I’ve just picked up a hardtop for my Mk1 and bought a second hand pair of latches for the B post behind the door and a pair of genuine Frankenstein bolts for the rear panel.
I went to fit the hardtop last night only to find that the B post latches are never going to clip without breaking something and the front latches will just about latch but a moment later, pop open again.
Is the a method of adjustment? I can see it looks like there is an adjustment thread through the middle but don’t want to just jump in and make some sort of school boy error and brake something!!
Any help gratefully received.
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If these latches are the same as those on the NB hardtop (I believe they are) that central nut adjusts the tension.
Loosen it off by unwinding it a little.
Once the clips fit you can re-tighten them for a good tight fit.
Hth
Guy
I’ll try and get a picture over the weekend but essentially there’s an elongated hexagonal ‘nut’ in the centre of the mechanism that looks like you could adjust it but, it seems to be locked in place?
If you’d used the search you would find THIS FAQ
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That elongated nut is the adjuster. You may need to unclip the protector to allow you to turn it.
Once you’ve adjusted it re-clip the protector. 
I’ve adjusted the hex bolt fully both ways just to make sure I’m doing it right and the latch keeps popping open.
The diagram on the ‘how to’ is very grainy and hard to read on my phone hence trying it fully wound in and out in both directions.
Is it worth releasing the latch retainers on the a pillar to see if that works but, that’s not mentioned in the how to?
Any suggestions?
I’ve wound up putting the latches from my hood onto the hardtop. Unfortunately it hasn’t gone to plan as the fixings on the hardtop were torx drives and appear to have been made from a very soft alloy and as they were loctited in, started tearing the drives up. I’ve got the passenger side and it was a significant difference and fitted, adjusted and locked properly but, one of the fixings on the drivers side rounded out so badly that I’m going to have to drill it out to fit the other mechanism from my soft top.
Glad it’s been a nice easy job….
Does that mean a new set of latches could resolve your issues?
Just repair the existing ones PARTS HERE
I can’t see any difference between the latches on my hardtop and the ones fitted to my roof but, the roof ones seem to work fine.
Even the side latches fitted to the hardtop keep popping off after a couple of minutes or so.
Very confused as to what the issue is!
The holes in alloy casting where the pivot pins locate wear slightly and once that’s happened the catches will never be secure, sounds like the catches you have for hard top are worn. You can drill out and fit bushes but very fiddly. Probably easier to just buy new catches.
Hi - just hijacking this thread (sorry!) as for some reason I’m not able to create a new thread…
We have an '04 (NB) with hardtop (deffo NB as it has the heated rear window), it has the fixed brackets to hold it but we got a set of locking clamps and strikers “for an NB” off ebay which I’ve been trying to fit. But even with the adjusters fully turned the front clamps don’t fully engage, there’s about half a mm between the clamp and the striker plate, meaning there’s no pressure between the top and the windshield top frame, causing water leaks. I’m wondering if there are different clamps between a Mk1 and Mk2 (NA vs NB) and perhaps we’ve been sold the wrong ones?
Ta
no different clamps…have you followed the fitting instructions in the link? FAQ on my earlier post
Yes done all of that - all clamps front, side and rear loosened etc, pressure middle of top etc but it remains the case that even with all the adjustment screw in the clamp itself wound fully up, the front clamps don’t tighten. The surround rubbers are in good condition (not compressed or worn) so I would have thought the clamps should pull the roof forward and actually be at the point of compressing the rubbers, but as they are they don’t apply any pressure at all.
I never finished this post off as the car went off to the garage for a major service before I got to the bottom of things.
One of the things I did note was that there was a slight difference in the latches - one has a flat face on it and the other is just round - are there two types and/or I be using a specific one on the car?
I’m waiting for the car to come back and I’m going to have another crack at sorting it out and drilling out the sheared bolt and replacing it - I’m sure this shouldn’t have been that complicated!!
On an aside note, I’ve also noted that the driver’s window isn’t straight/level - I’m guessing that the fixings on the glass mounting mechanism are damaged?
