Hello everyone, I've got a 1973 Centurion with the scissors top. The roof is always temperamental. It always goes down just fine, but it is iffy on the way up. If it's a warm night and I've recently synchronized the drive cables it goes up fairly smooth. But if it's cold, or I haven't synchronized the cables (I have to do it weekly) it will raise about a foot and a half and stall. I get out and manually lift the front corners and let them settle back and it will creep up another 4 inches. I do this 2 or 3 times and it will complete the lift on it's own. I've replaced the drive cables, the roof is about 2 years old, the side cables are attached and taught. I've opened the transmission attached to the roof motor and filled it with fresh grease. The switch, wiring and relay are working fine. I've hit all the joints with white lithium grease to make sure they are smooth. Does anyone have suggestions? Does anyone know of a shop that specializes in these old roofs in New England? I won't put the roof down on short trips because it's a pain to raise, and that's just dumb. Are all of these roofs temperamental or can they be made as reliable as the rest of the car?
They all suck. I'll never buy another scissor top (yeah right!) The right side small cable on my car that holds the top to the frame broke last year, so I have to manually fold the fabric when I put the top halfway down....then I can put it down all the way. It sounds like your top motor is just weak.
the car should be running while operating the top. the higher voltage gives the top motor much better power. get a hold of a GM service manual that covers scissor top cars and do ALL of the recommended frame adjustments. most shops that install tops dont do them and the owner suffers because of it.
Some time back I looked at a web site that had many pages of problems with those type of convert tops and explainations on how to correct them. Now I just looked and it says removed by author. Somewhere around here I have a printed copy of the rather lengthy article. If I can find it, I'll scan it and send it to you.
Mine is similar, I have to watch it all the time and help to fold it properly etc. It's a pain and I sometimes have to run the switch with one hand or the club, and pull the roof with the other hand. I found another motor in the yard and took it apart and cleaned it, polished the brushes and collector etc. It helped it quite a bit, and it's not as manual as it once was. If I'm lucky it will go all by itself now.
