Very creative!...

On my '05 987, I was having trouble with the top - not fitting into the channels behind the door when closing. I discovered that there are 2 elastic straps that pull the top fabric, but these pieces of elastic were completely shot, giving no tension at all. At the dealer the other day, I tried to get them to fix this, but got an answer that "those elastics are part of the top, you would need a new top to fix it" (and to their credit they suggested I visit a specialist).

So I grabbed the sewing kit and cut two pieces of elastic to length and grabbed a desktop stapler. With the top halfway down, you can release the inner fabric with 2 velcro tabs and I was able to staple a short piece of elastic to the old, worn-out one and get some tension to pull the fabric in to the center of the car when the top is closing. Hey, presto! the top works just fine.

... I've done similar fixes.
The first time the only elastic material I had at hand was a small (1/8" dia) bungee.
That was 6 years ago and it's still working great.
Happy Boxstering,
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 311,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

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"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

I think I have the same problem. Are you talking about the cable above the door not fitting in the channel? I need to help guide it into the channel as the top reaches 3/4 up. If this is the same problem could you describe where the elastic is?

Yes, this is what happened to me.

Here is where the problem shows up:



The elastic is attached to the outer top fabric, just inside the cable, as show here:


You can get better access by lowering the top a bit more. There are 2 velcro tabs holding the inner top to the frame:


These can be safely released (but be sure to put them back in place before closing)

Here you can see that once the top is open enough, you can get your hand in there and make the fix. I'm sorry but I could not get a good image of where you have to reach to get to the real elastic strip that is attached to the frame on the inside, but you can see where I have attached the replacement white elastic.

Hope this helps. And I hope it lasts. There is a screw inside there where you could get the elastic released, but I did not want to contemplate what would happen when the screw fell down inside there.

Awesome. That is exactly what I needed, thanks!

I think I have this correctly: A guy biking with Robert Pirsig had a problem with the throttle handle on his BMW. Pirsig fixed it by making a shim out of coffee can metal. The guy was horrified by the thought of his vaunted Beemer being repaired this way, but it worked.