996 hardtops

This may be a dumb question, but so be it. Tomorrow I am looking at a 996 Cab that has no hardtop. It is a C2. I also know of a 996 hardtop for sale, but it is off a 996 C4. Is there any conceivable reason why one shouldn't fit the other ? Also, if it is OK and do buy both car and top, what, if any, securing fittings etc. must I be sure to have when I take the car to collect the top ? Cheers, Steve.

When the hard top is fitted at the factory it is carefully adjusted to ensure a neat and tight fit. If you buy one afterwards it may not fit. You'll get it on, but the catches may not lock, so you may need to take it to your OPC to ensure that it is correctly adjusted. I know this from experience. I bought a new h/t for my wife's Boxster and it took my OPC an hour to get it to fit and remove correctly. Sometime later I tried to put this h/t on another Boxster and it didn't fit well enough to lock the rear catches. Personally, I don't like the 996 hard top: - It looks like a poor fit (you can run your fingers between the rear underside and the car). - They tend to squeak and rattle (I had two on loan earlier this year and it drove me potty) - IMO the 996 Cab looks better with the hood up than with the hard top - The standard hood and rear screen are very good for use throughout the year Mind you, I thought the h/t was standard equipment.

Hardtop is standard, and has been since about 2002 at least. I don't know about before then. Agreed that the car looks best with the roof down, second best roof up, and at its worst with the hardtop. I'd put that down to the changes to the rear windows more than the join between the hardtop & the rear, though. Nevertheless, it still looks VERY good in any configuration IMHO. I'd agree the hardtop is a precise fit and would be nervous about mixing & matching. Also, if the car & top have had different lives, will the paintwork match? Anyway, to answer the original question, to fit/remove the hardtop you need a key. It is essentiall a long allen key with a handle. The front of the hardtop locates in sockets on the windscreen frame and the rear has two vertical pins that (should) then locate in steel holes, behind the rear seats. They are normally covered with a round plastic moulding. Once the top is in place, you get in and screw the pins in to a tight fit with the key. Then you lock the mechanism at the front of the roof and voila, coupe! If you're in the south Bucks area then let me know - I can show you the bits required.

All 996 Cab's came with a hardtop since introduction.

Thanks, guys, for your feedback on hardtops. It has been really useful in making me aware of all the possible problems. I don't live a million miles away from South Bucks. so may well take up the kind offer of assistance that has been made. Steve.

Message for MDowning. If I buy the hardtop less 996, then I will probably take it to the Louis Vuitton Classics event at Waddesdon Manor on the 5th. of June. I'm not sure if you know of this event, but it is a really fabulous classic car concours. This venue is in North Herts. Any chance of your going to it ? If so, then please reply personally on [email removed] Cheers, Steve.

the good news is that the hardtop is optional on the 997 - my last cabriolet had the hardtop fitted when it was delivered and when it was sold and never in the intervening three years. the current hardtop is sitting in the garage where it will sit until the next model... I have always felt that I was spendng several grand on an accessory I would never use - what a waste...

Now you will be spending several grand on an accessory Porsche won't be supplying as standard kit with the new car [ ] No wonder there profits are sky high [ ]

The 996 I bought this morning does actually have a hardtop, so I am alright now. However, my insurance has gone up from £350.00 for 2000 miles p.a. on my 964 to well over a £1000.00 for the 996 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pleae, please,please come back to me with suggestions as to firms who qoute low prices for 996 insurance, ideally limited mileage cover. The problem I have is that low mileage policies do not accumulate NCB, so I have none !!!!!!! Cheers, Steve.

2003 996 C2 cab based on 15000 PA to include business use as well. Had a great deal from Liverpool Victoria. Existin insurer Norwich Union £980 - Liverpool Victoria £750...and nobody else got close. I have 5 years NCD and it is a second car so that may make a difference? It was also cheaper when I added my wife to the policy even though she never uses it. Insurers claim marriage calms men down....sod off, have you seen me drive???[8D]

Many thanks fr the suggestion that I use Liverpool Victoria for my insurance. My existing insurer Carole Nash Ltd. wanted well over a grand but Liv. Vic have quoted £588 ! Getting back to the thread re hardtops for 996. . When I pick my 996 up next week I need to know exactlu what "tools" Porsche supply for removing/refitting the hardtop, Can anyone confirm this please ? Steve.

you will get an allen key type tool - one end is used for removing the plastic covers to the fixing holes; the other end is used for releasing/fastening the hard top securing pins (instructions in the owner's manual) Tip (I had this porblem on each of two 996 cabs): when you first take the hardtop off you will find the softtop reluctant fully to close. It will need help for the last couple of inches so that the clasp can engage with the top of the windscreen - this is a two man job one in each front seat - single handed you run the risk of the hood coming up off centre and mis-engaging the clasp (which can result in the plastic cover to the clasp breaking). Once closed I suggest you leave the hood closed for 24 hours - thereafter, it will work perfectly every time... hope this helps enjoy the fresh air!!

Feedback like this is exactly why I joined the club and is worth its weight in gold. Many thanks !!! One thing I found odd about the 2000 996 that I pick up next week, is that the doors are locked whilst the engine is running. This, apparently, is a device favoured by London drivers as a security measure against car jackers. Any comment on the necessity and wisdom of this would be much appreciated. Also, are there any likely downsides about it. I don't live in London ! Cheers, SGLB.

I had it enabled on my car. It locks as you go above 5mph. Seems a sensible option - it's not just London where someone might try and open your door whilst you are in traffic. (A common way of stealing purses/laptop computers/whatever you might have on the passenger seat I understand). And then there is the car-jacking... If you don't want it any OPC should be able to disable it. It needs to be hooked up to the diagnostic computer to do this.

Thanks,Mark, for your reply re the doors being locked when the engine is on. From what you say, it seems that it is possible to programme the car in order to do this, rather than it being a post production modification ? I am also interested in the fact that, in your 996 at least, the doors become locked only at 5 mph or above. In my cars case it seemed to apply even when it was stationary, since the dealer ( Portiacraft) held the door open when we changed seats during the test drive. Obviously, ( neither of us being able to change seats whilst the car was in motion ! )the car was stationary when we changed seats, and he said he was holding his door open to prevent it being locked whilst we changed over. Does this, I wonder, mean that the doors on my car (unlike yours) are locked at anytime the engine is running, even when stationary ? What do you think ? Cheers,Steve.

I'd get that checked as it sounds like you could easily find your keys locked in the car!

Abso-bloody-lutely !!!!!!!!! I must say that that particular problem hadn't immediately occured to me, but my lawyer's mind was just a'twitching and an'itching at the thought that sumptin like that was a distinct probapossibility !!!!!!!!!!!!! Steve

Well my car is a Boxster, but I can't see it being any different - the cars share so much! Yes you can get it enabled/disabled at any time. I'm not sure about the door locking with engine running thing - that does not sound correct. The way it works (on my car) is you start the car, and when you hit 5 mph the doors lock. They remain locked (even when stationary) until you either unlock with the switch on the dash, or pull twice on the door release pull (this becomes second nature after a couple of goes). I would think they should then stay unlocked until you go above 5mph again. I agree that the behaviour you describe does not seem right.

Getting back to the business of 996 hardtops- has anybody got any experience of "Easyhoists". They make what appears to be a remote controlled electrically operated hoist for raising and lowering the hardtop from the garage roof onto the car. Their prices were exorbitant when first they started trading but have now reduced significantly. However, they are seemingly reluctant to provide a brochure and their website shows bugger-all apart from some geezer standing by a 996 and holding something that could be anything from a packet of fags to a garage door remote control ! I know that this is a bit of a wussy enquiry, but there times when even small problems like removing hardtops are best solved by chucking money at them. Not only that, but at my age and with my flagging sex life the last thing I want is a hernia ! SGLB

I forgot to ask the dealer when buying my 996 earlier this week, but on a Cabrio do the small rear quarter light windows stay up when the hood is down ? Cheers SGLB

No - they retract as part of the hood opening process and stay down thereafter until the hood goes up.

Hi I have an easyhoist but bought it from the manufactureres in the States. Had it delivered to my hotel while on holiday in Florida. The company were very helpful. Brought the unit with electric hoist back with my luggage - got a transformer and fitted the unit in a couple of hours. Cost me $795 dollars ie just a little over £400 and well worth it. The web site is: http://www.eztop.com/ I would recommend it. Incidently I bought a gizmo for about £80 which enables one touch opening and closing of hood - again would highly recommend it. Site is : http://www.bahntech.com/products/AutoTop/porsche_boxster_996_cabriolet_convertible_top.asp Have fun Jonathan

Thanks, Jonathan, for your v.helpful input ! Can I ask you a few more questions ? 1. Any particular reason why you didn't buy your Easyhoist from the UK supplier ? It doesn't seem that you saved any money by buying in the US. I ask this question, not because I am concerned about the product, but rather more because I have some reservations about the UK supplier. 2. I guess you bought a transformer in the UK because of different US/UK voltages ? 3. How does the hoist fit to the garage roof. In the UK suppliers website photo this part is conspicuously missing ! 4. If, as I believe is the case, only the facelift 996 Cabrio's can have their top lowered whilst the car is actually moving, I am not sure that the one touch gizmo would be quite as much use to me as perhaps it is to you ? Please do, however, keep us all posted on any other gizmos that are suitable for use in/on Cabrios !!! You really are well in touch on this area. Cheers, Steve.

it is programmable by your OPC - you can select lock at 5mph; lock with engine on; no lock. the default used to be off but now seems to be lock at 5 mph. they are down and cannot be raised with the hood down

Steve, I was at Portiacraft last week, which model did you buy, the red GT3 bodykited c2? Did you like Henry? He seemed a bit clueless to me. I asked him about the Vesuvius C4, if it had an RMS problem..he said what? I said RMS...he said, erm what? I said any oil leaks mate...he said no no oil leaks.....hmm....then I asked him if he knew when Porsche introduced glove boxes, he said 911's never have glove boxes. What was your buying experience like with him?

Hi Rodney, I, too, thought that Harry was a bit "remote". It is obvious that you caught him wrong footed with your questions, but I couldn't complain about how he responded to mine. Maybe this is because mine may not have been quite so technical ( what the ---- is an RMS system anyway ? ! ). Having said that, the subject of gloveboxes shouldn't have been beyond anyone (even me), and certainly not Harry ! As dealers go, he is OK and certainly a bloody sight better than one I had also met earlier that day when I went to check out an Aston Martin DB7 Volante. Prior to the meeting with the salesman selling the Aston, I had been giving a DB7 some serious thought. I still think they they are great cars, but just did not like the salesman at all !! I bought the 996 Cab Tip C2 in Lapis blue with the Metropole blue interior. My 964 now appears on their website ( Black with linen interior ). One good thing in Harry's favour, was the fact that he gave me the best price I was offered on my 964 Cab Tip. His price,and the 996 being exactly the right spec for me, clinched the deal. Since last week I have emailed Harry with some general questions about 996's and my particular car. He has responded quickly and helpfully. For no reason at all, I had always had a slightly negative opinion of Portiacraft. I feel a lot better about 'em now...........although, of course, I should reserve proper judgement until I've run my car for a few months ! Cheers, Steve.

I still haven't entirely mastered the PCGB Forum yet, and would be really grateful if someone could tell me if this message is being displayed where I intended (i.e. on the 996 pages ). From previous emails I now know that 996 Cabs. come with a gizmo like a long Allen key with a handle which is used for removing the hardtop. Can any other 996 owner(s) please advise as to what other tools comprise a standard Porsche issued toolkit. I am especially concerned to learn of any unusual tools that may be incorporated. One other thing, the first long run I expect to do in my new (to me) 996, is an extended touring holiday( I am also researching material for a book ) over quite a few months of several European countries ( all mainly EEC ). Does anyone know how I can get a list of current European Porsche dealerships ? Cheers, Steve.

Steve, There are links to information on the RMS in the FAQ's on both the General, and the Boxster sections of the forum. Lots of other useful info there as well - might be useful. Yes your posts are coming up on the 996 part of the forum [ ] Good luck with the book - sounds fun! You can get all the Porsche Dealerships off of the Porsche website (you need to go to the country sites of the ones you need) www.porsche.com

Thanks, Mark, for your confirmation that my mails ARE coming up one the 996 pages. Of course, why didn't I think that the dealer addreses would be shown on the Porsche website. I am sure that the book research will be very interesting. I have been commissioned to write two more volumes on the activities of an American fighter group based in England during WW2. Generally speaking, they had a pretty lousy war, and lost many pilots to crashes as a result of introducing a new fighter plane into service. The graves and crash sites are scattered all over nearer Europe. Cheers, Steve

Steve, Thanks a lot for your info. I've booked my car to have some minor repairs done by his mechanic, and was testing him with some questions he should have known the answers to.I've heard mixed reports about him, but from your experience, looks like he was ok. Hope his mechanic is ok too. For what its worth I think you made the right choice of car. The Aston is stunning but it's had bad ratings as a driver's car and is no-where near as good as the 996 is. Thanks Steve.

Hi Rodney, Glad to have been of some help. Where I live I am within a cough and a spit of JZMachtech/ Porschons or even, if all else fails !, an OPC, so I wouldn't ever be tempted to give Portiacraft any servicing work. I agree that the 996 is the better car over the DB7, but I have had 911's for over 20 years now and just felt like a change. My plan now is to run the 996 for 3-4 years and then get a DB9. Cheers, Steve.

Hi Steve, I dont really want to give them the work either, but I gave the car to my nearest OPC (Staples Corner) to have a look at it, and they just wasted two hours without being able to cure the problems.....so I thought I would try someone else, that wasn't too far away. In my quest for a 996 tip cab, I also considered the db7, but then I saw the Ferrari 456 was in my budget also (under 40k), but am just too concerned about costs and reliability...did you also consider the 456, its supposed to be a great car....

Yes, I did consider the 456, but only fleetingly since I was told that it is not available in convertible body. Is that your understanding ? My requirements of a sportscar is that it is a drop-top and that I can get my 6 year old daughter in the back. Nobody does that better than a 911 !!! I have had Ferraris before, in fact I only sold my last ( a 308 GTS about 2 years ago ). Prior to that I had many years ago a 246 Dino, which I loved to bits (much more than the 308 ). What puts me off Ferraris is their mammoth running cost and poor reliability. Not only that, but until Maranello opened up nearby, all I had locally for servicing was a Maserati specialist and he didn't like Ferraris too much ! Have you thought of trying JZMachtech in Kings Langley near Hemel Hempstead ?.....they ain't perfect but they are the best for miles around ! Cheers, Steve.

Steve The electric hoist in the UK costs £750 plus carriage - mine cost about £400. A transformer will cost about £30. I fitted the hoist to the joists with the kit provided - I managed even though at the time I had a slipped disc - I am a reasonably competent diy'er . The one touch switch can be fitted to any 996 cab and will operate while the car is moving up to about 25mph as on the very latest cabs - my facelift did not have this. You should visit the sites in my previous reply. The switch was mailed to me and was well worth the money - about £75. Jonathan

Hi Jonathan, I visited the sites you suggested the minute I read your email. Unfortunately, Easyhoists UK cannot supply a hoist until well after the Summer, which is no good for me, so I will do as before when I have had TR6/"E" Type Jag/ Austin Healey 3000 hardtops to store, and build a frame for 'em in the garage roof. Insofar as the one touch switch is concerned, this is a good gizmo, but I suspect it would be of more use to later face lift 996 owners, since these cars can have the roof raised/lowered whilst they are on the move, whereas, as I am sure we all know, the earlier cars can only do it whilst stopped. Cheers, Steve.