Hardtop Preparation

UK Carrera · 07-17-2006, 12:38 PM

My wife has just bought a 2006 Boxster 2.7 (987).

We have a hardtop on order but the dealer is quoting approx. 3 hours labour and £50 in parts to prepare the car to fit it.

Now I think I'm a competent spannerman and begrudge paying the dealer a penny, so I'd like to save myself the fitting charge.

Is there an on-line source for a fitting guide for the 987?

Many thanks.

Doug&Julie · 07-17-2006, 03:57 PM

If it's the same as the 986, it shouldn't take you more than a half an hour to put in the spin locks. A new top might need some adjusting as well, but that's not hard to do either. Try....er, I think it's Porsche Pete's Boxster Board (www.ppbb.com - ?) for details. If not, I know it's been discussed on the Rennlist Boxster boards...you may even see a familiar name participating in those discussions. (..uh, that'd be me..

)

But first I'd verify that the design of the locks and locking mechanism hasn't changed since the 986. (..I don't know why they would, but..)

KevinH1990 · 07-17-2006, 06:34 PM

I just performed this job on a 986. If you've worked on cars before, it is fairly easy. For a 986, the parts cost $80 U.S. from an internet seller. My local dealer quoted a much higher price.

Here's a link to a picture of the hardware: http://986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=370&highlight=spin+locks

The procedure for the installation is here:

http://986forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1607&highlight=hardtop+installation

Just be careful not to drop the allen bolt or allen wrench into the top mechanism. The suggestion to use shrink wrap or a plastic bag to hold the bolt to the wrench when you start threading it is a good one.

UK Carrera · 07-17-2006, 10:30 PM

Thanks guys - dealer cost starting to look very high!

Have you found that there is much fiddling once you come to mate the hardtop to the vehicle fittings?

Is it difficult to achieve a good fit?

My dealer is (quite typically in my experience) making the job out to be very tricky and only to be attempted by a qualified (read £££££££) techie!

KevinH1990 · 07-18-2006, 02:38 AM

Here's the response I received to my question about adjusting the hard top: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=10070

I haven't done it yet, but it doesn't seem horribly complicated.

Doug&Julie · 07-18-2006, 03:16 AM

For the record, I've fitten spin locks on two cars...mine and my brother's. When I did mine, it took me two hours to decide that I couldn't get the second spin lock in, and had to send it off to my independant wrench. One of the top's metal arms was just a millimeter in the way, preventing the bolt from going into the spin lock. He had to cut down the bolt to fit it...paid for about an hour's labor. Then it took me about an hour (at 15 minutes a time) to adjust the top to fit nice and snug.

When I did my brother's, it took me 8 minutes a side for the spin locks and his (purchased used) top fit the first try.