Hard top – TigersEast AlpinesEast

This topic has 7 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated April 19, 2013 at 2:43 am by tom-jeffers.

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- April 13, 2013 at 12:22 am #57996
  tigernewbie
  I took my hard top off to install my new soft top and ran into a seemingly basic question. What the heck do people do with their hard tops when they are not on their cars? How and where do people store them?
  
  It seems to me that the outside of these is really delicate and susceptible to scratches and dents, and on the inside the headliner looks super easy to tear. And you can’t really stand a top on its end and lean it against a wall either because you would risk scraping the paint on the edges. Also, my garage is full of cool things waiting for me to knock over, so I would want the top up and out of the way somehow. What the heck am I supposed to do with this thing?
  
  What do you do with your top when it’s off the car? Pictures, if possible, would be cool. Thanks!
- April 13, 2013 at 1:53 pm #65103
  Eric and Bonnie and Bonnie Gibeaut
  Participant
  Many people use a roll around storage rack -they look like this
  http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=S … 0254206739
  
  Or you can rig up an overhead winch and harness to hoist it to the rafters of your garage-I think I would use the storage rack myself.
  Eric
- April 13, 2013 at 2:04 pm #65104
  Bob and Jean Webb
  Participant
  i have two of the racks and they work great.
- April 13, 2013 at 8:10 pm #65105
  Jim Stone
  Participant
  A rack is a great way to store a hard top, but they do take up floor space and are susceptible to bumps and dings. I made my own wall rack out of scrap lumber and bits and pieces from the hardware store. It is mostly 2×3’s, with a few 2×4’s and some scrap plywood thrown in for stability. It it hinges at the back so that I could set the top on it and then raise it up out of the way. I used a strap clamp to hold the top in place until it was horizontal. The strap would still be there today but I needed at one point and removed it. Hopefully, I will remember to put it back before I lower the rack, although I think it would still stay in place.
  
  I can provide more details and photos if needed.
- April 13, 2013 at 8:53 pm #65106
  Eric and Bonnie and Bonnie Gibeaut
  Participant
  That’s a great design Jim! Much nicer than ropes+pullies. Eric
- April 15, 2013 at 12:54 pm #65111
  George and Beverly and Beverly Coleman
  Participant
  Just a note the hard top racks that are listed are not for sunbeam only, don’t be led astray, they are the same as well for MB 450SL that is what I use and have used one for 20 years! Just saying Do not pay to much for one!!
- April 16, 2013 at 2:52 am #65114
  Jim Stone
  Participant
  quote 65sunbeam:
  
  That’s a great design Jim! Much nicer than ropes+pullies. Eric
  
  Thanks Eric. I have another one in fairly poor condition that is in the rafters thanks to ropes and pullies. I am not sure I will ever be able to get it down safely, which is why I went this route with the second one.
- April 19, 2013 at 2:43 am #65121
  tom-jeffers
  A co worker of mine got a 1990’s Mercury Capri for his wife. She had the hard top off once, messed up her hair and never took it off again. Years after she traded it off, I was asked if I wanted the hardtop carrier he found stashed away in the garage. Works good and best of all it was free.
  
  Tom
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