything resembling it ever. I was totally clueless. If you ask me if you can do it, I will say yes, if I can do it, you can do it, provided you follow some very simple rules. 1.- Read up on the subject. There is stuff on this forum, get the instructions from the World Upholstery website. 2.- The instructions were all greek to me at first. I had no clue of what a header bow or a reainer flap were. There is another website (I do not remember the name) that has pictures showing what they are. 3.- After you spread the top on the car and look at its details, the intructions will begin to make sense to you. 4.- Before carrying out any step -and there are lots of them- do a dry run first, executing everything you need to do later for real. 5.- Last and, I believe, most important, take your time. This job demands a lot of patience and may be exasperating. I am an old fart and I did it over a period of three days (not working continuously though). First day I removed the old top and cleaned the frame. Second day I did the back and front. Third day I did the rest and details. If you are good and handy (and young), you probably can do it in 4-6 hours. If you get stuck, you can ask people in this forum. I did, and Peter Serbanica helped me where "experts" from the top suppliers could not. Thank you Peter! What would I do different? I would consider carefully what glue to use, try to find one that does not bond inmediately and is easy to remove with solvent. Also, I would have lots of disposable gloves handy. Summing up, it is not as bad as it first seems, I was very apprehensive at first, but I quicky realised that it was not much more challenging than some of the other jobs I had done on the SL. Go for it! Jl 
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#2
03-20-2007, 05:06 AM
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Quote:
John Roncallo
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#3
03-20-2007, 05:15 AM
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Wonder if the 129 is much different.
__________________
95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K 07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K 02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K 05 F150 Silver 44K
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#4
03-20-2007, 11:01 AM
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Thank you John, I guess you are right, given my vast experience on the subject I can now be considered an expert. As far as pictures, no, I did not take any. To be honest, I don't see how they could help. You just have get the top on the car and work things out.
As far as the 129, I have no clue. I read on this forum that 129s are harder than 107s, of course, with that and a nickle you have exactly $0.05. Jl
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