Soft top very tight to erect

Soft tops stretch in use, then shrink back while not used, and as a result it is very common for tops which haven't been up for a while to be difficult to stretch into place. For that reason, I usually erect the top when I put the car in the garage and may not be using it for a few days.

If the top has been left down while the car was parked for a while and is too tight to erect, a way of overcoming the shrink-back is to warm the vinyl - either by leaving it out in the sun or (if the weather is unhelpful) draping the soft top over the frame and placing a blow-heater inside the car to warm it up.

  Click here: Back to Technical Notes Menu