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Rennenmetal hardtop brackets.

6K views 19 replies 13 participants last post by  Ham 
#1 ·
I purchased some side Rennenmetal hardtop brackets after living with a squeaky, rattly hardtop for about 2 years. Not to mention, I'm paranoid of having my hardtop stolen. These brackets seem to solve both of these issues.

Installation: These brackets are pretty easy to install, aside from having to trim the side plastic panels. However, when you first start to screw it on, there is a gap between the hardtop and the top of the bracket. But, when you start to tighten down the bolts, the gap goes away and everything goes on smooth. It took me about an hour, not rushing, to install both.

Result: Overall, the car is noticeably quieter. The hardtop rattle is gone, and when driving with the windows up, there is a lot less wind noise. I used some "special" hardware that is pretty uncommon, which will hopefully deter any potential thieves. All in all, I'm very satisfied. Thank you Rennenmetal!
 
#6 ·
Off topic, what is the best way to take out the OEM screws off the top latches? They're a pain...I heard of the heat gun method...does that work?
 
#7 ·
It's a goddamned pain. the torx come out easy, no loctite on em. the phillips heads are red loctited in... I hit em with a butane torch, using aluminum as a heatsink around the hardtop latch so the fiberglass didn't melt. i originally used a soldering iron, which didn't get hot enough. you need about 300 degrees to start liquidizing the loctite. i used a screwdriver, the impact was stripping out the heads. be careful about stripping the heads, the screws are cheap pot metal, and it's a phillips head. it took me a good four hours, and torqued the heads off of two screws. tried to tap them, got one out and the other broke my tap. it was a long day, haha. just be patient with the right tools and you'll get it eventually.
 
#14 ·
sorry, I am thinking outloud here. I have the Rennenmetal tow hooks and they are great...I just can't imagine an unreliable tow hook. A tow hook needs to do one thing and its allow your car to get towed and pretty much not break, so I think reliability is a requirement. anyways, your comment is fine, but it made me laugh.
 
#16 ·
i cannot confirm this, but it seems some of the earlier hardtops had red locktite on the screws.

i could not get mine out despite the torching. i had also recently had my top painted, so it added to the drama and painstakingly slow progress. i was able to get half of them out, but i had to pay a shop experienced with this (broken tap and die removal) to finish it at about $250. they did a great job and commented that it was one of their most difficult jobs. they have been around for 20 years or so.
 
#18 ·
mine also had red locktite, i tried heating them, and even banging the screwdriver into place before turning.
i ended up rounding off the screw.
after more attempt to get it off, the heads ended up breaking off.
now i have no idea how to get the "stud" off.
you can either drill it out, or try to glue something to it. Seeing as the loctite is still on pretty strong, I would suggest the drill. just get a punch and put in a nice and center start for the drill bit. Retap after that and you should be good to go. Or seek kfj's shop.
 
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