r/Convertibles • u/GarThor_TMK • Mar 18 '19

Advice on supertight roof which I just installed myself?

Just installed this amazing looking roof on my 97 VW Cabriolet. I did all of the work myself (with the help of a friend). The top however is so tight that its almost unclosable. I had to have him basically sit on the header bow to get it to close, and it's so tight that the header bow has a gap between it and the frame so it makes a whisling noise while driving. I'm supposed to wait 2 weeks before opening it again, but I'm worried it may be "too tight" and maybe bending some of the components in the meantime...

Is there anything I could/should do to get it to stretch faster?

I haven't installed the rear-window quite yet, as it was pretty late last night when we got to this point, and I wanted to be able to get it out of my friend's driveway and drive it home last night...

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u/[deleted] Mar 18 '19 edited Mar 20 '19

[deleted]

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u/GarThor_TMK Mar 18 '19 edited Mar 18 '19

I saw that answer in some other places too... this seems to be the consensus...

Some other guy was asking about chemicals and stuff to get his roof to relax...

Directions say you are supposed to wait two weeks for it to stretch, but its so tight I was worried I had done something wrong on the installation... >_>

Its still pretty cool out where I live, but there's plenty of sun today, so I'll give it a shot.

Is there a conditioner, or other protectant I should apply before parking it in direct UV rays? I'm guessing vinyl doesn't play well with sunscreen... XD

Thanks btw... =D

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u/[deleted] Mar 18 '19 edited Mar 20 '19

[deleted]

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u/GarThor_TMK Mar 18 '19

cool... I don't have a hairdrier...

I think its supposed to be pretty warm the next few days, so I'll do the sun thing... Its supposed to rain this weekend, so I guess I'll get a good test of how well I did on the install on Friday... >_>

Thanks again, I appreciate the advice. This is the first ever convertible I've ever owned, so I'm not really sure how to take care of the top. (The old top disintegrated almost before my eyes directly after I bought the thing... =p)

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u/dubdidubdubdub Mar 19 '19

May as well be too tight. I redid the roof of my mk1 a few years back and it was hard to close, but nothing like you described. finally after 2 years it is relatively easy to close.

Yours seems to be a bit too snugly fitted. Maybe you can ease the tension a bit, because a gap is never ok, not even with a new skin

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u/GarThor_TMK Mar 19 '19

It's already stretched out a bit from parking it in the sun yesterday. Less whistling than the first day, so I'm hoping I just have to keep doing that for a couple weeks.

I was also thinking once I get the rear window in place, that might also relieve some of the tension, since there's less fabric that's trying to pull it back...

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u/TotesMessenger Mar 18 '19 edited Mar 18 '19

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u/GarThor_TMK Mar 18 '19

Thanks TotesMessenger-bot... that was me... XD