Cabriolet Top Best Practices

[1982911SCTarga]

I've been searching and haven't really found what I'm looking for in terms of establishing a best-practices routine for folding and unfolding a cabriolet top, particularly the earlier manual tops.

Should one always unzip the rear window prior to folding? I've also read about placing a large towel over the rear window section after unzipping and before folding the top back. Will the boot cover fit OK over that configuration?

Also, there are a set of procedures on a card on the right-hand visor, but mine's faded and I can't make out what it says. Can anyone post the instructions here? (The '83 owner's manual makes no mention of cabriolet tops.)

What say you veteran cab owners? Thanks!

Brian

[imcarthur]

Ian's Rules for Owning a 911 Cab

1. You are the coolest of cool. You are allowed to sneer at all coupe’d drivers. But be kind, because they are ALL envious on a sunny day whether they admit or not. In the picture above, you can clearly see me sneering at Mark in his 930 on the Niagara Parkway - Niagara Falls, Canada.
   
2. Top down as often as possible. If you are not top down, the car should be in storage. (or your wife is along for the ride).
   
3. Always zip the plastic window out & put a towel on it when folding the top down. This saves the window from wrinkles & cracks & eventual rear obscurity so you might not see that cop car following you.
   
4. Practice putting the top up quickly. The only iffy part is zipping the window up - be gentle so you don't rip out the zipper stitching. And THAT is not a fun job to replace - think big sewing needles & blood.
   
5. Treat the window with a clear plastic window cleaner every couple of washes.
   
6. Never, repeat, never put the top down in freezing temps. I know this breaks Rule 2 but the plastic window is not cheap to replace.
   
7. If it starts raining lightly, do not pull over to put the top up. Drive faster.
   
8. If your top is manual, always push the metal bar into the fabric as you bring the top down. If it’s not manual, it probably soon will be.
   
9. Wash your top every couple of years & spray with a silicone sealant. 303 if you're obsessed or any silicone canvas preservative will actually do the job.
   
10. Buy sunscreen & keep it in the door pocket.
    
11. Garage the car when not in use.
    
12. Never leave the top down for extended periods of time. Always put it up so the fabric doesn’t remain creased & ‘folded’.
    
13. When in motion, always have the cab boot cover buttoned down or the top can catch air, chafe & wear prematurely. Another big bill to avoid.
    
14. You are the coolest of cool. Keep a pen ready to sign all of the autographs . . .

[aj88cab]

You might get some different opinions (imagine that on this forum) but this is how I care for my cab top. The rear window is always unzipped to drop the top. I always release the latches before unzipping to minimize stess on the zipper (the stiching acutally). Some folks do place a towel on the unzipped window before lowering top top, I generally do not. I do place a towel over the folded top before covering with the boot. There is a bar that folds over the top when it is lowered, I place this bar on top of the folded top, some folks like to place it in the folds of the roof. I did this once and found that the folded top sits a bit higher. After a day of highway driving with the boot on I found that the boot had rubbed on the roof liner and wore a couple holes thru the liner. Also if you look at the folds of the fabric with the bar folded inside the top, you might notice that it pinches the fabric on the sides. So now I put the bar on top and lay a towel over it. Never drive without the boot. Never lower or leave a wet top down. Keep it clean and treat it regularly with a good protectant like Raggtopp.

[charleskieffner]

the above is sooooo true. sneering at coupes with just some clown driving solo while you have the hot drop dead big boobed blonde/redhead/brunette in some see thru top, actually places you on the EXALTED LIST!

actually talked at length with verdone here in snobbsdale,az. they do all interior work for all mega high end cars and are contracted by north snobbsdale porsche for all their interior/ top repairs. the single worst thing for cab tops is DIRT/DUST!

the next would be bird POO!

and the next tree SAP!

those three are the worst culprits that they see. as we all know cab tops aint cheap. actually scarey spendy. everytime i take mine out i bring it back in to garage put top up(manual) and wet/dry vac interior and top for drill. you will be amazed at how much cleaner it is. the material holds dirt which is abrasive and soon kills the hell out of mega spendy material.

they also recommend 303 cleaner and 303 waterproofing.

i use the 303 about 2 times a year, during a simple car wash. as soon as i am done spraying off all suds and the car is clean i then take the wet/dry vac and suck up all the moisture i can and let air dry out of the sun.

next morning spray the hell out of it with 303 convertible waterproofing and let dry. i have NO LEAKS WHATSOEVER and have been in a couple of heavy monsoon rains with it.

also i replaced all the cab moldings top bottom sides etc. they are quite waterproof when new. i had some old ones when i first bought car and leaked so changing them out was the hot ticket.

the ONLY REASON i would ever buy a coupe is to track it!

plus with a cab its easy to throw roofing nails or beer bottles out the top at people chasing you! hahahahahaha! LOL!

[Wickd89]

One other thing. When I put down the top, I usually stop 1/2 way down to make sure the top fabric is nice and neat in the corners; near the hinges. Sometimes the fabric gets caught and causes fabric damage. This would avoid having to put a patch on the inside of the top due to rubbing.

I actually like driving with the top up sometimes; yes, even is Socal.

OH yeah, as I sit here, the weather man on ABC just told me that it is going to be 78!
I'm out of here to work, top down!!

[Netspeed]

Originally Posted by Wickd89

One other thing. When I put down the top, I usually stop 1/2 way down to make sure the top fabric is nice and neat in the corners; near the hinges. Sometimes the fabric gets caught and causes fabric damage. This would avoid having to put a patch on the inside of the top due to rubbing.

I actually like driving with the top up sometimes; yes, even is Socal.

OH yeah, as I sit here, the weather man on ABC just told me that it is going to be 78!
I'm out of here to work, top down!!

+1 on checking the fabric when folding. Those locating pins can do real damage!

[1982911SCTarga]

This is very helpful information. On this topic:

I actually like driving with the top up sometimes; yes, even in Socal.

Do you guys ever drive with the side windows down, the top up and the rear window unzipped? Is this OK, or will the rear window get blown around and scratched or damaged?

Brian

[Netspeed]

Originally Posted by 1982911SCTarga

This is very helpful information. On this topic:

Do you guys ever drive with the side windows down, the top up and the rear window unzipped? Is this OK, or will the rear window get blown around and scratched or damaged?

Brian

I haven't but I think you might get some exhaust in the car from the vacuum effect of having that window out.....I could be wrong though.

[charleskieffner]

i have driven top up side windows open or closed and the rear unzipped no problem. no fumes just the sweet sound of headers. PCA national does not want cabs tracked with top up. in event of crash rollover metal cab supports could skewer driver/passenger. unlike zone 8 pca who said we had to run with TOP UP at speedfest after running (3) time trials with top down. have spoken to michael dolphin head of safety for pca zone 8 and he was going to look into it and confirm ruling.

top up at track , cabs DO HAVE rear vision problems. and closing speeds of some of the cars in your class beginner intermediate advanced is beyond NUTS!

my honest humble(yeah right) o-pin-yon..................TOP DOWN FOR SAFETY!

[Netspeed]

That makes a lot of sense for having the top down. I never realized that those supports and bows would turn us into Sushi!

[carolinatrophy]

My 1985 cab is my only car, so I drive it everywhere, all day, every day. All winter. Through the pouring rain. To go pick up groceries. If I'm driving, I'm in my cab.

And I'm fortunate. because I seem to have the only early cab that doesn't leak. Not a drop. The car is remarkably comfy and cozy in the rain, in the winter, on long trips... It's very useable and flexible as a daily driver.

But I agree that you should use care during the actual lowering process. Take your time, make sure the fabric isn't getting kinked, make sure the plastic rear window in laying nice and flat. Take an extra minute or two when lowering it and the top will last a lot longer.

But hell, if it gets damaged, just replace it. You're driving a Porsche 911 cabriolet for crying out loud! It's a small price to pay for such joy. Hahahahahahaha!

[Jay Laifman]

Temperature, temperature, temperature. I only put my top down when it's warm out and when I feel the window it's plyable, not hard. Yeah, there are days when I could be driving top down but don't and that's a loss. But, my original window is still great.

That said, right about now I put the top down and leave it down until forced to put it up in the fall.

One of these days, I'll get a hard top and I'd have a lot more top down driving during the cold months.

[3.2 CAB]

Hey Paul, you are not the only "one" mine does not leak either.

On the thread topic. This is what I do:

1. ALWAYS UN-ZIP THE REAR WINDOW ZIPPER, IT RELIEVES STRESS ON THE ASSOCIATED PARTS.
2. ALWAYS USE THE "BOOT"
3. WHILE LOWERING, ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT THE FOLDS ARE BEING DONE PROPERLY AND THE BAR IS SITTING WHERE IT SHOULD BE.
4. TAKE PROPER CARE OF THE FABRIC AND REAR WINDOW
5. KEEP THE TOP ADJUSTED FOR PROPER USAGE
6. WHEN RAISING THE TOP, I ALWAYS HAVE THE DOOR WINDOWS LOWERED A BIT, TO EASE THE CLOSING PROCEDURE.
7. WHEN RAISING THE TOP TO PUT IT BACH TO THE UP POSITION, MAKE SURE THAT THE SUN-VISORS ARE TURNED DOWN, TO BE OUT OF THE WAY OF THE LOCKING HANDLES.
8. MAKE SURE THE "LOCATING PINS/ FRAME STUDS ACTUALLY FIT PROPERLY INTO THE HOLES IN THE TOP OF THE WINDSHIELD FRAME.

Hopefully, some will find this information useful.
Good luck to all with a Cabriolet!!
I replaced my top a fews years back now, and I have not had any leakage after the top and all of the seals were replaced. It did take some time to get it all done just right. A lot of hand fitting, trimming, adjusting, gluing, etc. I pretty much swore off of ever doing another. It almost drove me insane.
I now know why the shops wanted soooo much $$$$$ to replace the top. Hopefully I will never have to do anymore work on it, but it did come with a "LIFETIME GUARANTEE" the manufacturer even sent me a second, rear section, with the window--FREE!!! So now I have a great looking top, plus a new rear section complete with the zip-out window
I do know that a few bottles of Crown Royal were consumed, along with several bottles of Cristal, tended to take some of the mental pressures away. But the nectar from the gods, had to be put off, till that day-into-evening had come and work was finished for that day, I would have hated to see what it would have looked like had the Crown and the Cristal had been in use while trying to do all of the hand fitting, trimming, and gluing. It has now been about 6yrs since the replacement was finished, and it still looks brand new!

[1982911SCTarga]

I was just out looking at that visor information card that I mentioned earlier. With tweezers, I was able to gently slip it out of its aged plastic sarcophagus without damaging it (I swear, we're part-time archaeologists with our cars). Anyway, the card (it's about the size of a business card) had been flipped over so you couldn't read it. Here's what it says:



Heck, that's all you need to know! Like I said, the '83 owner's manual says nothing about the cabriolet model at all.

Brian

[911boost]

This is all great advice. About the only other advice I can give (my 86 3.2 was a cab) with an automatic top, is to always make sure both motors are turning. It might even be safer to just disconnect the rear motors, and only use the front motors to lock and unlock from the windshield.

Bill

[Netspeed]

Originally Posted by BSiple

This is all great advice. About the only other advice I can give (my 86 3.2 was a cab) with an automatic top, is to always make sure both motors are turning. It might even be safer to just disconnect the rear motors, and only use the front motors to lock and unlock from the windshield.

Bill

+1
I learned that lesson when the right front cam actuator hung up. Bam!....the cable popped out of the motor

[911boost]

You got lucky. The new owner of my cab actually had a motor fail, and snapped a bow in the top. You never never never want to price one of those...

[Netspeed]

I know I got way lucky. I've heard of some people ripping the top actuator/gear assembly right out of the sheet metal.

[Car Guru]

All of this is good advise, I have nothing to add as it's all been covered <-No pun intended in great length. I will say this about having a cab, I am envious of coupes on days not suited for top down driving, winter, overtly windy days, extreme cold etc... but I feel like a celebrity when it's ideal for a top down ride, words cannot describe it. Honestly when I'm out in my car I feel like I'm driving something way more special than a Ferrari or even Lambo. I know thats pushing it but it's the way I feel, everyones mouth seems to be drooling when I roll by and older guys point and smile.... blaaaa blaa I could go on. Cab life does rock for sure.

-Ryan

[mack6820]

I never unzip the window. Maybe I should but most of the time, I make stops at grocery stores, blockbuster, etc.. So it would take alot of time to raise and lower the top your way. Also my boot doesnt snap down so it blows around too much. The snaps are in the wrong position from the previous owner. I guess I'll just replace the top in a few years. Their not very expensive.