E30 Zone

Hi, I have a J reg 320i convertible which I love, but the hood doesnt work.

The motors do work, but the roof wont fold down manually into the horseshoe, it gets stuck on the rear head rests.

I am not mechanically minded, so wondered if anyone can recomend a garage/specialist who can make everything work.

The hood and frame are in good shape, so I am hoping it is an adjustment, cable issue and a resynching of the motors

I am based in west yorkshire, and the few rays of sunshine have made me want to get my bmw fully operational

Thanks for any help

if the hood isnt folding properly then you might have the wire (part 33) from

http://bmwfans.info/parts/catalog/E30/C ... lding_top/

missing in the roof, and / or your tension straps (part 19) elastic has probably gone. A search on here for tenison straps or elastic straps will reveal more info but the tension straps can only be replaced if the canvas is off the frame as they fit under the canvas. There is a work around using elastic pieces though

i have got the hood to retract manually, but i would really like to take it to an expert or garage to sort it out...

can anyone recommend a roof specialist?

here is a vid of my roof

yep your elastic straps are gone, towards the end of the video where the roof is overlapping on the headrests the straps should spring back and pull that bit of roof so it loops in rather than out. Looks like all rods and motors are disconnected so these will need reconnecting and motors resyncing too.

To be fair mine was like this a while ago and after a bit of research its quite an easy fix but hard to explain. I could help out but am in Newcastle so not too near. Dave D is nearer you I think, he knows loads about these roofs. With a bit of tinkering I reckon it could be sorted in an hour if all rods an motors are working.

There was a few vids on youtube of the roof working properly for comparison do a search to see.