just as a note, my 73 top would nt go up , maybe a foot and a half,, then i had to pull it up or down,, well i had gone through everything in the manual and the other top specialist info and nothing worked, so i took it to a guy in bozeman, he had a 64 thunderbird in his shop, working on the top, so i figured he may have some knowledge.
took him all my books, and suggestions by the two or three top specialist on the net.
I had replaced the motoer, relay, and cables prior. he did al the test, and finally found an article on eBay from convertible top specialist in florida in an actuator ad. it said that the actuator section bar had to be able to move, IE, after yu unhook it from the cross beam at the big ass screw with two big bushing, pull it apart, grab it and either push it up or down, it should move, not real loose, but you should be able to pull or push it with some force, in my case, he had taken it apart, and found the little worm drive in side the actuator had basically worn almost flat, so it would only push up the top, and then when stressed, there was no gearing to push it up or down due to wear.
so, with that, i ordered the actuator from convertible top specialist, it came in, put it in, and it works. it needs a little adjustment, but it goes up, it does down, so much cooler than using a stick to push the button..
anyway, if you find yours doing same, you may consider looking at that actuator by removing, and taking it apart and seeing if the worm drive is worn.. i have fought this thing for 2 or more years.... his cost,,,210 for three hours.. part cost 185.
