Preventing holes in soft top - my solution
01-14-2007, 08:08 PM
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Preventing holes in soft top - my solution
In true xviper fashion: **DISCLAIMER** This may help keep your top looking good, it may screw it up. I am trying this at my own risk, if you choose to do this mod, so are you. 
If you don't know what holes I am writing about, welcome to S2KI, have a read:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.ph...ic=167403&st=0
This is the finished project, if you think it looks like crap or you have no sign of this wear, you can save yourself some time and stop here. Personally, I don't think our headliners are going to win any beauty contests and since I am showing some minor wear, I am doing what I can to keep the rain out.
This is cove base. It is the black floor molding you see in office buildings. Calling it molding sounds ghetto, so think of it as a readily available strip of rubber. Soft, pliable, and just a few bucks for a 3-foot piece at Home Depot. It is 3 inches wide and I cut the pieces to a length of 8 inches.
After rounding the corners with scissors and smoothing the edges with sandpaper, file, or emery cloth, you are ready to install.
Open the top about a foot for slack and slide the cove between the 3rd. bar and the soft-top.
Slide the cove toward the window and forward until it just peeks past the second bar.
I put shin-etsu on to keep the bar from binding.
After running the top up and down a couple of times I wiped off the excess shin-etsu.
This is a close-up of how things should end up looking with the top all the way up. I did scuff the cove base a bit but this is a first try. If it works well I may go back and do a better job at the cost of about $1.25.
Watch as you lower the top and you will see that the cove bends nicely and does not seem to impede the mechanism at all.
If everything is positioned properly the elbow should ride directly into the rubber. Some adjustment may be necessary to get everything lined up.
This is taken from the passenger side looking behind the drivers seat. You can clearly see where the elbow digs into the top as it continues down. Cold weather must be hell on the PVC as the elbow pushes it back. Honestly don't know what Honda was (not) thinking here.
After running the top up and down a few times the cove did start to creep forward. This is a picture of some felt dots I added to work as a stop. Didn't work so well. I ended up using adhesive velcro.
All I had on hand was white velcro. Just a thin 1x1/4 inch strip, on the cove, the other on the back side of the second bar. I ran the top a half dozen times and it seems to be holing it in place. If it works I will replace it with black.
I just did this tonight and only time will tell if it hurts or helps. If is see any signs that it is screwing things up I will immediately post about it.
If you don't know what holes I am writing about, welcome to S2KI, have a read:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.ph...ic=167403&st=0
This is the finished project, if you think it looks like crap or you have no sign of this wear, you can save yourself some time and stop here. Personally, I don't think our headliners are going to win any beauty contests and since I am showing some minor wear, I am doing what I can to keep the rain out.
This is cove base. It is the black floor molding you see in office buildings. Calling it molding sounds ghetto, so think of it as a readily available strip of rubber. Soft, pliable, and just a few bucks for a 3-foot piece at Home Depot. It is 3 inches wide and I cut the pieces to a length of 8 inches.
After rounding the corners with scissors and smoothing the edges with sandpaper, file, or emery cloth, you are ready to install.
Open the top about a foot for slack and slide the cove between the 3rd. bar and the soft-top.
Slide the cove toward the window and forward until it just peeks past the second bar.
I put shin-etsu on to keep the bar from binding.
After running the top up and down a couple of times I wiped off the excess shin-etsu.
This is a close-up of how things should end up looking with the top all the way up. I did scuff the cove base a bit but this is a first try. If it works well I may go back and do a better job at the cost of about $1.25.
Watch as you lower the top and you will see that the cove bends nicely and does not seem to impede the mechanism at all.
If everything is positioned properly the elbow should ride directly into the rubber. Some adjustment may be necessary to get everything lined up.
This is taken from the passenger side looking behind the drivers seat. You can clearly see where the elbow digs into the top as it continues down. Cold weather must be hell on the PVC as the elbow pushes it back. Honestly don't know what Honda was (not) thinking here.
After running the top up and down a few times the cove did start to creep forward. This is a picture of some felt dots I added to work as a stop. Didn't work so well. I ended up using adhesive velcro.
All I had on hand was white velcro. Just a thin 1x1/4 inch strip, on the cove, the other on the back side of the second bar. I ran the top a half dozen times and it seems to be holing it in place. If it works I will replace it with black.
I just did this tonight and only time will tell if it hurts or helps. If is see any signs that it is screwing things up I will immediately post about it.
01-14-2007, 11:33 PM
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For some reason I've never experienced any hole problems in that area of my top. The one that's concerning me right now is the spot where the strap is at, but further down next to the pivoting bar.
01-15-2007, 09:42 AM
#6
Interesting idea there. I hope it works for you.
02-15-2007, 07:00 AM
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How's this fix working out? I'm noticing a wear spot near the rear bar in this fix (passenger side). I'll probably have to rig something like this up in the near future.
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02-15-2007, 07:53 AM
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I am still trying to find photos of what the wear looks like that this fix is designed to solve. All of the photos in the old threads (including the one you link to above) are broken. Can anyone help?
Edit: Never mind, I found some:
Edit: Never mind, I found some:
02-15-2007, 09:32 AM
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Originally Posted by GTI 20v,Feb 15 2007, 11:53 AM
I am still trying to find photos of what the wear looks like that this fix is designed to solve. All of the photos in the old threads (including the one you link to above) are broken. Can anyone help?
Can someone post some pics of what to look for and does it effect all MY s2000's?
02-15-2007, 09:36 AM
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Originally Posted by Jsmply,Feb 15 2007, 01:32 PM
Can someone post some pics of what to look for and does it effect all MY s2000's?
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...0&#entry3395901
The triangle brace wear hole appears to affect '00-'01 only.
The upper brace wear hole (what this thread is about) appears to primarily affect '02-'03.
The lower side wear hole- I don't know what cars this affects. I am still slogging though the 20 page thread.
