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Re: Hardtops

To: Dan Pockrus <dpockrus@efficient.com>
Subject: Re: Hardtops
From: Tab Julius <tab@penworks.com>
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 1999 13:55:54
Dan,

I have a hardtop (snug-top brand), I did not get it originally - it came
with the car.

What I really like about it:

- Warmer, quieter, than softtop (in the winter, when it's 20 below zero,
there's not much driving with the roof down, assuming the car will even
start).

- Feeling of greater security (even if undeserved) should the car roll over
in an accident.

- Easier to see out the back window (no plastic, no metal bar).

What I dislike:

- Cannot just "remove the roof any time I like".  Well, I can, but I have
to store it somewhere. IOW, I can't just pull into a rest area and take it
off.  If it folded into the trunk, that would be great.  I have to decide
ahead of time if it's a "softtop" day or not.

- Little heavy to put on and off.  I can deal with it, but for instance, my
wife couldn't.

- I have never managed to get it to fit exactly properly.  Of course, I
don't know if it was originally made for this car or the PO got it from
some other vehicle.  So it's halfway in value between a "real" solid roof
and a softtop.

- As I found out this weekend, it makes giving the battery a jump a million
times harder.  The batteries are in the "back seat" area, and when the
hardtop is on, I have my softtop folded down.  This makes it impossible to
get at the battery housing with a hardtop on.  I was obligated to remove
the hardtop from the vehicle, lift the softtop enough, jumpstart the car,
then reassemble the hardtop.  In cold or bad weather, this is not a treat
(and I doubt that if you had a passenger that he/she would be much amused,
particularly if it was raining or sleeting).

- My hardtop snaps in front to the top of the windshield and has a nut/bolt
assembly for the back.  I always keep a wrench that fits that assembly with
the vehicle.  Very helpful.

- Tab
'78B


At 09:42 AM 12/29/99 -0600, Dan Pockrus wrote:
>
>       I've noticed there's been a lot of discussion about replacement
>seals for hardtops around here lately. I've never really considered a
>hardtop since they're seldom needed here in Texas, but the fact that I'm
>about to put the B in the paint shop has started me thinking about picking
>one up before painting so that I can have it painted to match at the same
>time. How many vendors are there for hardtops, and, for those of you who
>have them, what do you like or dislike about the top you have?
>
>Dan Pockrus
>'74B almost down to bare metal
>
>

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