I have a 1995 xjs convertible and am going to replace the top as it
is cracking all over the top; anyone know if there videos or photos
to show me how this is done?

 

Hi skierrene - Welcome to the forum and greetings from Wisconsin! Don't forget to check in and introduce yourself in the Intros section of the forum.

I'm guessing you want to do the work yourself.... May I suggest you post your question if you haven't already in the XJS section of the forum. You can't be the first owner to have gone through this. Or perhaps even in the Exterior section if you aren't find the answers you're looking for.

Best of luck and welcome aboard!
Scott

 

I replaced my 91 xjs top last summer. Having never done the job before, I took tons of pictures for reference as I removed each item . I am a restorer but still, never did a conv. top before so I knew I'd have to start smart. The first thing is to do it in a garage where nothing will be bothered with and you can leave it as is for the next day and of cource the car won't get wet. Second, purchase the german OEM top material. You can get one for $400. It's $100 more than the stayfast material but it's the exact stuff from the factory and well worth it. There are quite a few steps required to remove and replace the top. One point I learned to late is that you should NOT trim the excess material from the ends of the rear bottom of the top (bottom of the top, that's funny). The area I'm talking about is from the bottom rear quarter panel window (where that small plastic plate is held with the boot cover snap screw. The original top had a plastic tube sewn in along the bottom and this rolled part is the border between the top and the body, but the side section approx. 6in. in from both ends had a METAL rod sealed into this tube to help hold the top section in this area straight as there are no attachment points there at all. Your new top will not have a metal rod sewn in. I trimmed my excess here and when I stretched the top from the front, this area pulled up and the trimmed section shows. Had I left the excess till last, I may have been able to make this spot look better now. My advise is to install the cable that holds the top along the rear bottom before glueing and stretching the front of the top. There are two nuts one on either side that need to be removed. They are behind the headliner. This will release the tension on the cable to allow you to remove it. You will be lucky if there is no fatal rust on it.These are available new on the internet if so, but you will have to paint it black to match the original. The new cable is coated with clear vinyl and the plastic formulated paint will not adhere to it. I used the rubber spray(Home Depot)and it worked well. Attaching the rear bottom first and tightening the cable ALMOST all the way, may insure the side sections will stay straight across and leaving as much excess as possible on the sides may strenthen them to stay straight. After stretching the top from the front you can do the final tightening of the cable using TWO wrenches to keep it from twisting. This may take up some more slack if it's needed. For your own security I suggest taking multiple pics of each procedure of the top removal to see how it was installed. It will aid you immensely for the installation. You will need to drill out more than a dozen rivets and replace them and they are different thicknesses and lengths. Careful removing the front aligning pins they could bust off at the treads. Use loosener first. I didn't and had to drill out the old threads and weld new threads on the pin. It would help you greatly to use an electric staplegun for the installation and buy STAINLESS staples both 1/4 and 3/8ths in length. You will also need solvent based weldwood contact cement. If you need to replace your headliner this must be installed before the top. If you must have an original headliner, 1. it will be hard to find and if you can find it it will be super expensive. 2. the aftermarket offerings are adequate and are foam backed but you will not get the EXACT color as the original. They offer gray and tan and cost$150. The headliner must be stretched from the center rib back and the first rib forward to fit properly. After removing the old top it will become more and more apparent how the new one needs to be reinstalled.At this point I will need to make a new post to inform you more. I can post some of my pics on the next one also. Bud

 

To try to simplify explaining every aspect of the top renewal I thought I'd do this. Post pictures of my project and let the persons with questions give me the jpeg number and I can respond to each question per picture. Many will be self evident. The main thing to remember is that you must take your own pictures for reference and go about dismantling the top slowly and picture yourself doing each step in reverse, maybe even taking notes and drawing pictures if you need. My pictures will give you a head start in knowing what you're up against and maybe they will make it less of a MAJOR project. One note to add, you may have rust on your frame espacially on the front crossmember. If you do you'll have to sand and paint all of these areas BEFORE anything is attached to them. I have pictures showing the repair of the front crossmember. Satin black is the color. If you can't understand the pictures then ask me about them. Specifically, there is a cable that is fed between loops of the material that covers the foam. This cable is crimped in place by tabs of metal which are part of the front crossmember. On my frame a few of these were rusted away and I needed to drill two 1/16th holes on the remaning area and use stainless steel wire to clamp the cable down but you will not only see this on your car but in my pictures. On my car this CLOTH was in tatters and I had to collect the pieces along with the two side canvas pieces and bring them all to an apholsterer to fashion a new piece and sew the two side pieces to the center cloth. Again, as you take your top apart, all of these parts will become obvious.Hopefully for anyones sake there will be few decrepid parts making the install much easier. The pics may not be in order. Here they come. Bud, More pics on next thread reply

 

The convertible top replacement job has three sections involved. 1 inside, the headliner. 2 above the frame is the padding. 3 the final canvas top covering. Each of these procedures is a project in itself, but for anyone who likes a challenge it's for you. AAAAAnd you'll save thousands in labor costs and make your car look soooooooooo nice! Don't forget if your frame has rust it's another project to get rid of it and repaint before the install. For the headliner the frist thing you need to do it find center points on the ribs and mark them on the front side(so you'll be able to see the mark and not be covering it) and top and also mark the center of the flaps that will be glued to the ribs. Note that the front rib must be marked on the rear and the second rib on the front as the pic shows how the flaps are installed. This is the first step in installing the headliner. line up the marks (after glueing both the flap and the rib with the afore mentioned contact cement) and press lightly from the center in spots. if it's aligned properly then press firmly to complete. First the front rib then the rear. Keep in mind there will be a bit of mild stretching going on here to keep the liner taught. Take a breath and go to the next step. The rivets on the alumin. plates that hold the straps will have to be drilled out and the plates reinstalled on top of the neww liner material. A thin 1/4 thick layer of foam rubber will be glued on top of the plates. There is also a thinner side strap that must also be reriveted on top of the new headliner (see pic). Anyone attempting this task I'm sure will have a degree of skill for upholstry or at least some self reassuredness that they're up to the challenge to do this renewal themselves. These pics are meant to help anyone never having done this specific job. I'll post some more relevant pics and explanationa on the next thread. Till then soak this stuff up and ask any questions.Bud

 

@buddy

These posts are so good I had to thank you twice !

I'm looking forward to seeing the final installment when the actual top goes on. Based on the discussions we had before, your pictures and experience show it is much, much easier to do the headliner with the top off, however based on my limited experience and the restriction of keeping the top on when I did mine, I'm still pretty happy as mine looks about the same now as yours.

Thanks to your post when I do need a new outer top, I'll be trying it myself

 

I just lost a 3 hr. thread explaining the middle padding section install with 20 pics. So.... Now i'm going to post it again in a different way. First, all the pics, then, when I can sit down again for 3 hrs, it'll be soon but I don't when just now. I'll explain the procedures for this part of the convertible top renewal. Meanwhile, everyone can digest the pics and anyone with questions can either ask or wait for the instructions.

 

The layer above the headliner has 3 sections, 1. The bottom canvas. 2. The fiber. 3. the foam. The canvas or (tough cloth) layer provides a foundation for the fiber and foam layers and has the convertible top material edging (to withstand the frame wear), sewn to it, hopefully this is intact and you can use it over. The cloth section may or may not be rotted and need to be replaced . You've avoided a lot of work if it's intact. If not, then the easiest way to reproduce this cloth (if there's enough left to work with), is to gather the remnants and spread them out on a table(along with the top material edges), and make careful measurements, then take them to an upholsterer to be reproduced. If you let the upholsterer make the measurements it may cost you a lot more. When you get the cloth back, you need to make a center marks on the front and rear, and the front and rear cross-members, and line them up. The front has a looped edge that a cable will be fed through. This cable attaches to the front cross-member by way of small metal tabs. You will need to cut small sections out of the cloth to allow the metal tabs to crimp the cable or as in the pics to allow room for the stainless steel wire to wrap around the wire. This wire will replace any rusted away tabs. Notice in the pics that there are 2, 1/16th holes drilled into what's left of a metal tab. These holes allow the wire to be fed through for an attachment point. The cable may or may not have survived rust also if it has then you only need to drill out the two rivets on the ends and re-rivet. If not you can go to your equivalent Home Depot and get the 1/16th thick vinyl coated wire and make a new cable. you will also need new end hardware. Make a loop on one side off the car. feed it through the looped end with the cutouts. Pre-wire the holes with the wire or make sure the tabs are bent enough to accept the cable. Put a 1/8th drill bit in the remaining rivet hole and wrap the cable around it to make a loop mark on the cable for the cut length. Don't make the cable too taught as you need to stretch it up to the tabs after riveting it to the cross-member. Twist the wires around the cable and tuck them in and, or, crimp the tabs to hold the cable. There is an OEM rubber edge part that originally covered the metal tabs after they were crimped but if there are a lot of wired areas it may not have anyplace to hold onto. I eliminated this part with no consequences. The front is done. Now you must stretch the cloth at the rear and mark it long enough to have one fold left (for stapling strength) and cut the length. While holding it taught, line up the center marks you made and staple the center twice as seen in the pics. Then while still holding it taught staple from the center out to the edge on both sides. Do a double row of staples and hammer them down so they are very flush. There is a 5 in. piece of the same cloth that must be stapled to the rear rib. This will be folded up and glued over the foam layer to form a rear edge. A 1/8th X 1 in. piece of foam rubber will be glued over the staples for padding. You have to fold the vinyl sides up but wait till you have the foam layer on. The convertible top material sides are riveted at the rear, but should not be until the foam layer is installed. The front is glued. The next layer is the fiber. I believe it's purpose is to provide an air layer as the top gets VERY hot in the summer. Hopefully you gathered this layer up carefully as I don't know of anywhere to get more or a suitable replacement. Put the fiber layer over the cloth and try to level in uniformly. It can be pulled a little to do so. You're now ready for the foam. Place the foam on top of the fiber and glue in pieces of pre-cut and formed foam into the spots where it's gone. Make sure they're flush as the top will conform to any irregularities. Fold over and glue the cloth at the rear from the center out making sure it's smooth. rivet the rear of the folded up convertible top material edge and glue the front to the cross-member. This part is done. Please feel free to ask any questions. I'll be sure to answer if I know. NEXT!! The top. Soon. Bud

 

Congratulations!!! Wonderful job. However, in spite of the explanations and the pics, I consider myself unable to succeed. This is the reason I took my car to an spacialist. My problem is that the intermediate part, between top and headliner, is absolutely unusable, then I have either to fabricate one either to buy a new one. However,, I don't know how to look for one. How is it called? Iff I know how to look for one in Ebay probably I will be able to buy one.
A little help about that will be welcome.
Thank you very much and again, congratulations.

 

Try this website out. I only found it last night.WWW. worlduph.com. Under the materials heading there's something called FIBRE-FLOTE. It's with the foam rubber padding. This MIGHT be the stuff you're missing. You can call them to confirm or see if they carry that fiber stuff whatever the heck it might be called. As you will also find they carry a LOT of other stuff for convertible tops. If I find any other sites for material I'll post them too. Bud

 

I bet I have spent 4-5 hours looking for this kind of info, and feel I have found all I could hope for. I am about to embark on this project, and want to make sure I have everything before I start. I have an electric stapler. Is this what should be used? Should I go ahead and purchase the 3 tension cables prior to starting? Are there any words of advice you offer prior to jumping in, other than what you've already given? Thanks much!!

 

Make sure you take a lot of pics of the removal. There are things you'll see that aren't apparent in my pics. You can then match what you see to my explanations. Leave a generous amount of excess when you cut out the vinyl for the rear window and trim it shorter as you go. The lower section of top vinyl, from the bottom of the window to the body, will have to be restretched before stapling as it slackens when it is cut. Whenever you take out staples remember the same amount has to go back in. Any staples that don't go in all the way must be hammered in. An electric stapler makes the job easier. Use a sharpie marker and mark on the body where the loops are so you can put them back in the exact spot. The loops will move slightly as you tighten the rear cable so adjust them as you tighten it. Use a 2 in. wooden slat to push the cable into the slot also as you tighten. This will help make the cable dissappear as you draw up the lower welt. Yes, get the cables first so the mail won't hold you up. If you have any questions that I can help you with feel free to post them. I'll keep checking the forum. Oh yeah, the top needs to be stretched like the poridge on goldilocks, "just right" not too tight and not too loose. It would be better if it were a little too tight than too loose though as it will loosen a bit over time. Bud, If I think of anything else I post it.

 

Last year I had my top and headliner replaced. Looks good except for the lower rear bottom at each window for about 8-10 inches. This part of the top is not down and fitting. Looks quite awful, in fact. Am looking forward to your post re the top install.
Thanks, RagJag

 

I had my top replaced last year, but I paid a very good local installer to do it. Cost about $700 for them, and I considered it money well spent :-). One thing they did mention that would be important for DIY, though, is to get a new rear window seal FROM a Jag dealer. The "universal" ones do not fit as well in their experience, and the Jag dealer one was only about $75. They also mentioned that fitting the cables (Jag roofs go on like VW roofs it seems) is a major PITA because of some design idiosyncrasies and to leave it up for two weeks to allow the top to stretch once installed. Hope that helps - good luck!


Edited to add - if anyone decides against DIY and is anywhere near MD/DE, my shop did a great job (they do a lot of classic car upholstery work) - and they have a Florida outlet, I think: http://www.enterprisebaltimore.com/?page_id=12

 

I have full intention of this being my next project. Right now, I am in the middle of having my rear suspension out. I had bought all the parts, planned on it being a two day job, and it has gone bad. Real bad. Both radius arm bolts broke off, wrong rotors, stub axles in a friends shop getting new seals, crush sleeves installed.

I am rounding up parts now for this top install. On top of the new cables, I now see where it is recommended to get a new rear window seal. The fun never stops coming, lol.

I still question the use of a standard stapler. I have a electric, as well as a hand stapler. Yet, I have the nudging of the common sense that tells me I need one of the wire staplers, although I don't want to buy one for a job I may never do again.

 

One more thing I remembered my installer mentioned - it helps to have two people for the fitting. The cable and roof fit is TIGHT, especially using the higher quality fabric, and on my roof they actually used three people to get it set on properly. Good luck!

 

I seem to remember something about stainless staples.....I must admit that l too would let a pro. do it.

 

Hope you are still out there. Took me till now to get my brakes straightened out, being able to move to the next thing. I have ordered the two short cables, and am looking for the long one now. Another thing that I don't see you mentioned is the rear window seal. I read somewhere that replacing the rear window seal almost always has to be done. Was wondering your thoughts. I don't understand how the back window installs, but my seal has about a 3/4" gap in it at the bottom in the center. Does a new one go on the glass first, and then install like a windshield that has a fixed rubber seal? I have a TR6, and used twine to install the windshield in the frame on it. I just want to make sure I have everything I need before I start.

 

I don't know anything about tr6's. Mt XJS has a one piece rubber seal that installs from the outside ans a thin rubber seal that has a split at the bottom. Sorry I couldn't help. Bud

 

How does this thin seal install? What holds the glass in? I'm sure I am about to figure this out, but inquiring mind(s) want to know.