129 chassis hard tops ? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Dr_Joe · #1 10-31-2006, 11:40 PM

Are all the 129 chassis hardtops interchangeable from 1990 to 2002, or did the latches change at some point ? (1999 ??)

tecqboy · #2 11-01-2006, 12:50 AM

I am not the expert here, but everything I've read indicates they are all interchangable within the 129 series.

lynns · #3 11-01-2006, 01:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr_Joe

Are all the 129 chassis hardtops interchangeable from 1990 to 2002, or did the latches change at some point ? (1999 ??)

I understand that there are some issues with regard to Panorama tops and the years that they will fit w/o modifications. A search will tell.

LeaUK · #4 11-01-2006, 02:10 AM

I think there were some seal changes along the way but this doesn't stop them being reverse compatible. Do a search here as it's been discussed several times previously.

Lea

Gilly · #5 11-01-2006, 05:18 AM

Yeah physically I believe they are the same. Correct about seals changing, and it might be tough for uneducated eyes to spot the difference. If you are missing the h/t and buy one, first you might want to rethink any plans to drive the car to where the top is and transport it home that way as it might not work at first. There is a bulletin that was out concerning updating older 129s to newer specs, that would help sort out what's on the car vs what the h/t is configured at (new or old). The top won't go on if it's not the same as the car, but CAN be modified to the new spec.
Last thing to consider is the windows are adjusted to match the hard top, then the convertible top has some adjustments which are changed to fit the WINDOWS, so you will be opening a bit of a can of worms in terms of adjustment, but a good tech can do it. The hard top of course HAS no real adjustment, can not change the hard top to fit the current adjustment. With any luck at all the hard top will fit OK.
Gilly

pollockd17 · #6 11-01-2006, 08:30 PM

I found out the hard way that a 91 top will not fit a 98 automobile. The hardtops are all the same but the problem is with the weatherstrip. the early90 thru i believe 93 are the same but after that they changed the weatherstrip in such a way that the sidewindow goes inside the side weatherstrip. when you are about to open the door the glass drops a small amount to allow the door to open, when you close it the glass rises to fill the void. the latches and lockdowns are all the same, but again the weatherstrip is the culprit.....

Gilly · #7 11-01-2006, 09:08 PM

As I said, the top is the same, except the weatherstrip, and that can be changed, the top itself will work with any style weatherstrip they used, it's a matter of IDing what the rest of the car has in place. They had leak problems and cars were retrofitted under warranty to the newer style if there were complaints. It's entirely possible that the old weatherstrips aren't even available, might NEED to update the whole car. The caution about driving the car to pick up a top is that if the weatherstrips between what the car presently has on it and the new/used h/t don't match, you might not even be able to get the h/t latched down to the car, mainly due to the header (top section of the windshield frame).
Gilly