NEW HOOD Fitted

I finally bit the bullet at the weekend and fitted a new outer hood to the cabby.  The hood was purchased direct from BAS International and the quality of the item was absolutely first class, delivered next day by courier all for the bargain price of under ?150.  
At the same time i decided to fit new side cables and rear cable as i knew i was only going to do this once and it wasn't until i stripped the old outer off that i realised i had a broken side cable anyway.

I had read so many times on here that it was a 2 man job but never the less i got it into my head that i was going to do this on my own.  The hardest part of the whole job was getting the rear cable started into the groove   , after 3 hours of it popping out i finally cracked it and the rest of the job was just plain sailing.


Once all the seals and rubbers were fitted i pulled it outside into daylight to let the sun warm the fabric and hopefully help any creases drop out.

I thought about leaving the rear window till the roof had settled but i didn't really like the look of the "cabby van" so it had to be done there and then.

I must admit that the new skin has certainly tightened things up and at present i am only raising the roof by hand until it all gets settled in.

I can certainly say it was a struggle but good to say that i managed the whole thing single handed and the finished item is fitted and lined up as good and tight as any that i have seen done by professional companies.




My advice to anyone half competent is - go on, bite the bullet and save yourself a fortune.

looks good,
need to do mine but I need headliner, inter liner mattress, plus top. :cry:

so it's gonna be dear.  Plus some where dry to start with.

Wow that looks top notch. Well done! I'll sling you a tenner to do mine

Thanks Mate,

I was looking forward to doing it myself just for piece of mind really but as always you put things off as long as possible.

I just took my time and started it on Sunday evening (just over an hour to take the old cover off and fit the new window frame) then finished the job on Monday.

Take my advice and get someone to help, you would probably do it in a morning with help.

Good news: Just been checking out some research and it turns out that I can buy a top, interlining pad and headliner. Black /white combo for only, wait for it ?261.00 inc postage. It comes as a complete kit inc rear and side tensioning cables, stiffening rod etc and tonneu cover snap clips. Made using haartz vinyl.''


Bad news: it's from America.  I have already bought a couple of smaller items for my car from the states, without any problems at all. They came within 10 days.':cry:'


Dilemma: to buy or not to but that is the question. they are made with original OEM specs and materials. But do I risk spending the Money.
MMMMMM! any one bought any thing this big before from  America.
What do you guy's reckon?':dontknow:'

I've bought things from the states before myself and sometimes the goods arrive quicker than things from the uk.
All i will say is be very careful of the import duty and tax as that can soon bump the price up.

Best thing you can do is ask the supplier if they will mark the goods as "gift" on the declaration ticket with a value of $50 then hopefully there will be no duty to pay.   :wink: