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Vanderhiem Samba Member
Joined: March 04, 2003 Posts: 189
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Posted: Wed May 21, 2003 7:17 pm Post subject: soft top misaligned |
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Hi my name is greg and I live in florida and was wondering what can be done with a misaligned top the sides just above both doors seems to be too high and won't meet the doors. I don't know if this is something that can easily repaired or if it requires replacement of the top assembly. I saw something about a top reinforcement kit but I don't know if this is what I need.All the help someone could give would be greatly appreciated. |
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[email protected] Samba Member
Joined: October 02, 2002 Posts: 21
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Posted: Thu May 22, 2003 6:41 am Post subject: soft top misaligned |
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Call "The Thing Shop" and explain it to them whats going on. They can give the best advise as to what you need to do. If its not to bad, u can probably take a soft hammer to it. The reinforcement kits would help though. Good luck. |
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Touch Nicks Thing Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2003 Posts: 2029 Location: Alexandria, VA
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2003 5:20 pm Post subject: soft top misaligned |
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Thing Shop looked at our top after it came up while on I 95. They recommended we replace the frame. We did. |
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Vanderhiem Samba Member
Joined: March 04, 2003 Posts: 189
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2003 8:35 am Post subject: soft top misaligned |
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How much did that cost if you don't mind me asking? I just found a thing with a hardtop for $700 It's a rust bucket and the top needs new latches. Is it worth that much. |
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chinarider Samba Member
Joined: November 08, 2002 Posts: 276 Location: San Francisco, CA
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2003 8:09 am Post subject: soft top misaligned |
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That's a known Thing weakness. After enough use, the soft top frame tends to warp. In a way, it's a necessary design flaw, as VW needed to go with a metal soft enough to flex at highway speeds (hardened metal is stiff, but it can shatter under those aerodynamic forces). Unfortunately, metal doesn't always return to it's original shape, and in time, the bends become more pronounced.
I recently straightened my soft top frame (more or less straight), and installed a new Thing Shop soft top. To straighten the top, I took it off the car, and layed it down on the flat surface of the garage floor. I layed a couple of 18" x 3/4" wooden planks along the bent surfaces, and hammered them until the metal was pretty much straight. It's not perfect, but it's a whole lot better than it was before.
Thing Shop frames are expensive ($687 for a bare frame; $315 for just the soft top; or $1225 for a complete deal). |
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Touch Nicks Thing Samba Member
Joined: May 21, 2003 Posts: 2029 Location: Alexandria, VA
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Posted: Sat May 31, 2003 5:35 pm Post subject: soft top misaligned |
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I've been out of town. The Thing Shop installed our top on their frame at the Kuebeltreffen East. The frame was arounr $650. They gave us $75 for our bent one. |
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Vanderhiem Samba Member
Joined: March 04, 2003 Posts: 189
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2003 3:09 pm Post subject: soft top misaligned |
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thanks guy's I think I'll try to straighten the top frame and install a new top are tmi tops any good. |
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