Ragtop mechanism removal

[dayrider]

I’ll be painting my 1963 ragtop beetle soon and need to remove the entire ragtop mechanism with canvas intact. I’ve studied the Bentley and searched on SAMBA but I’m still lost on the steps needed to accomplish this. The slide railing is in two pieces. I gather I can remove the rear rail and slide the mechanism out but do I need to first detach the rear portion of the headliner under the ragtop? If so, what tool would best take the fasteners out? Anything else? A step-by-step would really be appreciated.

[my59]

Look in my gallery and the workshop pages are posted.
I used a flat dull spackle knife to pop the headliner loose.
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my59: Well son, my grandfather died before I got to drive it, so does that answer your question?
our79: sunroof bus w/camper interior and 2.0 FI
Other:'12 Jetta, '77 Benz 300D, and a 74 MG Midget.

[57BLITZ]

[my59]

You're welcome. Someone else also posted them all together; search
'Factory ragtop sliding roof manual'
_________________
my59: Well son, my grandfather died before I got to drive it, so does that answer your question?
our79: sunroof bus w/camper interior and 2.0 FI
Other:'12 Jetta, '77 Benz 300D, and a 74 MG Midget.

[dayrider]

Thanks for the headliner removal tip but exactly how do you remove the rear bow? How many bolts/screws hold it to the body?

[57BLITZ]

So after you pull the headliner down, you will find that the rear bow has studs welded to the bottom of it and is attached to the roof with nine nuts . . . you will need a 10mm wrench (possibly an offset box wrench) to loosen the nuts.

There should be washers under the nuts and there is also a metal reinforcing strip . . . the roof is sandwiched between the reinforcing strip and the sunroof bow.

The rear bow is somewhat straight (and under a light tension), so when you are unbolting the nuts, it might be helpful to have an assistant outside the car holding the end of the bow down against the roof . . . and be ready for the nut to "Pop off" when it is unscrewed . . . don't lose any hardware . . . you might end up with a "new rattle" if you lose a nut inside your headliner!

For painting, you might want to remove the slider rails . . .
If you were simply replacing the canvas/vinyl cover, there are two special shouldered screws in the front clamping bow that you can remove and the upper-front bow can be taken off without removing the rails.
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Jesucristo es mi Señor y Salvador!

[dayrider]

This was very helpful. Thank you!

[nvrgvupjw]

[Dake]

here is the link to the manual

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...oof+manual