Mounting a Safari Top

[Hawaii_SIII]

I just purchased a Safari Top for my '74 SIII. Any tips on mounting the top? I have purchased the rubber gasket for between the top sides and tub from our hosts.

The headliner was removed so i have bare metal on the top. i was thinking of getting dynamat to line it and take it to a local shop to have a headliner installed. What have you seen for the interior?

[xsbowes]

Where in hawaii are you?

I'm going to be replacing my insulation and headliner also. I'm going with Low-E insulation (http://www.lobucrod.com/). It's not that expensive and it is doesn't soak up water.
I plan on ripping the old liner out. removing as much of the glue residue as possible, gluing the Low-e down, and putting a cloth headliner.

I'm making floormats with it using outdoor carpet. I've got a 6x8 piece of carpet and 4x10 piece of Low-e and haven't gone over $100. Should be able to do the footwells, tranny tunnel, center of the firewall.

[Jeff Aronson]

I think you should fly me out to Hawaii to install the top for you. It's quite simple so I'll get plenty of beach time in, too :).

I swap out my top every summer so I can run a canvas top/pickup tailgate. You might need a windshield gasket for the new top, too. They don't always seal well at that spot. The tub gasket will probably have to be cut to size lengthwise.

Otherwise, you'll find lots of nuts and bolts to remove on the windshield [they hold up the mirror, too], and then 2 nuts on behind the drivers and passenger's seat. There are two bolts midway down each side, two nuts on threaded rods on each rear corner, and then two short bolts just under the rear windows beside the door [assuming all the original ones are still there].

One man can remove the existing top, but it's really a two/three man job to lift the new one over the car and and windshield. Then you start bolting up.

Jeff

[NickDawson]

I think you should fly me out to Hawaii to install the top for you. It's quite simple so I'll get plenty of beach time in, too :).


Jeff will need an apprentice - plus I have frequent flyer upgrades from too many years traveling for work ... just saying is all :D

[KingSlug]

I dont know where you are from on the islands, but in Hilo weatherproofing was a lost cause water would pour in every pore. Heck I if it started raining hard I would just park it and try and wait it out, because the wipers couldnt keep up. I would leave the headliner out and just go with some dynamat, any natural material can mold and fungus up. Hell I had a heck of a time scrubbing the outside of the rover and other cars to keep the moss and algea at bay. I even had installed in the garage box fans for the bumper and below and an overhead fans for the exterior to keep it somewhat dry after a drive in outside. What can you expect for the rainest city in America, our rain gage regularly reads over 200" a year.

Jared

[Tim Smith]

I installed a headliner from scratch. Took the hint from MercedesRover Jim here (http://www.seriestrek.com/headliner.html). Was a big improvement over the ratty old thing I had but I don't know if I'd choose the dark fabric as the finish color again.

You can see some pictures and short description here:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Mw8MF8Gu0DU/R03oHYPwIyE/AAAAAAAABGg/dYbEWj_bpAk/s160-c/BumbasHeadliner.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/smithco1/BumbasHeadliner?feat=embedwebsite)

I'm quite interested in that Low-E material Stacey mentioned. That looks like it would be even better than the closed cell foam that I used. Cheaper too!
:thumb-up:

Installing the top is a breeze. If you have the trim on your top, it is advisable to take it off so that you can get at all of those little bolts and what not. The lower four bolts (the big ones) shouldn't be squeezed down so tight as to bend the mounting holes. You might want to put it on and take it for a drive, try all the doors and make sure it is aligned correctly before tightening everything up as final. Depending on your hardware, you might want to put a drop of thread lock on your bolts to suppress the rattle loose syndrome.