I had been looking for a Pinninfarina hardtop since the one on Green had been destroyed in the flood. I located one at last in Ca. and had it shipped out to St. Louis. The price was right so I sent off a check and waited for the top to be crated and shipped.

Here is how it arrived. Needless to say I was a bit disappointed. The fiberglass bow at the bottom of the window was broken on both sides. Trim and fastening hardware was missing, and the top was in bad condition from dents and dings from being basically unprotected. It is amazing to me that the glass made it. It was really the only usable thing left.The cost of all this? $450 for the top (reasonable if as represented.) and $250 to have it shipped (nearly destroyed).  I disassembled the top and by combining pieces from the old broken top on Green that I had saved for no good reason, I'm able to move forward with the top restoration. The first step was to repair the fiberglass breaks, cracks, and holes. The front bow was pretty badly damaged and the bottom bow under the window was broken on both sides. The fiberglass repairs went well and the damage is virtually invisible even without the vinyl covering.

I had a local top shop cover the repaired top with black vinyl with a nice mild leather grain finish. Slightly heavier than the original, but close. They also threw in a nice beige foam backed headliner for the interior that looks really nice. Fiberglass is an easy material to work with. Repair materials are readily available at any marine store. Patience and lots of sandpaper will correct almost any mistake you might make. I could have left the top with a painted finish, but I like the additional vinyl covering appearance. It also makes the top a bit quieter and I think more attractive.

Some hooks needed to be fabricated for the rear end. These were originally something like an overcenter latch similar to the latches on the convertible top's front bow only smaller or perhaps a simple bent piece of steel covered by a small chrome housing. For the time being, I found some triangular hooks with a welded eye at the hardware store and reshaped them blacksmith style with a torch. The hooks look nice and work well, so for now, they stay. More information on the latches is available here

Chrs Obert has sent the replacement rubber for the windows and the rear glass. They are of excellent quality. Hopefully they will be in before summer. The only pieces remaining to find or fabricate are the bottom hooks for the two turnbuckels for the side latches and one corner piece for the window trim. The side latches are the second most important fasteners for the top. The top should not be used without them securely latched. If for any reason a front latch should fail, the top would be ripped off the car.

If you are wondering if you should buy that Pinnin top for your Spider, and find one for around $1,000 in complete to excellent condition, my advice is to buy it. Restoration costs can really add up.

 As you can see, it is getting a bit pricey. This is what happens sometimes when you rely on others to fulfill their obligations and they take little interest. The only good thing is that I know the top and am confident in the quality of the repair. The local shop did excellent work and I'm pleased with the result.

More information about latches and Pinnin top copies is available HERE

New Addition Top #4 from Andrew Hurt HERE