Questions on installing a GAHH glass top

[grossmann66]

Maurice,

it would be helpful if you can halp me with your advice.

Today I removed my old top from my 2001 Boxster S. Due to your good description I did not had a problem. But for the installation process I have two questions were I defintely need your advice:

1) As adviced by you in a thread I bought the latest version of the sliders. Which is at the moment in fact the 986 5616 7002 (the ...7003 are apparently not valid anymore). In my car there was the ...7000. Comparing both parts, the older one is about 1 inch longer and I never had problems with cables falling out. I did not damage the sliders during disassembly. At the moment I am leaning towards using the old slider again. My thinking is, the longer a slider is the better it would guide the cable and prevent the cable from falling out of the guiding channel, or? But for what reason would Porsche then shortened the slider in the newer version ....7002? They probably did not do this without reason. I am really not sure which slider would be better.

I have to add that my GAHH top does have on each side an elastic strap (at the position where the Porshce top had the velcro).

2) I got the new white plastic ball cups. Thank you for your help on that!!!! In my car, there are the red ball cups installed. I do not have a problem with them so far. I tried to pry them off, but I did not suceed (and I did not want to use greater force as I was scared to damaged something).

Would you recommend exchanging them as a preventive measure? Or should I let them be in the car? Is there a trick how to get the cups of easily?

Sorry for bothering you!!! Thank you already in advance for your help!

Christoph

[1schoir]

Maurice,

it would be helpful if you can halp me with your advice.

Today I removed my old top from my 2001 Boxster S. Due to your good description I did not had a problem. But for the installation process I have two questions were I defintely need your advice:

1) As adviced by you in a thread I bought the latest version of the sliders. Which is at the moment in fact the 986 5616 7002 (the ...7003 are apparently not valid anymore). In my car there was the ...7000. Comparing both parts, the older one is about 1 inch longer and I never had problems with cables falling out. I did not damage the sliders during disassembly. At the moment I am leaning towards using the old slider again. My thinking is, the longer a slider is the better it would guide the cable and prevent the cable from falling out of the guiding channel, or? But for what reason would Porsche then shortened the slider in the newer version ....7002? They probably did not do this without reason. I am really not sure which slider would be better.

I have to add that my GAHH top does have on each side an elastic strap (at the position where the Porshce top had the velcro).

2) I got the new white plastic ball cups. Thank you for your help on that!!!! In my car, there are the red ball cups installed. I do not have a problem with them so far. I tried to pry them off, but I did not suceed (and I did not want to use greater force as I was scared to damaged something).

Would you recommend exchanging them as a preventive measure? Or should I let them be in the car? Is there a trick how to get the cups of easily?

Sorry for bothering you!!! Thank you already in advance for your help!

Christoph

Christoph:

No bother at all. I'b be glad to help if I can.

2) I don't know why you would have the red plastic ball cups on your MY '01 as those were only installed at the factory on the early Boxsters.

The reason that they were replaced with the white ones is because the red ones are not as flexible and get brittle over time with exposure to the elements and the heat generated by the engine. I think that the fact that your red cups are so hard to get off might actually indicate that they have indeed gotten stiff and brittle. I would definitely recommend replacing them as a preventive measure, because of one of them breaks and you are not paying attention you could do some serious $$$$ damage. For example, the additional stress that would be placed on the other steel ball and the lug it is mounted on could break the lug. That lug is the end of one of the frame parts on one of the bows and the part alone costs about $2,000 at the dealer. You could then keep the red ones as spares for emergency use.

While you are in there, I also strongly recommend that you verify that the steel ball that each plastic ball cup (left and right side) presses onto is securely tightened on that lug. It's hard to get a (thin) open end wrench in there, but it can be done.

1) With respect to the sliders, I don't know if you have looked at the following thread, but take a look at it and let me know if it answers your questions: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=17537

Take a look specifically at posts #6, #8, and #24.

If that doesn't answer your questions, let me know and we'll figure it out. I'll monitor my messages so that you don't get hung up on any particular step.

BTW, pat yourself on the back for attempting this project. It's challenging, but if you don't cut any corners it will come out perfect and it will be very rewarding.

Also, let me know what you are doing regarding the foam seals that are supposed to be replaced but are apparently not available from Porsche as a separate part.

Regards, Maurice.

[1schoir]

Maurice,

"...Is there a trick how to get the cups of easily?..."

Christoph

Christoph:

Sorry, I overlooked this question.

A good trick that will make it easy to remove the plastic ball cups is to take them apart by removing the 10mm bolt (with the thick washer) that holds the two metal parts of the push rod together. Then, the part that the plastic ball cup is screwed onto will be dangling down and it's easy to twist it or lever it off. Just be sure to mark the two parts where they are fastened together by the 10mm bolt so that you don't alter the overall length of the push rod. The length of the pushrod will affect how the front of the convertible top lines up with the top of the windshield frame.

If you don't want to take the 10mm nut off, you should be able to get the plastic cups off with a tool called a "cat's claw". It has a curved end that's handy to use as a lever. Otherwise, if you don't have that available take a flat head screwdriver (about 10 inches long) and bend the last 1 inch of it at an angle (about 135 degrees) in a vise.

Regards, Maurice.

[grossmann66]

Maurice,

thank you very much for your information and your kind words. With that recommendation in mind, I will definitely exchange the red ball cups!

Concerning the foam sealer: There I got me some foam which is adhesive on on side. Out of this foam I cutted two pieces that should be very similar than the old ones. As adviced, I spared enough material around were the philips screws will be later.

Now lets come to the slider! Thank you for the link. In fact I read the thread during my preparation and had the clear feeling from this, that the old slider ...7000 out of my car will be way shorter than the updated slider I buy (...7002). It was a big surprise for me, that the section of the slider where you slide the canvas in is about 1 inch longer at my old slider. I compared part#: The old slider has the ...7000 on it, the new slider has the ..7002 (but is shorter ?!?!?).

On the slider-picture, the left parts is what I bought new, the right parts (longer) are what came out of the vehicle. My feeling tells me, use the longer slider. My brain tells me, use the newer (shorter) slider as Porsche did not develop it without reason.

I also included a picture of the new top where you can see those elastic strips. GAAH tells that they should be

fixed to the third bow from the front.

Thank you very much for your advice!

Christoph

[1schoir]

Maurice,

thank you very much for your information and your kind words. With that recommendation in mind, I will definitely exchange the red ball cups!

Concerning the foam sealer: There I got me some foam which is adhesive on on side. Out of this foam I cutted two pieces that should be very similar than the old ones. As adviced, I spared enough material around were the philips screws will be later.

Now lets come to the slider! Thank you for the link. In fact I read the thread during my preparation and had the clear feeling from this, that the old slider ...7000 out of my car will be way shorter than the updated slider I buy (...7002). It was a big surprise for me, that the section of the slider where you slide the canvas in is about 1 inch longer at my old slider. I compared part#: The old slider has the ...7000 on it, the new slider has the ..7002 (but is shorter ?!?!?).

On the slider-picture, the left parts is what I bought new, the right parts (longer) are what came out of the vehicle. My feeling tells me, use the longer slider. My brain tells me, use the newer (shorter) slider as Porsche did not develop it without reason.

I also included a picture of the new top where you can see those elastic strips. GAAH tells that they should be

fixed to the third bow from the front.

Thank you very much for your advice!

Christoph

Christoph:

Definitely the right move with the white plastic ball cups.

I am also glad to see that you did EXACTLY the right thing with the foam seals. That's the way they came with my top (it was a factory top that I bought on eBay from a guy who had bought the top and totalled his Boxster before he could have it installed). The top came in a Porsche box, with Porsche part numbers and it included a kit that included the foam seals, and they had adhesive on one side . You will have no problems with leaks that a few posters have reported when they "skipped" installing new foam seals.

The photos of the sliders tell the whole story. I would definitely use the longer sliders. That's what came with my factory top and it worked out perfectly. The part that extends 1 inch higher at the upper end helps insure that the cable falls better into the guide channel.

If you look carefully at that post #24 in the thread I gave you a link to, you will see the difference between the two versions of the 'short' sliders. Those are versions 1 and 3(call them "old" and "newest". The longer slider is version 2 (call it "newer"). The difference between the old and the newest versions is the spacing and location of the channel at the bottom of the slider. You can see the difference in the measurements and photos that "Jimmyboyle" posted in that thread.

The elastic straps provided by GAHH appears to be correct for insuring that the top folds correctly and also to help with the cable falling into the guide channel. Since you have your top in front of you, it might be helpful if you compare the location of that elastic strap with the measurements I specified in that same thread.

Let me know what you find, but my instinct tells me you will be okay with these elastic straps and the longer (newer) slider that was originally installed in your old top.

In any case, I'm sure you are on the right path.

Regards, Maurice.

[986fan]

I am anxiously awaiting the outcome......and the report on the GAHH top as I still haven't

finished waffling between the GAHH, Robbins and B.A.S. tops. Anybody here used a B.A.S.?

Edited October 5, 2008 by 986fan

[grossmann66]

Hello,

here is an update of the latest status and some observations I want to share with the community:

1) The lower eye of the bowden cable (there were the cable will be attached to the lower B-pillar) is to small. The screw that is assembled at that position on my 2001 Boxster S has a diameter of 5.1mm. Whereas the eye just has a diameter of 4.9mm.

It took me just some minutes to widen it by a Dremel tool. But if somebody wants to buy a GAHH top, you might ask them if they changed this glitch. I already wrote them a mail regarding this.

Also the length of the outer cover of the bowden-cable was to long at that position. I was not able to align the hole of the eye with the hole were the screw has to go in. So I removed about 1 cm of cable cover to give the eye more play. With that the assembly was no problem.

For me it looks as if they ship the top with the wrong eye, which causes both problems.

2) There is no hole in the canvas flap that will be attched to the lower B-pillar (described in 1) ). Punch a whole large enough before you install the top. Mine was very small ( I did not want to remove much material). So when I had the top on, it was very difficult to widen the hole up as the flap is in a very narrow place between al those bows. And it is anyhow a difficult location when you try to align the screw with the eye and the washer and the flap to the hole. Finding a dropped parts would be really difficult.

3) When you put the fat weather strip in the rearmost bow (#16 at Mike Fockes description) it helped me a lot to unclip those big black plastic covers that protect the hinges

4) Aligning the holes of the canvas with the holes of the aluminum plates: Due to the double side tape I wanted the first attempt of alignment being the final one. So I used long, thick toothpicks to align all holes one after another. It worked out pretty good.

5)The 4 Philips screws (#3 at Mike Focke) have a different length. The third screw from the front was shorter.

6) At the front end of the top there was a cardboard strip sewn in at the old top. The GAHH has nothing there. There was just a loose cardbord strip send with the top. I assume GAHH send this so you can kind of "fill" the metal ridge of the foremost bow. I did not use the cardboard because I could not see any help in it. Instead I used my automotive foam double side tape to fill the ridge and glue the canvas to underneath the front frame . So far it looks as if it is working pretty well.

Today I could finish my car. After everything was assembled I closed the top. Because of the new canvas it stayed about 2 inch open. So I had to pull it until the hook could engage. Now I will let it sit for two days to stretch before I try to open it for the first time completely. Maurice, do you think this time is sufficient?

I will keep you updated.

Overall I have a very good impression of the quality of the GAHH top. I mainly choosed it over the Robbins because they are longer in the market. And so the might have more time and feedback to improve their product (delaminating glass...)

Overall it took me about 4-5 hours of disassembly and about 14 hours to assemble it back together. The most time consuming part was to put in back the screw at the back lower side of the clamp rail. Both sides took me about 2 hours together. Also putting in all the weather strips into the rear end took quite some time.

The car is really looking good with the new top. So far, there is only one small wrinkle which does not bother me at all. The whole thing cost me about a weekend of time but was definitely worth the fun.

Maurice, thank you very much for all your advice you gave me. Without you advice and the Homepage of Mike Focke I would have definitely not been able to change the top myself. It is great to have guys like you out there! Thank you!

@986fan: As mentioned, my overall impression of the GAHH is pretty good. The small eye can be fixed as can the bowden cable cover. The cardboard not sewn to the front of the canvas was no big problem for me at the moment as I did not use it ( I hope it will stay this in the future). I do not know if the Robbins tops come in the same condition or they do not have those glitches. I do not know anything about the BAS top. For me the most important point was that I did not hear about a GAHH with delaminating glass after they did their improvements.

Whenever you have some questions were I can help you, please let me know.

Christoph

[1schoir]

Hello,

here is an update of the latest status and some observations I want to share with the community:

1) The lower eye of the bowden cable (there were the cable will be attached to the lower B-pillar) is to small. The screw that is assembled at that position on my 2001 Boxster S has a diameter of 5.1mm. Whereas the eye just has a diameter of 4.9mm.

It took me just some minutes to widen it by a Dremel tool. But if somebody wants to buy a GAHH top, you might ask them if they changed this glitch. I already wrote them a mail regarding this.

Also the length of the outer cover of the bowden-cable was to long at that position. I was not able to align the hole of the eye with the hole were the screw has to go in. So I removed about 1 cm of cable cover to give the eye more play. With that the assembly was no problem.

For me it looks as if they ship the top with the wrong eye, which causes both problems.

2) There is no hole in the canvas flap that will be attched to the lower B-pillar (described in 1) ). Punch a whole large enough before you install the top. Mine was very small ( I did not want to remove much material). So when I had the top on, it was very difficult to widen the hole up as the flap is in a very narrow place between al those bows. And it is anyhow a difficult location when you try to align the screw with the eye and the washer and the flap to the hole. Finding a dropped parts would be really difficult.

3) When you put the fat weather strip in the rearmost bow (#16 at Mike Fockes description) it helped me a lot to unclip those big black plastic covers that protect the hinges

4) Aligning the holes of the canvas with the holes of the aluminum plates: Due to the double side tape I wanted the first attempt of alignment being the final one. So I used long, thick toothpicks to align all holes one after another. It worked out pretty good.

5)The 4 Philips screws (#3 at Mike Focke) have a different length. The third screw from the front was shorter.

6) At the front end of the top there was a cardboard strip sewn in at the old top. The GAHH has nothing there. There was just a loose cardbord strip send with the top. I assume GAHH send this so you can kind of "fill" the metal ridge of the foremost bow. I did not use the cardboard because I could not see any help in it. Instead I used my automotive foam double side tape to fill the ridge and glue the canvas to underneath the front frame . So far it looks as if it is working pretty well.

Today I could finish my car. After everything was assembled I closed the top. Because of the new canvas it stayed about 2 inch open. So I had to pull it until the hook could engage. Now I will let it sit for two days to stretch before I try to open it for the first time completely. Maurice, do you think this time is sufficient?

I will keep you updated.

Overall I have a very good impression of the quality of the GAHH top. I mainly choosed it over the Robbins because they are longer in the market. And so the might have more time and feedback to improve their product (delaminating glass...)

Overall it took me about 4-5 hours of disassembly and about 14 hours to assemble it back together. The most time consuming part was to put in back the screw at the back lower side of the clamp rail. Both sides took me about 2 hours together. Also putting in all the weather strips into the rear end took quite some time.

The car is really looking good with the new top. So far, there is only one small wrinkle which does not bother me at all. The whole thing cost me about a weekend of time but was definitely worth the fun.

Maurice, thank you very much for all your advice you gave me. Without you advice and the Homepage of Mike Focke I would have definitely not been able to change the top myself. It is great to have guys like you out there! Thank you!

@986fan: As mentioned, my overall impression of the GAHH is pretty good. The small eye can be fixed as can the bowden cable cover. The cardboard not sewn to the front of the canvas was no big problem for me at the moment as I did not use it ( I hope it will stay this in the future). I do not know if the Robbins tops come in the same condition or they do not have those glitches. I do not know anything about the BAS top. For me the most important point was that I did not hear about a GAHH with delaminating glass after they did their improvements.

Whenever you have some questions were I can help you, please let me know.

Christoph

Christoph:

You are most welcome. I'm sure the feeling of satisfaction for a job well done is tremendous.

Terrific write-up of the details/roadblocks specific to the GAHH top. They will prove invaluable to those who have the same initiative as you do to try the install of the GAHH top.

Thanks for sharing :thankyou:

Two days for the top to stretch into position should be sufficient, as long as it's not too cold out. If you can, let the car sit out in the sun, that will help it stretch into place.

Also, for that little wrinkle that you mentioned... sometimes a wrinkle will disappear as the top stretches, so be patient and wait a couple of weeks.

If you have any before and after photos, that would be excellent!

Regards, Maurice.

[cayvman]

I had the top on my '02 S replaced with a glass window (at Markel's in WLA). Top is fine, smaller window has taken some time to get used to. However, one question about the change. Do the other brands, Robbins and GAHH(?) force one to use a strap to keep the top in service mode? And if so, any idea where one can get a strap?

[1schoir]

I had the top on my '02 S replaced with a glass window (at Markel's in WLA). Top is fine, smaller window has taken some time to get used to. However, one question about the change. Do the other brands, Robbins and GAHH(?) force one to use a strap to keep the top in service mode? And if so, any idea where one can get a strap?

Cayvman:

Here's a photo my friend "Boxtaboy" over on PPBB dug up which is what you are looking for:

This is a strap that has been supplied by Robbins only in the very recent past.

Regards, Maurice.

[cayvman]

Thanks, Maurice.

I had the top on my '02 S replaced with a glass window (at Markel's in WLA). Top is fine, smaller window has taken some time to get used to. However, one question about the change. Do the other brands, Robbins and GAHH(?) force one to use a strap to keep the top in service mode? And if so, any idea where one can get a strap?

Cayvman:

Here's a photo my friend "Boxtaboy" over on PPBB dug up which is what you are looking for:

This is a strap that has been supplied by Robbins only in the very recent past.

Regards, Maurice.

[monterey]

Cristoph,

I have just finished installing the glass window GAHH top on my 97 Boxster. Like you the top does not close all of the way. My gap must be a little over two inches as I cannot apply enough pressure to get the latch to engage. Do you remember how much on the first flap you put in the first groove in the rearmost bow? I inserted the flap to the point where the stiching was fully inside the groove. If I take the fabric out of that rearmost bow the top will close fully, so I am confident that the issue is at the back end. The canvas is very tight already and I am not sure how much play can be gained by reducing the depth of insertion at the back.

Thanks for any advice you have.

Tony

Hello,

here is an update of the latest status and some observations I want to share with the community:

1) The lower eye of the bowden cable (there were the cable will be attached to the lower B-pillar) is to small. The screw that is assembled at that position on my 2001 Boxster S has a diameter of 5.1mm. Whereas the eye just has a diameter of 4.9mm.

It took me just some minutes to widen it by a Dremel tool. But if somebody wants to buy a GAHH top, you might ask them if they changed this glitch. I already wrote them a mail regarding this.

Also the length of the outer cover of the bowden-cable was to long at that position. I was not able to align the hole of the eye with the hole were the screw has to go in. So I removed about 1 cm of cable cover to give the eye more play. With that the assembly was no problem.

For me it looks as if they ship the top with the wrong eye, which causes both problems.

2) There is no hole in the canvas flap that will be attched to the lower B-pillar (described in 1) ). Punch a whole large enough before you install the top. Mine was very small ( I did not want to remove much material). So when I had the top on, it was very difficult to widen the hole up as the flap is in a very narrow place between al those bows. And it is anyhow a difficult location when you try to align the screw with the eye and the washer and the flap to the hole. Finding a dropped parts would be really difficult.

3) When you put the fat weather strip in the rearmost bow (#16 at Mike Fockes description) it helped me a lot to unclip those big black plastic covers that protect the hinges

4) Aligning the holes of the canvas with the holes of the aluminum plates: Due to the double side tape I wanted the first attempt of alignment being the final one. So I used long, thick toothpicks to align all holes one after another. It worked out pretty good.

5)The 4 Philips screws (#3 at Mike Focke) have a different length. The third screw from the front was shorter.

6) At the front end of the top there was a cardboard strip sewn in at the old top. The GAHH has nothing there. There was just a loose cardbord strip send with the top. I assume GAHH send this so you can kind of "fill" the metal ridge of the foremost bow. I did not use the cardboard because I could not see any help in it. Instead I used my automotive foam double side tape to fill the ridge and glue the canvas to underneath the front frame . So far it looks as if it is working pretty well.

Today I could finish my car. After everything was assembled I closed the top. Because of the new canvas it stayed about 2 inch open. So I had to pull it until the hook could engage. Now I will let it sit for two days to stretch before I try to open it for the first time completely. Maurice, do you think this time is sufficient?

I will keep you updated.

Overall I have a very good impression of the quality of the GAHH top. I mainly choosed it over the Robbins because they are longer in the market. And so the might have more time and feedback to improve their product (delaminating glass...)

Overall it took me about 4-5 hours of disassembly and about 14 hours to assemble it back together. The most time consuming part was to put in back the screw at the back lower side of the clamp rail. Both sides took me about 2 hours together. Also putting in all the weather strips into the rear end took quite some time.

The car is really looking good with the new top. So far, there is only one small wrinkle which does not bother me at all. The whole thing cost me about a weekend of time but was definitely worth the fun.

Maurice, thank you very much for all your advice you gave me. Without you advice and the Homepage of Mike Focke I would have definitely not been able to change the top myself. It is great to have guys like you out there! Thank you!

@986fan: As mentioned, my overall impression of the GAHH is pretty good. The small eye can be fixed as can the bowden cable cover. The cardboard not sewn to the front of the canvas was no big problem for me at the moment as I did not use it ( I hope it will stay this in the future). I do not know if the Robbins tops come in the same condition or they do not have those glitches. I do not know anything about the BAS top. For me the most important point was that I did not hear about a GAHH with delaminating glass after they did their improvements.

Whenever you have some questions were I can help you, please let me know.

Christoph

[1schoir]

Cristoph,

I have just finished installing the glass window GAHH top on my 97 Boxster. Like you the top does not close all of the way. My gap must be a little over two inches as I cannot apply enough pressure to get the latch to engage. Do you remember how much on the first flap you put in the first groove in the rearmost bow? I inserted the flap to the point where the stiching was fully inside the groove. If I take the fabric out of that rearmost bow the top will close fully, so I am confident that the issue is at the back end. The canvas is very tight already and I am not sure how much play can be gained by reducing the depth of insertion at the back.

Thanks for any advice you have.

Tony

Tony:

I think your top will eventually stretch enough to permit a good, tight fit.

The first canvas flap that gets pressed into position with the barbed vinyl strip should go in evenly so that its trailing edge ends up flush with, or just below, the horizontal surface of the rear bow just aft of where that first slot is.

Once you have it installed that way, the rest of the material flaps will be positioned just right, but it will still be very tight when you first try to latch your top closed. Let it sit in the sun before you try to close the latch, then let is sit closed for a few days. It will stretch.

Regards, Maurice.

[ravengolfer]

Maurice,

Should the elastic strip be attached to the plastic plug that secures the slider at the top?

Thanks

Mike

"I also included a picture of the new top where you can see those elastic strips. GAAH tells that they should be

fixed to the third bow from the front."

Maurice,

thank you very much for your information and your kind words. With that recommendation in mind, I will definitely exchange the red ball cups!

Concerning the foam sealer: There I got me some foam which is adhesive on on side. Out of this foam I cutted two pieces that should be very similar than the old ones. As adviced, I spared enough material around were the philips screws will be later.

Now lets come to the slider! Thank you for the link. In fact I read the thread during my preparation and had the clear feeling from this, that the old slider ...7000 out of my car will be way shorter than the updated slider I buy (...7002). It was a big surprise for me, that the section of the slider where you slide the canvas in is about 1 inch longer at my old slider. I compared part#: The old slider has the ...7000 on it, the new slider has the ..7002 (but is shorter ?!?!?).

On the slider-picture, the left parts is what I bought new, the right parts (longer) are what came out of the vehicle. My feeling tells me, use the longer slider. My brain tells me, use the newer (shorter) slider as Porsche did not develop it without reason.

I also included a picture of the new top where you can see those elastic strips. GAAH tells that they should be

fixed to the third bow from the front.

Thank you very much for your advice!

Christoph

Christoph:

Definitely the right move with the white plastic ball cups.

I am also glad to see that you did EXACTLY the right thing with the foam seals. That's the way they came with my top (it was a factory top that I bought on eBay from a guy who had bought the top and totalled his Boxster before he could have it installed). The top came in a Porsche box, with Porsche part numbers and it included a kit that included the foam seals, and they had adhesive on one side . You will have no problems with leaks that a few posters have reported when they "skipped" installing new foam seals.

The photos of the sliders tell the whole story. I would definitely use the longer sliders. That's what came with my factory top and it worked out perfectly. The part that extends 1 inch higher at the upper end helps insure that the cable falls better into the guide channel.

If you look carefully at that post #24 in the thread I gave you a link to, you will see the difference between the two versions of the 'short' sliders. Those are versions 1 and 3(call them "old" and "newest". The longer slider is version 2 (call it "newer"). The difference between the old and the newest versions is the spacing and location of the channel at the bottom of the slider. You can see the difference in the measurements and photos that "Jimmyboyle" posted in that thread.

The elastic straps provided by GAHH appears to be correct for insuring that the top folds correctly and also to help with the cable falling into the guide channel. Since you have your top in front of you, it might be helpful if you compare the location of that elastic strap with the measurements I specified in that same thread.

Let me know what you find, but my instinct tells me you will be okay with these elastic straps and the longer (newer) slider that was originally installed in your old top.

In any case, I'm sure you are on the right path.

Regards, Maurice.

[1schoir]

Maurice,

Should the elastic strip be attached to the plastic plug that secures the slider at the top?

Thanks

Mike

Mike:

On an OEM top, the elastic strip is attached (sewn in) to the top canvas and piping. There is nothing that should be attached to the plastic female receptacle that juts out from the clamping rail/slider assembly or from the plug that is pushed into it.

Go to the write-up I did on Mike Focke's web site on getting the cables to fall into the guide channel and you'll see some pics of that section http://mike.focke.googlepages.com/converti...fallintoguidech

Here is one of the photos from that write-up:

Regards, Maurice.

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Great info, I'm looking at doing a glass top on my 2000 Boxster.