General Hardtop

[afroking]

I am going to look at a hard top in the next few days, is there anything in particular I should look for?

What is a fair price to pay?

Thanks.

 

[bumble]

Hi mate... I was impressed with the quality and weight of mine. The headlining is good and very clean/ The seals are also very good, as are the 'over centre' catches. Mine has a heated rear screen and a trailing connector which plugs into a jack adjacent to the catch that releases the soft top cover panel. I am told that, it may not be possible to take your Barchetta, buy the hard top, fit it and drive off, as the windows may have to be adjusted to fit against the roof.... I'm sure others on here will have more experience... I think they are well worth having for the winter as the car, looks good with, or without them.... good luck.

Steve

 

[KC3]

hardtops are great, and really make a difference to wind noise, once aligned correctly.

Only pointers are to make sure you have the small seats on your B where their is two spikes or rods on the hardtop that align it to the rear body.

Make sure it has the two rear small covers that are simmilar to the inner roof linning that go over the brackets. I believe these are very difficult to source should they be missing.

Also once fitted you may need to adjust yr windows either up or down to also align correctly with the new hard top rubbers. easy enough to do and their is a guide here on the forum. I,ll try find it unless someone knows where it is.

The rear demister sometimes needs a fuse or relay, which is to be found either behind the rear demister switch itself or tucked right up behind the fuses.

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[KC3]

Oh and you can just drive and pick it up and put it on, I did, I went all the way to germany one sunday morning.put it on and drove back to Uk same day. Great fun, only you may find you would need to make the necessary adjustments for a perfect windless, watertight hardtop at some point.

 

[KC3]

Pics,

 

[Nino_1975]

PM me anytime with your e-mail address and I can send you details on the window adjustment and how to take the door apart to get to it all.



Hartops at the mo go for £500.

The covers mentioned can be bought from Fiat for £50 each so be sure to have them.

Once you get the hartop you will need a new fuse to go under the drivers side, you may also need this to be wired in, so B's work fine some not. It's a 10 min job if you know your stuff. Again I have all this information should you need.

 

[afroking]

I went to see the hard top today, it is matt black and has a few odd scratches here and there but its in pretty good condition overall. It has the covers as well!

What is a fair price to offer based on the pics below?

 

[KC3]

looks good, but if you will need to spray it to match yr B, try to pay as least as possible, going rates can be from £300 for a rough one to £700-£800 for a mint one. I,d say its worth £400-500.

 

[afroking]

I have a friend who is a sprayer so should be able to get a good deal.

I'll try to barter a bit.

 

[CatherineS]

Do you know the best place to seek out a hardtop or do you just have to wait until one comes up in the free ads ect? Do all hardtops fit all Barchettas more or less or do you look for date/model specific and match? I am thinking about one for the winter but a Dutch site quotes more that 1000 euros for new! Cheers.

 

[desert rat]

Best place I've seen is www.ebay.de they normally have them advertised...

From what I understand... there are 2 types... a fiat origional or a weizeman...? (plus a wierd one offered on ebay.it that someone found....? I think that they are all the same in terms of what year they fit.

I have a metal hardtop with a fiat rear screen... I assume it is a fiat hardtop but have no idea... It came with the car when I bought it... and to be honest if I could sell it locally I would.... (keeps the heat out in the summer but thats about it...) trouble is I have never seen another B here....

The first person to drive a barchetta from the Uk to Bahrain can have it free of charge....

It would be one hell of an interesting drive and at least it would free up the spare bedroom.....

 

[CatherineS]

Dear Desert Rat, If I manage to bond with my new Barchetta as much as I did my previous car of 10 years I may take you up on your offer. Kind Regards.

 

[KC3]

Best place I've seen is www.ebay.de they normally have them advertised...

From what I understand... there are 2 types... a fiat origional or a weizeman...? (plus a wierd one offered on ebay.it that someone found....? I think that they are all the same in terms of what year they fit.

The metal type are the original fiat tops, The wiesmann tops are manufactured in fiberglass so are much lighter and also the rear screen is larger and also have a rain gutter in the roof. They tend to be more expensive than the original and definately more rare.

If i had a choice i would have a wiesmann over the fiat one, but both look good.

 

[KC3]

http://www.fiatbarchetta.com/personalize/

 

[desert rat]

Thanks KC... That clears it up for me.... I have a fiat hard top sat on the bed....



One of the few times it was fitted...

 

[afroking]

Looks really nice!

 

[ricky952]

I have seen Hardtops going from £400 pounds up to £750 on ebay,
I managed to get mine for £500

 

[afroking]

I have made an offer on that hard top, it has been accepted. I will take some pics tomorrow!

I'm very pleased

 

[KC3]

Cool!

Once you have it, just be careful when installing it, as there can be a tendency to brake the flaps were the softtop mechanisms are hidden. Thats if yr's are still in tact anyway.

Yr know the bits i mean when you attempt to install. Its were the spikes will want to sit.

All the best, look forward to seeing the pics..

 

[afroking]

Thanks for the advice KC, I only have one cover

Here's a couple of pics, I'm not sure if I should spray it body coloured or gloss black!?

Any guesses on how much I paid?