Hi Bruce. I just wanted to take a moment to say thanks for documenting the removal and installation process involved in replacing the top on a Z3. Many of the steps you covered in the video were not to be found in the instructions that came with my top. The most difficult part for me was getting the back bow in position, as I had no help around. I watched your video probably 30 times prior to ordering my top.

Thanks for the video(s) Bruce! Got my Z3 earlier this summer, the previous owner had used sandpaper or something on the plastic window, making it impossible to see through, bought a new top off of eBay, the quality itself was decent, but there were no directions as to how to install it, your videos helped me greatly. Removed old one and installed new one over 3 days, for a total of about 12-ish hours of work, lots of it standing around considering the next move.

This video helped me fix my 98 Z3 soft top. Ever since I owned it, it's been difficult to open and close. But after I watched the first 3min of this I was able to fix it. THANKS!!

Looks very easy the way you do it , great job thanks

What a pain! Mines still in pretty good shape except for the plastic window. I’m just going to replace that instead of the whole top now after watching this video 🤯

Wow. I just watched 7 minutes to see how you separate the back of the soft top from the body and you skipped right through it.

Glad they helped Andy. I found the companies that make the tops did not want to share the instructions before they sold tops, which made no sense to me. I wanted to read the instructions before I committed to the project to know what I was getting into. So I'm glade someone was able to use this information to make the installation easier. BTW I see your user ID has miata in it, was this a BMW Z3 top that you did? Bruce

awesome video. my z and i thank you sir

This is great ...thank you

Thanks but how do I remove the whole roof complete with framework ect??.. as have another complete one I need to fit!!. Cheers🤔

Very helpful video! Btw, My Z3 is leaking water right behind the seats and it goes into that hole at 8:24. Is that a drain channel or do i need to get mine fixed?

@bsyearsley

9 жыл бұрын

The Stan Yes, there is a small area that collects the water which has a drain hole in the bottom. This can also be seen at 8:37 in the video - the area where the socket wrench is going through on the passenger side. This water collector is open on top, and has a black rubber trim along the edge. If water is not draining this area it the drain could be plugged with dirt. You can also see better view of this drain in the second video at 3:07.

@sl270703

9 жыл бұрын

Bruce Yearsley Wow thanks for replying. It really means a lot. So am I right to assume that even new soft tops have a hole/gap in that area?

@bsyearsley

9 жыл бұрын

The Stan Yes, there is a gap near door at the bottom corner of the top so that water can run along the back edge of the top and drain down, where it then falls into this well and drains out.

@sl270703

9 жыл бұрын

Bruce Yearsley I reckon it is designed like that to enable movement/folding with the soft top? Thank you again for replying btw. I've been googling that for so long now without any success.

Great video--- thank you! In retrospect, would you leave the seats in place or remove them if you had to do the job?

@bsyearsley

Жыл бұрын

That's something I did not consider, but it would make it easier to access the area in the rear. If's it easy to get the seats out I would do that next time.

do you know if they sell the zipper that connects to the soft top not because mine is damaged but the soft top is in great condition

@gordondegges6586

5 жыл бұрын

zip in windows are available and are inexpensive

Bruce it's been awhile now, but if possible would you mind saying who you got your top from, and if you'd buy from them again. Looking at replacing my own Z3 ragtop.

@bsyearsley

10 жыл бұрын

I purchased it from autotopsdirect dot com. Excellent quality and fit. The material was the same as original BMW. I have a Z4 now and when it needs to be replaced I will purchase from the same company. They also provide written directions.

So I finally got my top I went through Robin's much more expensive than what you paid but I'm about to do it any certain tools I'll need that I don't know about like staple rivets anything?

@rigohernandez137

6 ай бұрын

How did the product work out for you?

Thank you for the info! Oh and MEOWWWWWW hahahah

You didn’t show any of the actual work. Wtf

@p00pie

11 ай бұрын

LMFAO

What material did you end up going with? I'm having trouble deciding which is best and where to buy it from. eBay and Amazon both have options but idk which one I should go with

@raymondreyes8046

Жыл бұрын

Oops I just seen that u got it from auto tops. But is that the best price one can get for the best material?

@bsyearsley

Жыл бұрын

I was happy with the material from auto tops and they had a good price when I ordered mine. My son just did his Miata and purchased it from robbins, and it was well made also. I see robbins has Factory Original Material for the Z3: Twillfast IV which would be a safe bet.

@raymondreyes8046

Жыл бұрын

@@bsyearsley so is that twill fast canvas? And is that the other company name? Robbins? Also I checked out auto tops direct. And they have a ton of bad reviews.

@raymondreyes8046

Жыл бұрын

@@bsyearsley I'm looking at the company that's on Amazon it's called autoberry. They look to be the cheapest choice but not sure if it's the best material. I'm so lost cuz I thought that this top would only b like 3 to 400. But alas it's so much more!

@rigohernandez137

6 ай бұрын

Did you ever find out if auto tops was a good product?

seems like a total pain in the a#$. i think i might pay a shop to do it cuz i dont have a garage to use

Do I have to cut the top off in order to take it all off? Id rather just repair it rather than buying a whole new one,

@bsyearsley

2 жыл бұрын

No you don't need to cut the top off, it was just easier to access to the bolts on the rear rail with the top cut off around the rear. If you have a hole to patch, I've had good luck with E6000 adhesive and gluing a piece of similar fabric on the inside.

German engineering