Electric to Manual top conversion 2017 edition

[JimmyP]

Hey All,,, yes I swear I did search, I searched here and Googled.

Reason I am posting yet another thread about this subject is I did not find anything on 325ic or Rev, or Googling.

All yield alot of people asking the same questions but not any good "what to do" tutorials.

Most answers were "go to a scrap yard, find a manual car, take everything" ---or--- "don't convert it to manual electric tops on E30s are cool".

I will say I'm an old, stubborn manual kind of guy, so converting this highly over-complex electric rig to manual is really the direction I would like to go.
I like simple & easy.
The day that comes when I'm too feeble to put up or down my own top I'll sell the car.

There is a guy selling a kit to convert electric to manual that looks somewhat slick,,, ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxV9dgID_Gw ) but,,, when I emailed him he was not very forthcoming on what his kit consists of, or how it installs, just what it costs, so I am leery of purchasing sight unseen.

Anyone seen his kit or dealt with him and know what it consists of or how it installs? I like what appears on the surface to be a pretty simple option but I hate buying things without knowing what makes it tick, how it works, how it installs.

Or --- are there any other options I may be missing?

Thanks for any information you may share.
cheers
jimmy p

[cspec]

I think that guy's kit has like very simple stuff... Like a prop up thing for the top, and a lever or something. I think he didn't tell you because you could DIY it, lol...

[parkerbink]

Mine came with the motors & associated parts gone & manual.

I had a '90 that was manual so am totally used to it.

Good luck.

[spare]

There is only 2 things you need to make an electric top a manual top. A way to hold up the top cover when putting up and lowering the top and a way to engage the top cover locks. The kit is a prop rod for the top cover and a lever to pull the bowden cables locking the top cover.

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[spare]

Now if you want to completely change it to the manual version that came from the factory. Remove the motors and the 2 linkages going to the top frame. Acquire the 2 top cover gas shocks and mounting hardware. Manual bowden cables, manual latches, release handle/interior door handle, rear passenger speaker panel.

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[JimmyP]

Thanks, Thats what I thought. I already made the prop rod, but I am trying to figure out a slick way to engage the cables.

Thats why I am looking for a broken / dead rear tonneau cover motor in another post, I can probably rework that to be the manual twist.

I have already removed all the motors and linkages.
I bundled the wires up nice and neat, tucked up to the wire harness straps.
I would love to come up with a slick clean way of engaging the locks.
The pivot point goes away with the motor so you are left with two semi large holes in both the body and the metal plate that holds the cable ends.

I'd buy his parts if its something slick and it doesn't take me an afternoon of fabricating something to do the job, but i am not going to buy it without some info on what I am buying.

I am sure you are right in that its probably ridiculously simple and thats why he doesn't say what it is, or show what it is.

I'm going to mess around with it this week. If I come up with something slick I'll post it in this thread, I have a few ideas already, but I think the easy button would be to have an old motor with the bracket that holds it to the body to start with.

[spare]

It essentially serves the same purpose as the Allen key. You could realistically just use the Allen key to do this from the trunk.

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[JimmyP]

Yeah thats what I assumed.
I just need to fabricate a fixture to center it in the hole and let it pivot without the motor in place. I have a few ideas.

I don't mind buying something from someone if they have done the work already,,, meaning I don't have to take the time out of my days to do it, but I have written the guy 3 emails asking for details on the kit and he keeps telling yes its still available so its obviously so damn simple he doesn't want to let any tiny bit of info out of what it it is made up of.

[berndt]

I just bought all the factory parts. Wasn't too expensive. I use my shoulder to prop up the cover :).


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[jeffnhiscars]

I'm not sure what the retrofit is to mount the tonneau shocks but I've got new ones as well,as,the top hinge struts if you need them. It's the same part for electric and manual tops and makes,lifting the manual version much easier.

[parkerbink]

My manual retrofitted top had no cover shocks until I bought Jeffs.

The mounting point is there.

[reelizmpro]

My conversion consists of a long stick and a small wooden dowel. What I do is prop the cover up with my shoulder and fold the top down manually. I use a stick to bend the folds back on the opposite side since my straps are shot. This allows me to stay only on one side while putting the top up or down. When the top is down I lock the compartment cover by wedging a small piece of wood in the small space between the latch and lid bracket which is accessible through the spring loaded flap.

Not having to rest the lid on my shoulder would make things even faster. So it's good to know the mounds for the lid shocks are still there. My lid motor works fine but I found the gear to be worn so it often skips otherwise this would be the way to go...a semi power top.

[JimmyP]

When the top is down I lock the compartment cover by wedging a small piece of wood in the small space between the latch and lid bracket which is accessible through the spring loaded flap..

Well that sounds crazy simple.
I'm going to go have a look at that option.
Thanks for the idea.

[cory58]

I bought the kit from the YouTube link (Stu Johnson). It's overpriced, but is a good stop gap until I get around to doing the factory conversion. In addition to the gadget in the trunk that holds the boot lid closed, it also comes with a rod that mounts to an existing threaded hole in the boot and holds the lid open when you are raising/lowering the top.

Not all cars come with the bottom mounting pins for the boot lid shocks. Mine does not have them. They are available from BMW, but need to be welded on. I've read that some people bolt them on, but that's way too ghetto for my car.

Cory

[JimmyP]

What do you actually get with it?
I just built a McMaster Carr order with a handful of materials to make up a pretty slick version that will lock it from the trunk and I keep coming up with less than $30 including shipping?

Actually I drove mine yesterday and to be honest unless I did a full Dukes Of Hazard jump over a river bed at 100 MPH I can't imagine a scenario where that lid comes open with no lock at all.

A few weeks ago I drove with top down and no latching on the tonneau to Watkins Glen to watch a race @ 80 MPH for 2 hours each way and it never moved.