Fitting/Assembly/Painting
Welcome to this guide which will help you to easily assemble and install your new hardtop.
The guide is shown on our VX220 but the process for the Opel Speedster and Lotus Elise/Tesla is exactly the same.
So here is your new hardtop just back from the paint shop. We recommend sitting the roof on the car and checking the fitment and brackets before you get the roof painted just to make sure everything is ok. Ours here is painted body colour on the top and matt black on the underside. You can get it lined too if you like.
The first thing to do is to get the self adhesive front and rear rubber strips and stick them onto the edge of the roof. Stick 3-4 inch sections at a time to make it easier to keep the rubber straight.
The rubber is supplied oversized
Just trim off the end with scissors.
Now it's time to stick on the rubber edge protectors -
Lay the rubber onto the edge of the roof dry at first. Again this rubber is supplied oversized so trim it to the perfect size.
Here’s the rubber laid onto the side of the roof. Now let’s take off the rubber and we will stick it down properly.
For this part you will need a tube of black Tiger Seal or other PU based adhesive. Silicone sealer will not stick.
Take the rubber edge strip and part it with your thumb.
Then slowly squeeze the PU adhesive into the channel. Try to make sure you put a neat bead of sealer into the channel and dont let it spill out.
Now push the rubber seal back over the edge of the roof very gently. When the rubber strip is fully onto the roof you can gently rub the strip to ensure the adhesive is making contact down the length of the roof side. Dont press too hard as the adhesive might spill out onto the paint.
Allow the adhesive to dry ideally over night. Then turn the roof over and repeat this for the other side. Once this is done we are now ready to fit the roof!
So take off your soft top, wind down your windows and open your doors.
Sit the roof onto the car gently it should just drop nicely into position. Rest the front of the roof down first then the back.
Now take your small front bracket and a bolt and push into the hole in the bracket at the front of the car. Apply a small amount of pressure on the bracket pin as you tighten the bolt. For now just tighten this bracket up half way.
Next put the rear bracket under the bracket on the car and put in the two bolts again just half way for now.
Repeat this for the other side. Fully tighten the brackets then on both sides. Here is the bracket fully tightened.
Now for the last part we just have to stick on the two side window seals. Provided in your kit are two self adhesive strips. Take one and offer it up to the side of the roof (before removing the adhesive backing).
This is the face onto which the rubber seal will be stuck.
Cut the rubber seal to size then remove the self adhesive backing and stick the seal to the side of the roof as shown.
That's it we are done!
Sometimes it is necessary to adjust the windows for a tight fit on the seals. Here is a guide on how to do this:
http://www.vx220.org.uk/forums/topic/44778-adjusting-the-windows/
Advice on paintnig:
Always use a reputable body shop and most importantly use a body shop that is familiar with fiberglass and knows how to work with fiberglass. The roof molds in our kits do require the top flatting for best results and minimal prep underneath prior to painting.
Baking - The roof molds can be baked PRIOR to painting at no more than 40 degrees celcius this can be an effective way of working out air pockets which form naturally within fiberglass products. It is imperitive that the roofs are not baked AFTER painting i.e spraybaked. The roof must be allowed to air dry at normal temperature or they will be damaged and possibly warp beyond repair. Reputable bodyshops should already know this information. It is not necessary to bake the products at all normally.
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