Hard top hoist - home made - $30 in parts

[300sdToronto]

In fact it cost us $8.99 but that was because we had most of the parts!

If you are interested mention it, and I'll post piccies. Worked like a charm....

[alabbasi]

ok i'll bite, details please!

[300sdToronto]

It will probably be the weekend before I get time to mess with the camera and upload pictures.

We built the rig because our SL is on a budget. Which has been grossly exceeded, as we have replaced quite a few parts after years of neglect by the aging PO.

in essence:-

lifting tackle consisting of two pulley blocks and 3/8" dia rope that used to be the mainsail sheet from our old Albacore 15 foot sailboat. Cost in local hardware store if you don't have the parts about $20.00. Consult any boy scout book at your local library if you don't know how to rig one.

one shackle attached to lower block. Cost $4.00 if you don't have one.

four nylon luggage straps from local bargain store. $2.99 each. These were OK but the buckles are fragile on them - next time I would just get some bulk nylon webbing.

loosen hard top - lift 2 inches and ensure it is 100% free, especially on the rear pin.

run one webbing strap cross ways at rear of window openings. Other strap run lengthways down centre line of hardtop.

tighten straps.

Helper (Wife) could raise top and tie off rope easily. I steadied it and prevented sway and paint scratching.

Drive vehicle out of the way. Lower & store top and enjoy summer.

[300sdToronto]

xx

[rufus.1948]

[quote=300sdToronto;1865990]In fact it cost us $8.99 but that was because we had most of the parts!

If you are interested mention it, and I'll post piccies. Worked like a charm....[/
HI

I would be very interested to see how your hardtop hoist works.Do you use the hoist to hold the top for storage or do you lower it into a cradle.

regards

Robert Doyle

[300sdToronto]

Sure - more detail.

The guts of the hoist is a two-pulley black and tackle with two wheels on each pulley. I forget my physics, but I recall this gives us a 4:1 advantage - certainly my wife could hold the hard top in the air with one arm only holding the rope, quite comfortably. In our case we had the tackle from an old sailing dinghy - if not, visit an old fashioned hardware store.

The "cradle" in our case was an arrangement of four nylon webblng straps we bought in a dollar store. Their intended purpose is to reinforce overstuffed suitcases. These straps had the wonderful advantage of having clips at each end which made hooking them together a matter of 2 seconds.

I'm assuming you know how to release your hardtop completely, unhook the heated rear window cable, etc. If not, there are many posts on how to free up the pin at the rear! Once the top was ready to lift, we proceeded as follows:-

One webbing strap is run across the top, at the very rear of the side window openings. The other strap is run lengthways down the centre line of the top - you'll need to lift the front and back of the top slightly to feed it through.

Tighten out the slack, hook the straps through a shackle and attach to the hoist, and off you go. You need someone to guide the top as you lift to avoid scratching the paint.

Having said all this, we discovered after using our hoist that the top is quite light!!! Somewhere in the range of 70-80lbs. Certainly my wife and I are quite capable of installing or removing it using simple muscle power - as should anyone who is reasonably fit. I certainly do not think the fancy hardtop hoists sold by the likes of Performance Products are necessary unless you live alone or like spending as much money as possible.

As an editorial comment, I've noticed a curious difference between SL and diesel owners - many SL owners seem to pride themselves on spending as much money as possible on a repair or accessory whereas the dieselheads (I have a 300SD too) all work to minimize the running costs of their cars. I guess it comes from the original sales pitch for the different cars..... and there is much less DIY maintenance and repair info available for SL's than for the 300D or 300SD on the Internet.