987/986 Soft Top

[clubhead]

I know for one that the doors are identical. What about the convertible top? I may be able to get my hands on a wrecked 987 top in good condition and am thinking of replacing that original plastic top of mine....

[1schoir]

I know for one that the doors are identical. What about the convertible top? I may be able to get my hands on a wrecked 987 top in good condition and am thinking of replacing that original plastic top of mine....

Clubhead:

The 987 and 986 tops are not the same. If you want a glass top and to still get good engine access, you can retrofit a convertible top AND frame mechanism from a 2003 or 2004 986. The 986s with vinyl windows have 3 bows, the 987's have 4 bows.

Regards, Maurice.

[White987S]

Clubhead, you state the doors are identical...are you sure about that? I don't think they are.

[Loren]

The doors are not the same on a 986 and 987 - the most notable part being the mirror wings.

[White987S]

If I remember correctly, Porsche states that +80% of the 987 is different than the 986.

[clubhead]

The doors are not the same on a 986 and 987 - the most notable part being the mirror wings.

I've had a major dent on my door and one of the local body shop offered me a door off a 987 instead of panel beating it back to shap. I initially refused but guess what, it fitted almost perfectly. The gaps between the door and the body is about 1mm larger but I was told it's normal for door retrofitted outside of the factory.

I'm referring only to the metal door panel. I swapped out everything else, inner leather door panels, wing mirror, glass windows, etc from my original door.

[clubhead]

I know for one that the doors are identical. What about the convertible top? I may be able to get my hands on a wrecked 987 top in good condition and am thinking of replacing that original plastic top of mine....

Clubhead:

The 987 and 986 tops are not the same. If you want a glass top and to still get good engine access, you can retrofit a convertible top AND frame mechanism from a 2003 or 2004 986. The 986s with vinyl windows have 3 bows, the 987's have 4 bows.

Regards, Maurice.

Got it. But what if there's a complete 987 donor car. Would I be able to transplant the entire top and mechanism from the 987 to the 986? Including the bows you're talking about?

[1schoir]

I know for one that the doors are identical. What about the convertible top? I may be able to get my hands on a wrecked 987 top in good condition and am thinking of replacing that original plastic top of mine....

Clubhead:

The 987 and 986 tops are not the same. If you want a glass top and to still get good engine access, you can retrofit a convertible top AND frame mechanism from a 2003 or 2004 986. The 986s with vinyl windows have 3 bows, the 987's have 4 bows.

Regards, Maurice.

Got it. But what if there's a complete 987 donor car. Would I be able to transplant the entire top and mechanism from the 987 to the 986? Including the bows you're talking about?

Clubhead:

I don't believe that you can transplant the entire top and mechanism (the bows are an integral part of the frame mechanism, you can see them where they go from left to right about a foot apart from front to back).

I have been corresponding by email with a guy who is supposed to try this very swap this weekend, and he has promised to keep me updated. I sent him info on how to remove the complete top as he insisted he wanted to try it. I will let you know what he discovers when he tries the swap today or tomorrow.

Regards, Maurice.

[1schoir]

I know for one that the doors are identical. What about the convertible top? I may be able to get my hands on a wrecked 987 top in good condition and am thinking of replacing that original plastic top of mine....

Clubhead:

The 987 and 986 tops are not the same. If you want a glass top and to still get good engine access, you can retrofit a convertible top AND frame mechanism from a 2003 or 2004 986. The 986s with vinyl windows have 3 bows, the 987's have 4 bows.

Regards, Maurice.

Got it. But what if there's a complete 987 donor car. Would I be able to transplant the entire top and mechanism from the 987 to the 986? Including the bows you're talking about?

Clubhead:

I don't believe that you can transplant the entire top and mechanism (the bows are an integral part of the frame mechanism, you can see them where they go from left to right about a foot apart from front to back).

I have been corresponding by email with a guy who is supposed to try this very swap this weekend, and he has promised to keep me updated. I sent him info on how to remove the complete top as he insisted he wanted to try it. I will let you know what he discovers when he tries the swap today or tomorrow.

Regards, Maurice.

Clubhead:

UPDATE

I just received an email from the guy who was trying to replace the complete convertible top and frame mechanism of his MY98 with a new top and frame mechanism from a MY05 and he confirmed for me that it will NOT fit.

He also confirmed that it only took him 30 minutes to take the complete top and mechanism off his MY98.

So, it looks like the best route to follow to get a glass window AND good access to the engine on an early Boxster is to get a complete top and frame mechanism from a MY03 or MY04 986. The whole swap should take around an hour.

Regards, Maurice.

[clubhead]

Clubhead:

UPDATE

I just received an email from the guy who was trying to replace the complete convertible top and frame mechanism of his MY98 with a new top and frame mechanism from a MY05 and he confirmed for me that it will NOT fit.

He also confirmed that it only took him 30 minutes to take the complete top and mechanism off his MY98.

So, it looks like the best route to follow to get a glass window AND good access to the engine on an early Boxster is to get a complete top and frame mechanism from a MY03 or MY04 986. The whole swap should take around an hour.

Regards, Maurice.

Thanks for posting this update Maurice. Appreciate it. I know now not too try :)

[JonC]

Hi there,

 

Can I ask what are the differences between the two roofs so I can check I haven’t been sold the incorrect one. I bought a new top with the glass roof that was advertised as a 986 roof but there is no bow to trigger the b pillar mircro switch like in my old vinyl roof so I’ve tried Maurice’s modification to the whole mechanism and it still doesn’t work. Is there some way of getting my glass top to work with the b pillar micro switch or does it sound like I have a 987 top ?