hood sell/fit??

Hi i'm in sheffield but could travel in yorkshire.

My gti needs a brand new hood. can anyone recommend someone please?

all the guys on her refer to northren hoods m8 as they have a link to the left, personaly i found them quite expensive i can get hood for less then they charge, and a place in croydon will fit it for 75 notes, so if i was you call around mines not desperate yet, so i'm still looking, do share if you find anywhere cheap

cheers for the info.

appreciated, i'll post up what i find.

to now:

Nottingham based 01159214929 OR 07710238088 - £425 Fitted and will come to me

Northern car hoods - £420 Fitted with discount for being a member on here which is £15 on top, so £435 all in but you get membership/extra benefits

will update when i get more prices.

best qoute all in i had was £305 on my doorstep, but i can get hood for around 150 and a trimmer in croydon to fit for 75 which again is alot less, just keep on serarching

i am thinking about refurbishing mine? its in really good nick just leaks a little and tensioners gone, but i cant find a guide on how to fit tensioners, (the guide on here breifly covers it) anyone know of such a guide?

they snapped on mine, not to worried as in the nxt 12-18 months i'l have new hood fitted, but still unsure vinyl or mohair, mohair looks goog but not original

i'm having the same problem, not sure which to go for really.

cheapest vinyl quote is £320 fitted.

that seems expensive m8 keep shopping,

i really like the mohair and i reckon its alot easyier when it comes to folding etc and probly better in the long run compared to vinyl

but i quite like the look of vinyl on the older style of car compared to mohair just looks slightly out of place maybe a poll on this one lol

got my vinyl roof fitted for £290 with new cables  
they did a very good job of it! place near chessington  

post some pic's m8

Sorry for hijacking the thread but does anyone know a decent and cheap hood fitter in or near Bristol? Carhoods Northern quoted around £450 for mohair fitted at home and Krytch Trimmers are quoting anywhere from about £500 upwards.

Any other options that are cheaper are very much appreciated!!

Cheers, Steve

Getting a roof done is expensive as it is a time consuming job.
you can fit yourself as I have just done, but it took me a while to do.
You can pick up a vynil hood new for £129.00 from BAS international who supply a lot of the fitting companies.

The side tensioning wires are connected to 2 nipples on the hood frame sides near the front.
They then pass through a slit in the hood sides and down into the last section of the roof frame, through an eyelet and then attatch to 2 springs that are located on tabs.
Some cables are pre made and some come as a length of cable with clamps that you need to crimp once you have made a loop.

Thanks Chortle, I have decided to give it a go myself  :?

I have followed the guide from the link on the left and managed to get the old roof off and the back window out.  There is some rust on the lip on the inside of the window surround, in a few places it has rotted to nothing but most of it is rusty but salvagable. As long as I Kurust and hammerite it I am hoping it will be ok… I'll try and upload a pic.

Also the padding under the vinyl seems ok but there is a thin, purple/pink silky material on top of the horse hair matt that is ripped and quite brittle, could i get away with cutting this off and gluing (around the edges) a new piece of similar material over the top? I presume it is just there to stop the two materials rubbing.

Cheers y'all, Dub

That's correct the covering is there to protect the padding.
They are usually stiched onto the side black vynil bits.
I would reccomend that you repair this in some manner.
Mine was replaced with calico.
If you could machine it in then even better, but that means more stripping down and sewing.
I pressume that you may be able to glue some other material to it, but the stuff on at the moment is similar to parachute silk!!
I replaced the whole lot from headliner upwards.
The frames are available from QC or message Funkstar on here to see if he has a spare.
Personally I would put a replacement frame in, I got mine from Crazy Quiff and swapped the insert over.
You would need to use tiger seal to glue the insert back into the new frame.
The rubber seal it's self goes around the rusted bits you mention and you may have a problem with the seal fitting correctly. I pressume you could weld some more steel to it, but the one I had from Crazy is stainless steel so no more worries there.
Piccies of the frame would be good too.
What glue are you using? you will need to glue parts of the hood to the frame.
I have sent you a pm to help.

Thanks for all the advice and videos Chortle  

Thanks for the offer of help but Bristol is quite a trek from Derby!!

Here are a couple of images of the rear window surround, it isn't as bad as I thought, its quite corroded in a few places along the bottom but the ridge is still fine on both sides and across the top…




Fingers crossed that with some proper treatment it will be ok  :? I don't think I can stretch to another £125!!

Also I have taken off the old material from the top and the rest of it looks pretty good, i'll have a look for some calico and try and stitch/spray glue it in place.



What glue would you recommend and also where would I get the adhesive foam strips from?

Sorry for all the questions!!

Cheers, Steve

I used this glue, let it tack up then apply the material.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220255351546&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

yep it looks reasonably good.
which foam strips? the one that runs across the front and the rear?
I just bought some thin foam from the foam shop, it's the stuff they use on ironing boards, I just cut some strips out and glued them in place.

So do you think the frame is salvageable?

B18DUB said

So do you think the frame is salvageable?

Mine was a bit worse than yours.
it would be hard to tell, try your seal up against it now the rusty bits have fallen off, should give you an Idea of what will fit where. The seal fits over the lip part and may not sit properly, plus how stable would the window etc be?
I would pm Funkstar and see if he has got a decent frame in and swap em over, that bit is easy.
Where the top straps that go to the top part of the window, push them out of the recess of the frame, there should be a plastic rod that goes through these. Simply push them out and slide the strap back through the slot in the frame. Refitting is the reverse.
The bottom section is just held on with 4 bolts.

The hood thing allway's seem to open a can of worms.
It would be a pity to go through all the hood fitting only to find the frame needs to be replaced, if you don't replace it now, you will have to replace it at some point which would mean undoing all your hard work.
Tough decision  :dontknow:  :dontknow:

I know what you mean about the distance, if you were a bit closer I could of popped over.
 

Hi having read this thread and the excellent guide, I think I neither have the time nor the skill to do this properly, when for £100 or so I could get someone to do it who kows what they're doing! My Rivage's mohair roof is starting to go in the usual places, where it folds. I'll post some pics later.

Slight problem is, I'm in Guernsey, and I don't think the place we have would have much experience of this, being more used to making boat covers etc. I've e-mailed the Carhood warehouse recommended in the guide, as they have recommended fitters. I could get to Poole or Southampton by ferry, so I've asked if they have anyone in that area, where I could travel over for a weekend. Has anyone any experience of firms in that area?

I've got to the stage with my car where I either need to sell it or spend a bit to get the roof and bodywork done up. it's done about 95,000 miles in its 19 years spent over here, doing short journeys and not going over 35 mph ( in theory!). I got some leather seats on e-bay to replace the cloth ones, and managed to fit them myself, though the rear seat still looks a bit naff as it was from a tin-top and I had to … errmmm… convert it a bit! 8O

Any thoughts on the hood would be welcome!

I am not sure you could get a mohair hood and fitted for £100.00. You cannot buy the hood alone for that.
Yes it is time consuming but satisfying when you have completed it.
good luck as to what you decide to do, but a good roof is money well spent.