2003 OEM glass window soft top installed on my 2001
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2003 OEM glass window soft top installed on my 2001
I've posted this on other Pcar boards already, so apologies in advance if you've already seen it, but figured I'd post here in case there are folks who mostly only visit this Boxster board and would be interested in seeing this, what I think, is a really cool mod...
Anyway, for those wondering if a 2003 or 2004 factory glass soft top and frame will work in a pre-2003 Boxster- it does. My pal and I removed my old plastic windowed top and frame from my 2001 Boxster and bolted in a complete 2003 factory glass top and frame sourced from a wrecked Boxster. It is a direct plug and play bolt in. For pre-2000 cars, the top relay and top transmission microswitches that tell the top how to cycle are different, so there's a bit of extra work in order to make that work, but for 2000, 2001, and 2002 model year cars, it is a plug and play bolt right in and operate. There are essentially only 3 bolts on each side of the top frame that holds the top onto the car, so it is a pretty easy swap.
The advantage of swapping in an OEM vs. an aftermarket version top is that the OEM version accomodates a larger glass window without sacrificing engine access from the top because of the 4th bow in the frame which allows the glass window to fully pivot up when needed. The aftermarket tops have to stretch over the pre-2003 3-bow frames, and thus, the glass area has to be smaller, and there's extra pressure put on the glass as it folds, because the older frames were made to have a plastic window fold in half as it is cycled down.
Although I have not seen it done, I am assuming that if this works on a Boxster, it will probably also work on pre-2002 996 Convertibles with the plastic window as well, but I'm just guessing.
Before...my 01 with the plastic window:
Getting ready to unbolt the old top and frame:
Marking the pushrod length prior to disassembly so that we know exactly where to reconnect when putting in the new top:
Old top completely out:
New top in, and looking great:
Interior shot with full headliner and glass window:
Couple more shots:
And a video of the working 03 top on an 01 Boxster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGCKcRrmR_c
Anyway, for those wondering if a 2003 or 2004 factory glass soft top and frame will work in a pre-2003 Boxster- it does. My pal and I removed my old plastic windowed top and frame from my 2001 Boxster and bolted in a complete 2003 factory glass top and frame sourced from a wrecked Boxster. It is a direct plug and play bolt in. For pre-2000 cars, the top relay and top transmission microswitches that tell the top how to cycle are different, so there's a bit of extra work in order to make that work, but for 2000, 2001, and 2002 model year cars, it is a plug and play bolt right in and operate. There are essentially only 3 bolts on each side of the top frame that holds the top onto the car, so it is a pretty easy swap.
The advantage of swapping in an OEM vs. an aftermarket version top is that the OEM version accomodates a larger glass window without sacrificing engine access from the top because of the 4th bow in the frame which allows the glass window to fully pivot up when needed. The aftermarket tops have to stretch over the pre-2003 3-bow frames, and thus, the glass area has to be smaller, and there's extra pressure put on the glass as it folds, because the older frames were made to have a plastic window fold in half as it is cycled down.
Although I have not seen it done, I am assuming that if this works on a Boxster, it will probably also work on pre-2002 996 Convertibles with the plastic window as well, but I'm just guessing.
Before...my 01 with the plastic window:
Getting ready to unbolt the old top and frame:
Marking the pushrod length prior to disassembly so that we know exactly where to reconnect when putting in the new top:
Old top completely out:
New top in, and looking great:
Interior shot with full headliner and glass window:
Couple more shots:
And a video of the working 03 top on an 01 Boxster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGCKcRrmR_c
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