C2 Hardtop Help

[Dereck S.]

Re: C2 Hardtop Help

Here's a status of my vinyl hardtop resto. I got the stainless back from the polisher. One of the horizontal pieces had an issues so I was unable to install all the stainless. As I work towards a solution to that I decided to go ahead and install the new rear window. I would have attempted to polish my original dated rear window if it did not have a 4" x 1/16" deep scratch. I repeatedly watched the YouTube video from The Hardtop Shop and followed their approach. I first cleaned and inspected my original chair clips. I tweaked only three of them with pliers to ensure the shape would hold the trim. I installed the original chair clips back in their original positions. I installed the window seal that came in the kit. I then soaped up the seal groove and edge of the window and with the top in it's normal position I started to engageDSC00593.jpgDSC00594.jpg the window at the RH lower corner. I used a puddy knife and worked the rubber lip around until the entire perimeter of the window was in the rubber groove. To my surprise this was not a very difficult job. It took 20 minutes to fully install the rear window. Attached is a pic of the seal and window installed.

[Dereck S.]

Re: C2 Hardtop Help

Next step. I then installed the LH & RH rear weatherstrip pieces. Unlike the originals there are no rubber pegs to engage these two pieces with the rear lower seals. I wish the pegs were present. I then centered the lower seal about the center bump and worked outwards. When I got the the two hold-down brackets I made cuts exactly like what was done on my original seal. As I got to the corners I again made cuts like my original using an exacto knife. I left it long and iterated it back to ensure a tight fit up against the LH & RH rear weatherstip pieces. I'll likely use 3M black sealant at the joint. Originals have the rubber pegs. Attached are pics of the two areas I trimmed to fit. Next step is to generate holes at each of the fastener locations in the lower rear seal and install the window stainless trim. That's it for now. Still a fun project.DSC00597.jpgDSC00598.jpg

[Dereck S.]

Re: C2 Hardtop Help

Update on the rear lower deck seal. In order to get the lower window stainless trim clips installed I needed to purchased a leather hole punch to create holes in the rubber seal. Once the seal was positioned and trimmed to fit I pushed a sharp object through each of the clip holes in the aluminum frame. This identified the hole locations. I then used the punch to create large enough holes for the clips to go through. I found that just pushing a sharp object through the rubber without removing material would not allow the clips to go through. Attached are pics of a sample piece of the rubber seal with a hole created by the leather punch. A pic of the leather punch is also included. If anyone would like to borrow this leather punch just let me know. This is likely the only time I'll use it after buying it. On a separate note I've decided to use the pegs off my old weatherstrip and attach them to my new weatherstrip. I've got some ideas as to how to do that. I want the lower rear deck seal to positively engage the LH & RH rear horizontal weatherstrip pieces as it was from the factory. DSC00600.jpgDSC00601.jpg

[Dereck S.]

Re: C2 Hardtop Help

Well, I finished the Hardtop restoration. It's not without challenges. Most of which I didn't anticipate. I thought the installation of the rear window was going to be the most difficult. This was actually one of the easy steps. I reused a great deal of my original fasteners. Many of the repros that came in the kit were too long and bottomed out in the frame. This was the case on all the weatherstrip screws that thread into the floating nut plates that are adjustable for proper side window glass sealing. This was disappointing. They were over 1/8" longer than the originals. I ran into the same on the two screws at the rear of the upper rear window trim. These I cut shorter with a cut-off wheel. Once the weatherstrip was installed I had a 1/8" gap where the two pieces came together over the windows (LH & RH). Again, very disappointing. Not sure what if anything I can do about that. Another challenge was getting the rear lower stainless screws started. They were easily stripped with only the first two threads engaged. Much of this was due to the rubber needing to be compressed. Again, I used longer screws and a washer to compress/seat the trim then removed the long screws and put in the originals. Be careful not to use too long of a screw or it with hit the inside of the stainless. I cut the engagement pegs off my original weatherstrip and inserted a brad nail along with 3M black adhesive and attached the pegs onto the rear lower horizontal weatherstrip. This made for a factory fit. When it came to drilling the window to install the two special stailness button head fasteners I practiced drilling on the original window. What I found was to drill at very high speed to keep the cutting velocity up and do not push down on the drill. This will cause the back of the plexiglass to breakout as the drill bit exits the other side. When I got to the new window this worked well. I reused the original special button head fasteners as the repros are different. I used only the repro phillips screws. The single biggest challenge was installing the inside trim. I glass bead blasted the paint off at U-Blast who rents use of the machine for $1.75 per minute. It cost me $15 to blast all the interior trim pieces. I immediately painted them. When it came to installation it became difficult to not scratch off the paint. Several of the ends of the trim pices overlap. It you engage the overlap too far and need to back off you have scrapped off paint and it shows up. I did this on several ares and needed to strip and repaint at least twice. The last time I used a small paint brush and touched up the areas. These parts were not easy to install without paint damage. In all I ended up with around $1700 to restore my top myself. This included paint, stainless polishing, resto kit, and other small parts. Keep in mind the vinyl covering was absolutely perfect. Great project for the winter. I can't wait to put it on the car in the spring.
Dereck
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[Dereck S.]

Re: C2 Hardtop Help

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[Dereck S.]

Re: C2 Hardtop Help

Well, after finishing the hardtop resto I decided to put the top on the car. I was iching to see what it looked like and how it fit. As soon as I pulled the car cover off the car it was clear that a mouse had eaten a hole in the soft top to get at a candy bar inadvertantly left in one of the "goodie" bags I got from a car show last summer. I had no idea it was in there. I can't blame the mouse, however, I'm pretty upset. Now I have a soft top project. Nevertheless, my wife and I put the hard top on the car and fastened it down. It looks good. It's not easy to put on without damaging the paint. Attached are pics with the top on the car. That's all for now. Off to the soft top project after my funds recover.DSC00612.jpg
DSC00616.jpgDSC00611.jpgDereck

[Dereck S.]

Re: C2 Hardtop Help

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Additional pics.

[Gerard F.]

Re: C2 Hardtop Help

Dereck,

Looks great. You do nice work.

From the pictures, it looks like you got a real nice fit of the upper rear window. That was the part I had the most trouble with.

[Donald O.]

Re: C2 Hardtop Help

Dereck,
A nice job, well done.
Very well done.

DonO