Hood replacement - DIY or Professional

Hi,

hoping this is the right forum - I think it most closely fits the bill.

I'm thinking of having the hood replaced on my Rivage prior to putting it back up for sale.  I've had a trawl through a number of threads about places to get it done, but I'm after people's specific thought on:-

a) Whether to do it myself or put it out to a pro? (I'm generally pretty happy with '4 spanner difficulty' jobs).  If DIY is a goer, where to source a mohair hood from.

b) If I just get it done, who would people recommend for a reasonably priced mohair hood, ideally somewhere in or near the Midlands.


TIA,

Cheers,
Nige

Hi,

I paid ?500 to have one professionally fitted to my Bordeaux Red Rivage by a Hood Manufacturer in Cwmbran South Wales, and it had a total of 3 roofs fitted (They made the first one with the Seam the wrong way round on the roof) and the second one did not fit at all well, and the third… I gave up and it still does not fit well across the Top of the windsreen and I now get wind noise, and they damaged the paint…

It's not *that* difficult, but depends how much rust etc you get.

Would recommend New wires too

–Roger

There is a hood fitting guide on here so if you have the time and a garage plus aren't in a hurry and have some technical ability it shouldn't be too taxing.

Arnold

I did mine myself last august. And I was a complete novice.

Got a mohair roof/3 cables off ebay for ?150ish and followed the guide on the net.

Took about an hour to get old roof off, window out.

About another hour to treat rear window frame with hammerite.

Two hours to fit the new roof

Then I smashed the back window putting it back in

Still though, new one was ?30. If you add it all up, still under ?200 a massive saving and the larger part of a saturdays work.

I reused the window seal (it looked ok) and added a bit black sealant. It survived the winter fine and doesnt leak at all.

Window frame is work checking inside before you remove the roof to make sure it can be reused, peel it back and check rust. Mine was pretty bad but still perfectly useable after a coat of paint.

Thanks guys - very very useful information.  

I think you've made up my mind to do it myself - WebbA - was your ebay purchase from a one off seller or a business?

Is this the same Dipsy as in the Sky TV brown splitty camper bus?

Hopefully the Golf won't need as much welding  

Early-1800 said

Is this the same Dipsy as in the Sky TV brown splitty camper bus?

Hopefully the Golf won't need as much welding  

That would be me :-)  Fortunately the cab' is in much much better condition - the roof is far and away the worst bit.

BTW - I'm just looking for the hood replacement guide and I've completely drawn a blank :-(  Could anyone point me in the right direction?  Also, I saw on one thread a mention of 'prowlers DVD'.  Assuming this isn't some sort of 'top shelf, special interest' DVD does anyone know any details?  :wink:

Gentlemen, we are in the presence of a VW God.

here you go.

http://www.vwgolfmk1.c…od_Replacement_hi_res.pdf

pm prowler

i used this guide a couple of years ago, took 7 hours and came out realy well, its not to hard

p.s loved the splitty mate  

pm received Nige, and answered....sorry for delay....

I've just fitted my own hood, bar the rear window. After correcting my initial mistake of not cutting off the excess material around the rear edge, it was a doddle! (Thanks to the guide on here!).

All I'd say is get a decent quality hood…mine was from BSA International (quality mate innit lol) and it went on perfectly…no wrinkles, no splits, and didn't need any faffing to get the edges all pointing in the right direction. I'm VERY impressed, but I've heard a lot of people say they've had a pig of a job getting the roof to fit tightly and spent hours adjusting, which now makes me wonder if they had cheaper hoods?

The bulk of the work for me was repairing and treating the rear window frame and treating little bits of rust around the tension cable lip.

I was fortunate enough to get the hood from a liquidation sale for ?80. This, plus new side cables and springs, new seal gaskets and paint cost me ?100. ?100 for a new roof! DIY wins.  :mrgreen:

try to get  window frame before you start so you can have it ready and dnt have to wait for paint to dry,