Paul K

There is one on eBay right now. #200333851399.

Edgy01

Curvelover,--take a closer look at that hardtop for that car you posted. It's a SUNROOF-hardtop. Very rare and VERY expensive. I'm only aware of about 3 of those being made.

nile13

This is not a 993 top despite the description.

Paul K

Thanks- I did wonder!

Bruce SEA 993

A little OT but addressed the beauty of the hardtop for winter and soft top for summer. My wifes SL 500 has both and is only a 5 minute deal to pop it off and hoist it to the ceiling. In the rainy Northwest I couldn't imagine a daily driver soft top.

The nice thing with the SL is the soft top stays. Of course, it is a much bigger car. Does the soft top stay on the 996 and 997 cabs?

I saw a 997 cab with a hard top Saturday at West Marine. One of the instructors for the boating safety class left in it. So after all the safety stuff he layed on us I wondered if he wears a helmet when he drives on the street with the top down. I swear he wears a PFD (life jacket) even on land. "You never know"....

curve lover

Dan-- Good eye! I bet you spotted the built-in electric cord for the electric window defroster, too.
More:

nile13

Bruce, 996s and 997s get to keep the soft top when the hard top is installed. It's a completely different soft top folding deal from the tops on earlier cars. It folds up and goes completely under a hard cover when folded. Similar to your SL.

I do drive a 993 year around in Boston. My only other current car is also a convertible with soft top. No problem for the last 11 years with soft top cabs as year-around daily drivers in Boston.

Edgy01

Although I don't care as much for the look of the installed hardtops for the 996 and 997 versions of the Carrera, it has greatly simplified the install and de-install job. It takes me about 8 minutes to do either one. The soft top is always there. See gifs (let them load)

KMASS993

FYI - here is the pricing for hardtops from D. Moris. The 2,490 includes 500 shipping to the east coast of the US. To me that is a pretty good deal if I had a convertible, especially living here in Boston.

curve lover

^ ^ Kmass-- Thanks to you, Bert (#13), HT993 (#14), etc. for your D. Moris posts. Their 993 cab hardtop does look great, albeit fiberglass.

curve lover

Editor's note: Author is admittedly biased toward anything approaching the beauty of a 993 Speedster.

nile13

I said it before, but I really do not understand how this cover can possibly work on a 993 with folded soft roof. The roof does nto sit fluch with the damn rear deck!

HT993

You're right Mike. The soft top needs to be completely removed, and this cover just sits on the back, providing a clean line and nice curves. There's no space for the soft top beneath the cover. Removing the soft top - with the canopy still fully closed/stretched - takes about 30mins.

I spoke with Domnique Moris about his fibreglass products before finding the original hardtop I posted about a little while ago. He knows his stuff, and was very helpful.

HT993.

nile13

What surprised me is that Mike (Arena993) was discussing putting his clam cover on the car. Mike, if you're reading this, could you comment?

I might have to take the top off at some point for a body re-paint. I've heard before that it's fairly easy, I'm just apprehensive about lining everything up when putting it back in.

HT993

hHi Everyone,

Not posted for a while but here's an update...

I found an eBay merchant in Germany selling a customised 911 lifting frame. It was designed for the 996/997 but fitted the 993 with just a little adaption:

http://cgi.ebay.de/Porsche-911-996-9...d=p3286.c0.m14

I set up a horizontal wooden beam in my garage and using a winch, it takes just a few minutes to remove or lift either hood on to the car (I'll take pictures when I remove the soft top for the winter in a few weeks time, and post to the forum). This means that I can change the hood all by myself.

(Btw, the photo below shows a 996 or 997 roof, it's not mine )

It takes about 30-45mins to secure the soft top in place - not something I'd want to do every weekend, but switching twice a year (Spring/Fall) is just fine.

Like many cabriolet owners on this forum, I moved to manual operation - which is much easier - so there's no alignment necessary or adjustment to be made to the motor mechanism.

All in all, I'm very happy. It's great to have a coupe and a cabriolet in one car

HT993