TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE

How To: Installing Hard Top Spin-Locks
posted by Dennis Marer on Thursday, 11 September 1997, at 3:46 p.m.

I am still looking for an Arctic silver hardtop, if anyone is willing to part with one. :) In spite of that, I've made preparations for it by buying the "spin locks" or the doohickeys which the hard top locks into. All 98 models have this standard, but only the 97 models which were shipped with hard tops were equipped this way. Here's how to do it...

I was under the impression that installing these babies was a job better left to the dealer, and gotten quotes for about 4 hours (around $180). Instead, I bought a $10 metric hex wrench set, and it wasn't that hard. No dismantling of the convertable top was necessary! You will need:

2 hours free time
1 5mm metric hex wrench - must be at least 5" long!
1 strong plastic freezer baggie (at least sandwich sized)
2 hard top spin-locks, one left, one right. About $20 each
2 hard top spin-lock machined bolts. About $10 each.
(I can locate part numbers, or you check with the parts department)

1) Install the spin-locks

Roll down the convertable top, and remove the plastic plugs - save these! Drop in the spin-locks. You can't go wrong here - one is marked 'L' and the other is marked 'R'. There is a notch to help with alignment. Roll back up the convertable top, and lock it into place.

2) Eat the sandwich

Shake crumbs out of the plastic baggie, and make a small (1/8") hole in the corner (the strongest part). Push one bolt from the inside through the hole to the outside. Stop when the plastic is up to the flanged part of the bolt - there should be about 1/4" of bolt still inside the baggie which is plenty to keep it from falling out. The plastic stretches nicely.

Insert the hex wrench into the bolt inside the baggie, then start twisting it until the baggie binds up around the wrench. This keeps the bolt from falling into the car, the wrench from falling out of the bolt, and your sanity. If you still manage to lose the bolt down the inside of the car, I have no sympathy. :)

3) Go fishing!

Reach a finger inside the convertable top as low and as forward as you can possibly go - the bolt receptacle is almost directly in line with this point. Your finger will know when it's found it, it's shaped like it's supposed to fit the bolt you're about to insert.

Once you've located it, do the same thing with the bolt. After a few tries, you'll hit paydirt and the bolt will slide in about 3/8" before it hits the threads. Take a deep breath. NOTE: If you find this difficult, you can roll down the top a little until you can see the spin-lock, and manuever by hand.

Now try to thread in the bolt. What worked for me was to turn it backwards (counter-clockwise) until I felt a little bump, then to turn it forwards. At this point you should drive it in as far as possible with the plastic baggie still attached...

4) Point of no return

Give the plastic baggie a firm tug, and it will pull free. Now your only worry is to not lose the hex wrench down the side, so tie it to something. NEVER roll down the top with your fingers or hex wrench inside, or with the bolt not fully tightened. They don't call me "lefty" for nothing. ;)

Tighten the bolt enough to keep it from falling out. The spin-locks are held in place by the bolt, not by how tight you've made it.

5) Repeat

That's pretty much it. The plastic plugs seem to fit (tightly) back into the newly installed spin locks, if you care. I think the plastic baggie was a stroke of genius. Got to start keeping a stock of those around from now on. Now, to get the actual hardtop...

Reply by mark

here's the picture from pag that diagrams what dennis described so well. sometimes a thousand words are a heck of a lotbetter than a picture :-)

Reply by Dennis Marer

Part numbers, if you're interested:

Spin-lock mount, left 98656371302 $33.30
Spin-lock mount, right 98656371402 $33.30
Spin-lock fitting (bolt) 99921904100 $10.62 x 2

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