opening the 1996 993 Cab convertible top frame was bent

[mturner0]

while opening my new to me 1996 993 cab (less than 100 miles on it, a replacement for my 1997 993 that was lost in the great flood of 2024 bc hurricane Helene) - this was the 5th time opening / closing. no issues with those open/close. the motor bent the frame on the drivers side. i was in drivers seat, car was running and was a normal opening. when the motor stopped i looked in rearview mirror and only saw black. i turned around to see what i though was a stuck top, so i closed it a little to retry. my bad... i tried that 3 or 4 times trying to understand the issue and ended up bending the frame. my questions are:

- any ideas what would make that happen?

- can i at least open fully to drive car?

- because insurance didnt make me whole, i tapped my vehicle fund just to replace the 993, i want (need) to try to diy this. is that possible?

TIA!

pix attached, the white arrow point to frame bend, the blue line shows bend direction, to me something stopped when opening and the motor pressure bent there bc of the frame arm

[viejopatron]

I would STOP using the drive. It appears that the roof framework is; frozen up due to dry joints, or misalignment, or stripped drive; there are two motors.

With a second pair of hands, try easing the frame into the fully retracted position. DO NOT FORCE IT. Secure the frame and drive to a shop.

What I would do is to loosen (not disassemble) as many joints as I could access so I could find the problem and fix that. Then I would retighten the loosened joints and carefully cycle the roof.