For all the hardtop owners

[87cabrio89is]

I've been weighing the choice between a new soft top and $500 or a hard top... I like the idea of the hard top and the GLASS WINDOW. What I'm unsure about it since my wife is tiny and uninterested in being in the garage with me at all, will I have a helper to remove and store it? Will I ever put the top down anymore? Should I just have a good shop redo my top and spend the extra cash on upholstery?

Yes, replace soft top with good (OEM or equal quality and new seals) new soft top. Sold my hard top to help fund interior restoration and don't miss it at all. I don't live in Minnesota and have more than 1 car though.

[Gingerrella]

I don't have the right mounting hardware in the back, which is the only thing that makes mine a PITA to install, but even still, with one person helping, it takes about 5 minutes.

I live in RI so it is definitely worth it for me, I just don't have a garage/live in an apartment, so it pretty much lives on my car since I got it. It is definitely so much quieter.

Issue with mine is the "b pillar" seal between my passenger windows, has anyone ever replaced one? What does it require??

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[mlbryant8]

Still lovin' the hardtop. have two spots where the vinyl is loose. Any suggestions on re-gluing the vinyl down. Would love to hear from someone who has done it successfully.

[JWHIII]

Lol! Sorry, my wording just got tangled. I've got a brand new soft top on my vert plus the hard top for winter. I couldn't agree with you more regarding how awesome the hardtop is. I know they're pricey but it's definitely money well spent. Especially if you DD your vert!

My response was to the question posed by OldManHenry. He was pondering whether he should replace his soft top or buy a hard top. I was going under the assumption that his existing soft top was in pretty bad shape so essentially if he chose to buy a hardtop that's all he would have. But I could've misunderstood and his existing top just looks bad but is still completely functional.

[325_e30]

The hardtop really is pretty easy to get on and off. That being said if I had to choose between either a hardtop or a soft top I would definitely go with the soft top. After owning a couple of jeeps I've been caught in sudden downpours too many times to ever want to just have a hard top for my e30.

You make it sound like you completely removed your soft top from your car.. My hardtop is ALWAYS on my car just because it rains like a MF here in Miami, but the times I take it off and it starts to rain I just bring up my softop. I will ALWAYS choose a hardtop here, just because the noise reduction, AND IMO a hardtop vert looks 100 times better than a coupe.

[JWHIII]

^^^ Yes. My soft top really doesn't get much use. For the most part my vert stays in the garage with the top down during the summer and only gets driven when the weather's nice. In late fall I'll throw the hardtop on and it stays that way until spring. During the winter I probably drive my vert more frequently than the saloon just because it has heated seats and rear defroster (the rear defroster is broken in the sedan).

[DJNikonn]

Do you guys just keep your softtop in the storage trunk when the hardtop is on?


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[JWHIII]

f16dude, I've never even seen a pic of a factory hoist. How does it work? I saw a drawing once of what was supposed to be a factory lift and it screwed into the roof rack mounting points.

[MC Hammered]

I love the way the car looks with the hardtop on and wish the 2dr had the same rear "pillar" treatment.

[f16dude]

The hardtop really is pretty easy to get on and off. That being said if I had to choose between either a hardtop or a soft top I would definitely go with the soft top. After owning a couple of jeeps I've been caught in sudden downpours too many times to ever want to just have a hard top for my e30.

Has anyone here tried using bicycle lifts for removing/storing their top? Cost of the lifts would be less than $50. I'm seriously considering trying it.

This guy did it and it looks like it worked pretty well.

http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e30/hardtop/

My hardtop came with the original hoist. It mounts on the garage ceiling. Just pull in and attach the thing, crank it up and done! Only problem is the instructions were in German. Still, at least it came with instructions. I nearly lost my mind trying to figure out how the hell the hardtop mounts up. My local mechanic shop didn't even know. Luckily I found a tutorial on the forums. Thanks for that by the way! :nice:

[f16dude]

without question, the hardtop is the best. It insulates, muffles sound, seals up tighter, and makes your car more secure than the soft top. It makes your noisy, hot in the summer and cold in the winter vert nearly as comfortable and practical as a hardtop coupe! true to BMW style, it is over engineered with a rear defroster that works beautifully, and even mounting points for a roof rack! I absolutely LOVE my hardtop. Seriously, get it.

[mlbryant8]

I've had my top for about two to three months and I love it. It doesn't leak like my soft top and for this time of the year it is perfect. My winters are mild so the fall through the spring is when I will go with the soft top. During the dog days of summer with our daily rain, the hard top has proven to be ideal. I know it seems odd, but the top works opposite, but idea, l for me as it would for someone in a colder clime. I can't wait for the fall, though. I am itching to go topless.

[JWHIII]

The hardtop really is pretty easy to get on and off. That being said if I had to choose between either a hardtop or a soft top I would definitely go with the soft top. After owning a couple of jeeps I've been caught in sudden downpours too many times to ever want to just have a hard top for my e30.

Has anyone here tried using bicycle lifts for removing/storing their top? Cost of the lifts would be less than $50. I'm seriously considering trying it.

This guy did it and it looks like it worked pretty well.

http://www.unofficialbmw.com/e30/hardtop/

[Das Delfin]

as much as I miss having a glass rear window, I would spend the money on a second car to DD in the winter time and only drive the bmw when it's sunny out, ie. when I don't need any rear window at all. For me it's an easy choice because I wanted a 4x4 for the snowy winter anyway.

If I bought a hardtop I'd want it body colored which means way more cash etc etc

best investment for the vert. I just lift the top myself and balance on my back and hold onto handle bars. Not heavy just awkward shape.

That's what I would do with my old truck and its camper top: turtle-back it onto a stand I'd made out of 2x4's. What was once an awkward job for two men became a 2 minute job I could do myself. Some people use a hoist or straps hung from the ceiling. But the reason I bought the bmw instead of a jeep was I wanted the ability to put the top up at a moment's notice, so buying a hard top would pretty much defeat that!

[OldManHenry]

I've been weighing the choice between a new soft top and $500 or a hard top... I like the idea of the hard top and the GLASS WINDOW. What I'm unsure about it since my wife is tiny and uninterested in being in the garage with me at all, will I have a helper to remove and store it? Will I ever put the top down anymore? Should I just have a good shop redo my top and spend the extra cash on upholstery?