Which hardtop

[shazE30]

alright guys........im currently looking for a hardtop as some you may have seen in the wanted section what i really wanted to know is whats the diffrence between the E30 original BMW and Wiessman hardtopS (dunno if i spelt that correctly).......Has any1 got pics of the two???

also when buying a hardtop what kind of things should i be looking out for are either of them made of fibreglass??? How do i check for leaks...any advice will be greatly appreciated

[Mahmood]

Shaz, if you want a hardtop give Neil McDonald a call on 07767688233. Let him know that I referred you to him.

Neil runs a company that supplies original BMW hardtops and Wiesmann hardtops. He is also the Chairman of the E30 Cabriolet Register for the BMW Car Club GB and author of the guide to buying an E30 Cabriolet.

He will be able to answer your questions and point you in the right direction. By the way, my blue original BMW hardtop was stolen off my car on Christmas Eve. Think carefully about your security before fitting one.

HTH

[blingsta]

how do they steal them,? do they have to break window or just prize away with crow bar?

[shazE30]

Cheers Mahmood...thanx for that........security wise i have the viper pager alarm with warnaway so if any punk

gets too close it will page me.......gutted for you bro must have been a wounder avin your hardtop gettin stolen...

how did they manage that dont the hardtop be bolted down???

[Mahmood]

Hi

Hardtop theft is more common that you think. I'm looking out for mine, it was blue and that's fairly rare. I'd be able to spot mine.

Basically they disabled the alarm, standard 17 year old BMW factory fitted jobbie. The hardtop was prised off the lugholes its bolted into. Don't forget the pin is metal and the lughole is plastic so with some force it can be done. Also, once you are in a car to steal one all that is required is an 11mm spanner.

It was not opportunist, it was a well planned theft. It would have required two people and some form of transport. They also stole the face off my head unit rendering it useless. This was also a 17 year old factory fitted Pioneer set-up.

The same weekend a number of e36/e46 had their bumpers, chin spoilers etc. stolen in my neighbourhood. Some consolation...

I am now having a decent CAT I alarm fitted.

[nav786]

hardtop theft is quite common in London. When i bought mine the guy was selling as someone broke into his car to steal the hardtop. they only managed to get the pin covers off and not undo the pins. I was quite fortunate that i have a drive and live out of london.


Oh and buy the ORIGINAL, it goes with the lines and shape of the e30. The weismann is just poo. it looks totally wrong.

[blingsta]

ive owned 1 before and sold it for a bit of a profit, but its always worried me that these are sought after... dunno if i will get another 1 to be honest... (Bastards)..

[Mahmood]

Sought after by the wrong crowd

Yes, I too am worried about getting another as my car is not garaged.

[shazE30]

................shit didnt think it was that much of a worries but iv gots to get 1 will pretty much complete my car and after spending £300 on my alarm i suppose if it eva happens its just my bad luck!

Actually come to think of it i have come across 1 hardtop that dont have the pins on the back its black wonder if that got robbed off some poor chaps car.......

Any1 got pics of these hardtops on an e30 wana get a better idea of how diffrent they are

[seanboy]

I'm after A hard for my motor.The E46 hardtops have handles that you can remove. Thiefs buy these handles from dealer and just put them in place and away.

[SilverShadow]

you got to be carful now days! my mates one got nicked from his E36 M3 cab, and the car was paarked on his drive!!!

[cliffybabe]

i never knew hardtop theft even happened, unreal

[stuartgallafant]

some b4stards will steal anything!!

anyway, the weissman hardtop looks absolutely crap, go with the original one

[shazE30]

yeh iv got my eye on a few originals......lets hope i get 1 for the rite price.......oh and neednt worry im investin on a lil angry pitbull.......Let em try takin it alive

[GDBN]

I would take a picture or two of mine for you but it's under a few inches of snow !!

G

[Mahmood]

G

You have PM.

Mahmood

[motorsport]

The originals keep the cars lines a little better as the weissman tends to be more rounded.

Here's a pic of my original colour coded.

Regards,

Andy

[GDBN]

Mahmood,

Replied ... twice !!

G

[b4gga83]

My hardtop got nicked after two weeks of me putting the thing on!!!

They cut the seal around the windscreen, lifted it out and unbolted the hardtop. Got up in the morning to see my baby standing out in the rain, the car was flooded.

This happened with my car standing on the drive in a cul-de-sac! Nobody saw or heard a thing

[spence_star]

The originals keep the cars lines a little better as the weissman tends to be more rounded.

Here's a pic of my original colour coded.

Regards,

Andy

Wasnt this hard to get painted as it comes in Vynl

[shazE30]

thanks for pics guys iv decided deffo gona go for an original hardtop..........what is the base material of the hardtop itself because iv heard you can get them made from fibreglass would this be an original hardtop???

[motorsport]

The originals are fibreglass built around a metal honeycomb frame. Strip the vinyl and then all the adhesives. When sanding for a flat surface be carefull not to expose the metal honeycomb frame. Then apply lots of filler primer and paint. There is still a risk that the honeycomb frame may show through if exposed to a lot of heat so be carefull.
It's a long process but well worth it.

Andy

[SilverShadow]

shaz are you thinking of color coding the top once you get it??

[shazE30]

yes my cab is white and havnt seen one that has a colour coded hardtop so looking to do that

silver shadow you aint got 1 for me have you???

[SilverShadow]

shaz pm sent mate!!

[shazE30]

pm replyed........sound mate im up for that will let you know if we can make a deal

[SilverShadow]

wicked shaz, iv pmed u my number!