SL/R129: A couple of questions re: 96 SL500
07-30-2007, 01:20 AM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: North Hollywood, CA
Posts: 10
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
1996 SL500 Sport
A couple of questions re: 96 SL500
I recently bought a 96 SL500 sport pkg...triple black, near-mint condition...love it! What an amazing car!
Finally took the hardtop off today, after buying a manual hoist I found on ebay...(local guy, 100.00...I went to pick it up, no shipping). He used to have a 98 SL, so it was the right one. Looked liked the one that a couple of shops sell for a lot more money...plus shipping!
Anyway...no owner's manual for the hoist, but luckily he still had it installed in his garage, so I could see how everything went....but when I got it home, installed it in MY garage...everything was fine...except figuring out how that rear strap wraps around the top and connects to that long bar that lifts the top from inside. After 1/2 hour of "finagle-ing"...I got it to work...but it seems to me there is some easier way to do it, and I'm not really sure where that little bracket goes in the back. Anyone have a manual on this contraption?
(Dont know the manufacturer of this thing....Its the one where there is this long black bar that goes from window to window from inside the car, and the straps connect to each end, and there is a rear strap the somehow wraps around the rear section.)
(just as a note, after I got the hardtop off the car, I immediately put it on the rolling hardtop holder that came with the car..I just didnt want that thing simply hanging there.)
Also...it looks like a new soft-top...perfect windows...EXCEPT...it has a 6 inch perfectly straight knife slit just over the driver's side door. (I knew this going in..the seller told me...(vandalism). I was still kinda shocked when I saw exactly where it was.) The top is new...it would be a shame to have to replace it just for this. Can it be "patched" or sewn? Anyone have experience with this?
I also noticed when disengaging the hard top, and raising and lower the soft top, those latches make a pretty robust CLACK...but I guess thats normal?
The mechanisms worked perfectly! Lucky me!
Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Finally took the hardtop off today, after buying a manual hoist I found on ebay...(local guy, 100.00...I went to pick it up, no shipping). He used to have a 98 SL, so it was the right one. Looked liked the one that a couple of shops sell for a lot more money...plus shipping!
Anyway...no owner's manual for the hoist, but luckily he still had it installed in his garage, so I could see how everything went....but when I got it home, installed it in MY garage...everything was fine...except figuring out how that rear strap wraps around the top and connects to that long bar that lifts the top from inside. After 1/2 hour of "finagle-ing"...I got it to work...but it seems to me there is some easier way to do it, and I'm not really sure where that little bracket goes in the back. Anyone have a manual on this contraption?
(Dont know the manufacturer of this thing....Its the one where there is this long black bar that goes from window to window from inside the car, and the straps connect to each end, and there is a rear strap the somehow wraps around the rear section.)
(just as a note, after I got the hardtop off the car, I immediately put it on the rolling hardtop holder that came with the car..I just didnt want that thing simply hanging there.)
Also...it looks like a new soft-top...perfect windows...EXCEPT...it has a 6 inch perfectly straight knife slit just over the driver's side door. (I knew this going in..the seller told me...(vandalism). I was still kinda shocked when I saw exactly where it was.) The top is new...it would be a shame to have to replace it just for this. Can it be "patched" or sewn? Anyone have experience with this?
I also noticed when disengaging the hard top, and raising and lower the soft top, those latches make a pretty robust CLACK...but I guess thats normal?
The mechanisms worked perfectly! Lucky me!
Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks.
07-30-2007, 09:20 AM
#2
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Covington, WA
Posts: 591
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes
on
5 Posts
'96 SL600, '05 S55 AMG, '06 C230
MrMajstyk - I use an 'E-Z Top Hardtop Hoist' in my garage. The description of yours (straps) does not match mine (sheepskin pads). So, I cannot help you there. At least you know what it is not.
I've never heard of patching a soft top, but am interested (for future reference) if you find someone. It may not be economically feasible to patch or sew the soft top as it more than likely would have to be removed to make the repair. If you have to go that far, you might as well replace the top. The R129 soft tops come in two pieces; maybe you can find a source for just the front half. Just a thought.
On my two SL's, the loud CLACK is the normal sound when the locking tab hydraulic cylinders disengage. I run topless a lot, so the soft top goes up and down quite often. Guess I just got used to the sound, but it can be scary to a new owner.
I've never heard of patching a soft top, but am interested (for future reference) if you find someone. It may not be economically feasible to patch or sew the soft top as it more than likely would have to be removed to make the repair. If you have to go that far, you might as well replace the top. The R129 soft tops come in two pieces; maybe you can find a source for just the front half. Just a thought.
On my two SL's, the loud CLACK is the normal sound when the locking tab hydraulic cylinders disengage. I run topless a lot, so the soft top goes up and down quite often. Guess I just got used to the sound, but it can be scary to a new owner.
08-27-2007, 01:37 AM
#5
Almost a Member!
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Laguna Niguel, CA
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
SL500
Ha ha! I had the exact same feeling! I though my rearend just ate itself up or something! And it really does sound like a machine gun! Now its just kind of annoying (go around a turn while talking to your passenger and all of a sudden your in a warzone).
