Soft top too tight!

[Mr nanotech]

I have an NA with an aftermarket Robbins glass window soft top. It's the vinyl one without the zip out panel. When I first installed this it was quite tight and we had to put a lot of effort in to get the roof to close. When it finally did close it was tight as a drum. You could literally tap it and hear it 'bong'.
We assumed that it was because the new top was brand new and had never been fitted, therefore it would be quite tight for the first few weeks until it had worn in. Sure enough that was the case!

However, I've sprayed my hardtop gloss black recently and have been wearing that for the last month. I've taken it off to paint the pillars the same colour today but when showing a mate of mine what the car would look like with the roof up tonight, I had the same problem as before.
It was really tight. Though I didn't pull it all the way as the paint was still drying, I did feel quite a bit of resistance. It gets about 5cm away from the latches and feels quite firm.

What can I do to fix this? I know we put the soft top on right, we did everything in the instructions and there was only one way to install it. Keep in mind that the soft top after the first month of installing it (been on about 6 months not) worked fine. It's only after having it down with the hard top on for a month that it's gone back to it's original firmness.

Is there something I can rub onto it to loosen it up? It doesn't feel like it's going to rip or tear when putting force into closing it, but I don't want to put stress marks into the vinyl and compromise it's strength. I've looked all around online and can't see any solutions. if someone can give some advice or point me in the right direction I'd be much appreciative.

[NitroDann]

Its the cold weather.

Dann

[emexv]

Barr moving to QLD I don't think there is anything you can do. I had a set of clears on my boat and at this time of year I couldn't get them done up no matter what I did. Come the warmer months I had no problems at all.

I would suggest leaving the soft top done up when storing the car but that will be a bit difficult with the hard top on.

[zossy1]

The cold has a lot to do with this, but contrary to what my friends above say there IS something you can do.

I would be willing to bet that you had the top un-fastened when you tightened the rear frame stays, right? This makes for a very. Tight. Roof.

Pull your deck carpet out and loosen all your stays and frame bolts in the rear. No need to remove them, just loosen them. Then latch the roof closed.

Then, with the roof latched, re-tighten the stays and frame bolts.

The roof should now be a little more manageable... Hopefully

[Mr nanotech]

I'll give it a crack after lunch and see how it goes. Though I think it's going to be sunny today so it may have loosened up on it's own

[Benny]

The roof needs to be put up and left in the sun, or in a warm garage with plenty of heat.

The vinyl will shrink when it's cold and being new, it just makes this worse.

When I got my 99NB8A, I ordered it new with a hardtop.
I remember how much I had to struggle to get he soft top up for the first few times, until i left it in the sun for a few days, then it loosened up nicely.

Having it down for a month or so, especially in cold weather, will shrink the top, hence why it is so hard to put up.

[Mr nanotech]

thanks man! I had a go at putting it up today. it had loosened up a little more since last night. Though when I put the pillar trim back together (since it was off due to painting) I moved the latches a little further back than before. It was easier to grip onto them and the soft top sat pretty well. I gave it a good clean today with poly something, some vinyl cleaner and it's looking good. Had a roam in the sun today and sure enough it loosened up back to normal.
Hard top is back on though. I needed to see the finish on the pillars next to the hard top.