6G Celicas Forums

I'd appreciate any information about the best convertible top canvas manufacturer.

I have a green 97 with a ratty beige convertible top and I'm looking to DIY a replacement.

Looking for the best.......I only want to do this once!

Cynthia

Cynthia,

Have you someone you have confidence in to install a top? It is significant undertaking. Might be worthwhile to obtain a quote from a business specializing in providing a top and installation. At least you will have one entity responsible for a quality solution.

Top installation steps:

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showto...convertible+top

Keep us posted how it turns out for you.

________________________________

Thanks for the response.
I do have someone who can install the convertible top for me... In fact, in Porsche Boxster circles, they call him "Topster" because he is a whiz at convertible tops.

My problem is that I don't have any information on the best quality canvas tops for Celicas. I'm only looking to replace the canvas, not the entire top and frame assembly. I also don't know which of the manufacturers have the best reputation.

Hopefully someone else will chime in... I can't be the first one to be replacing the canvas on our beloved 6GC's!

Regards, Cynthia.

Ebay Top

its an ebay top but the seller is the actual manufacturer not a reseller, i just bought the glass and curtain from him for my car after i popped my back glass dropping the top last night. the feedback is 100% no bad feedback from anyone so it sounds straight up

Cynthia,

Let us know the results whatever solution you decide. It is an issue most convertible owners will have to address some day! Good luck...

easier way is to get from a wrecked vert, i replaced the whole thing. convertibletopmotors.com is another place ive heard

i cant find a 6gc in the yards here at all much less a vert... my glass and curtain has tracking of thursday afternoon arrival will update this thread of my impressions from the aro 2000 product lines after i have it installed friday morning

The fabric itself is made by Haartz, and is still available. Try to find a supplier that uses Haartz.

Fuzzy

ive got 3 in my yard, going tomorrow

Thanks for the suggestion. It is much easier to replace the entire top and frame as one assembly (Topster told me so ). The only problem is that with the tops that are available from wreckers is that they are already at least 15 years old and there are none that I have been able to find in the tan color I want to replace mine with that are in decent condition.

I'll probably go with buying a Haartz Stayfast Canvas top from Robbins and have Topster deal with the headache of installing it.

I'll post some before and after photos for inspiration!

Regards, Cynthia.

rear glass finally installed, i highly recommend using an upholstery shop to do this job or you will take it on and off re-stapling the curtain several times till its right then eventually call an upholsterer because it still isn't right. anyway the the glass and material from the ebay link is top notch workmanship i highly recommend them.

I just redid my top a few months ago..when I started I was thinking "I've been a mechanic for a while, and worked at a couple shops, I'm not going to pay some guy to do what I can do"...and boy was I wrong. Replacing the top is not a one man job, nor is it solely a two many job unless one of the two guys know what he is doing. I had to call a friend of a friend that used to work at an upholstry shop that his brother owned. He told me on the phone that he has never done a convertible top by himself before and most upholstry guys aren't comfortable doing them. He did say that he had helped his brother install one so he would try to help me. We got it done, but it still wasn't easy. We had to undo some staples a few times and staple it back until it was right. I don't recommend anyone doing it, regardless of how "handy" you think you are..lol. I thought for sure that I could do it by myself, because I've done nearly everything else on a car outside of rebuilding a transmission. With that said though, you can get your top from keeautotop.com, it comes with an installation manual, staples, everything that you will need to do it yourself(except for someone that knows what they are doing AND a staplegun). There are certain installation techniques that aren't mentioned in the manual. If you do it yourself then it's not that big of a concern if the top is loose, mine stretched when the sun hit it. This is all I have to say regarding this, I highly recommend that you have someone that knows what they are doing help you so you don't get stuck as I did. OR you can get a complete top with the hinges and bolt it in with the help of a second person.