If my car could talk... (DIY convertible top replacement)

[Gangis]

...she'd scream "I'm naked!"

Full tutorial (with step by step photos) soon as I'm done. I'm writing it as I figure this thing out. I do have one problem though. I need to get to the side where the window is, but there's a piece of the body blocking it. I'm sure I have to remove the entire assembly so I can take off the rest of the old top and staple the new one onto it. I have no idea where to begin.

any ideas? Thanks.

[bassthrive]

why did you peel your car???

[unbalancedwood]

niceee...weight reduction!

lol, you replacing the convert?

[SleeperSolara]

Dang that's one big project man.

[woa_its_j3ff]

Just a feeling, but are you replacing it with a beige top?

[Gangis]

Well, the top was in very poor condition. The harsh Florida sun + abuse by the woman that owned the car previously has made it necessary for me to replace the top at 83k miles. I peeled back the top and saw that the procedure was LONG overdue. There was basically no weather protection anymore for the rear half of the top, which is evident in dirt and deposits all over the headliner.

It's a big project -- however, it's not hard. It's just tedious and time-consuming (sort of like long division.) We succeeded in removing the top entirely. It turns out that there are two screws on each side that's holding the bottom frame in place. We undid them and it slid right out so we were able to pull the staples and do away with the old top. As of tonight (10:50pm) we accomplished a perfect fit for the top. Tomorrow we're going to work on the actual stapling along the base near the window, as well as resealing the weather strip along the window to make it last a bit longer. However, my friend dropped one of the four screws that hold the base in place and it's fallen into the void somewhere between the body and frame of the car, never to be seen again. This is pretty serious, so we'll have to find a compatible screw or special order one from Toyota which will set the completion back a few days and leave me without a car for a while which is no good. Oh well - we'll get through this.

It's quite a learning experience and I'm enjoying every minute of it. So far I've spent:

$237 - new OEM top through autotops.net
$45 - new electric staple gun and set of staples
$6 - misc supplies in order to get the job done right

This beats the $1600 price that was quoted by Treadwell's for a complete replacement! DIY FTW!

[Ruski]

WOW man i cant believe you actually went through with replacing the top. Keep it up . and i wanna see the tut when your done. Good luck

[Gangis]

WOW man i cant believe you actually went through with replacing the top. Keep it up . and i wanna see the tut when your done. Good luck

Thanks. I'm insane in the membrane, as anyone who's met me in person will attest!

[Gangis]

So I hit a snag this morning. There's a piece that I need replaced which the new top didn't come with. Technically it's attached to the window/headliner but I was able to remove it with ease. I needed it duplicated using the same Stayfast fabric but the upholstery shops I've gone to have refused to duplicate this simple thing. All it is is a small piece of fabric with stitching only on one end, and then a rubber strip on the back (which can be pulled from the old one, as it's still in good condition.)

I'm going to continue looking, perhaps we'll have better luck on Monday when more stores are open. I don't get it...

[Gangis]

Here's a status update... I've finished writing up the tutorial. The project is 95% done. I need to go to upholstery shops in the area to find somebody to duplicate the shim (the piece of fabric I mentioned in the last post.) If that goes well, I'll be able to finish tomorrow or the next day depending on when I get the shim.

I took the car out for a spin with the top up, and then the top down. It was pretty awesome. Once I'm done I'm going to clean up the car real good and then do a reveal. I think you all will be pleasantly surprised.

[MCOjerry]

WOW, big project. Good luck. If I still have mine when it's time for a new top, I'll stop by for a replacement

[Gangis]

Haha, It's better to have it professionally installed. A convertible top replacement is a total pain in the ass. What you can do is order the top + inner lining for $420 from autotops.net and have it professionally installed for ~$350. That way you'd save nearly $1k because of the materials alone. No OEM markup BS to worry about.

I would have gotten it professionally installed, but I had to go cheap and DIY on this one. I kept the inner lining/rear window and just swapped the outer layer. Still a lot of work - I believe I've clocked in approx 18 hours over four days.

[Gangis]

Well, I still haven't found a way to get the shim duplicated yet so my car is still garaged. However I've driven it around today and have already gotten comments from neighbors and random people. All in all, I'm very pleased with the progress I've made. I think tomorrow I'm going to staple on as much of the top as possible, but leave room for the shim when I get it duplicated.

Hopefully we'll have better luck later on this week. But for now, the tutorial is done! Gen 1/1.5 Solara Top Replacement Howto

Please leave comments and suggestions. Don't give it out, in due time I will repost it but with pictures and some more information. Thanks!

[Gangis]

Great news! As of 8:45pm EST today, we are DONE! The convertible top is installed and looks GREAT. Tomorrow I'll wash the car and then take pictures. You won't be disappointed, hehe.

[Jakecallun20]

So I'm guessing you got the shim duplicated?