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Hard Top Dilemma

DAK

Diamond Level Sponsor
First, I hope that everyone had a healthy and pleasant holiday season. My New Year's wish is for everyone to have many safe and enjoyable driving miles in this year.

My dilemma:

Recently, I bought a hard top for my S5 Alpine. I could see that it definitely would need work to get it in usable condition. All the gaskets were bad as were the windows and head liner. The exposed sheet metal seemed in decent condition with a little surface rust here and there. Unfortunately, once the gaskets and liner were removed, a very bad rust condition was exposed. Holes in the metal channels were found at all four corners, particularly under the back side windows. So, what should I do?

Option 1: Save the hardware parts off the top. Trash the sheet metal and hope to find another top in decent condition that maybe is missing some of the parts or sell the parts to someone who needs them to finish his own project.

Option2: Find someone to repair/replace the bad sheet metal, have the top repainted and buy the necessary parts to complete the top.

Option 1 would seem to be best from a financial standpoint. Option 2 would at least double (triple?) my costs but I like the idea of restoring the hard top but would I have a decent top when it was finished? I recall something said to me when I first got my car - "Throw nothing away".

I'm posting this hoping someone who attempted (completed?) a similar project could offer some advice or suggestions. Any info at all would be aprecidated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.
 

Acollin

Platinum Level Sponsor
The questions— more often than not with a classic car— are, what do you want and what are you willing to pay. I suppose “ why do you want, what you want” is also a decent question. Your answers are your own and none of my business.

If your goal is to simply drive your car with sun cover or a rain cap, there are after market options. Frankly, for me , the rounded top fiberglass aftermarket looks nicer than the hard lines of the factory seriesV hardtop. A number of years ago, someone gave me an aftermarket top. I sprayed it rattle can black, bought some seals at the local auto parts store, some fasteners at the local hardware and I was good to go. I drove my car today in the rain.

Good luck with your decision but , in my opinion, there are a couple of other questions to answer before you get to the ones you mention.
Be well
 

Scotty

Silver Level Sponsor
I'd sand the hardtop metal as best as I could, convert the rust, get pics of what the metal is supposed to look like and drive around and see how much a welder would charge to fix it with new metal and a torch. That's what I would do.
 

Acollin

Platinum Level Sponsor
FyI
There is a parts sunbeam for sale in upstate New York on Craigs list that has a hard top with it. While given your discovery of -rustier than you thought— , I’d be careful, but there does appear to be a lot of car there along with the hard top. Is it worth $2000? Who knows ——, but it could be worth some investigating given the cost of factory hard top stuff.
I do not know the seller or the car and have no financial interest in either— just a snooper on craigs list.
Good hunting
 

volvoguys

Diamond Level Sponsor
First, I hope that everyone had a healthy and pleasant holiday season. My New Year's wish is for everyone to have many safe and enjoyable driving miles in this year.

My dilemma:

Recently, I bought a hard top for my S5 Alpine. I could see that it definitely would need work to get it in usable condition. All the gaskets were bad as were the windows and head liner. The exposed sheet metal seemed in decent condition with a little surface rust here and there. Unfortunately, once the gaskets and liner were removed, a very bad rust condition was exposed. Holes in the metal channels were found at all four corners, particularly under the back side windows. So, what should I do?

Option 1: Save the hardware parts off the top. Trash the sheet metal and hope to find another top in decent condition that maybe is missing some of the parts or sell the parts to someone who needs them to finish his own project.

Option2: Find someone to repair/replace the bad sheet metal, have the top repainted and buy the necessary parts to complete the top.

Option 1 would seem to be best from a financial standpoint. Option 2 would at least double (triple?) my costs but I like the idea of restoring the hard top but would I have a decent top when it was finished? I recall something said to me when I first got my car - "Throw nothing away".

I'm posting this hoping someone who attempted (completed?) a similar project could offer some advice or suggestions. Any info at all would be aprecidated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

PM sent.
 

DAK

Diamond Level Sponsor
My thanks to Barry, Acollin, and Scotty for their replies. Status updates on this project as they occur. Volvoguys I got your message and will respond.
 

Tim R

Silver Level Sponsor
Don,

There is a playlist on The Sunbeam Alpine Channel with several videos devoted to Series III - V Hard Top restoration. This will undoubtedly help you.
We have restored some extremely rusty hard tops, on occasion we have had to make it up as we go along to get the back corners to fit nicely to the car but it is do able. Professionally made repair panels are available but there is often a long lead time and as our cars are not show cars we often make up our own.
Whatever you do don't throw anything away, they won't be making any more and almost anything can be saved.
Tim R

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKox3HjPfWwTyy9atfSbFUU3vGFe0R5Gl
 
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