1967.5 roadster low window fiberglass top install

[marcusrpreal]

Hi, I'm looking for a general resource that will assist me in fixing up and installing a fiberglass hard top onto my car. I've had the top sitting around for about 10 years and am just now getting round to fixing it up and putting it on the car. Its only the shell, no rubber or any weatherstripping installed, and although the plexiglass rear and side (round) windows and their seals are there, they also need to be redone. I believe I have most if not all of the relevant hardware required, but none of it is installed either. So basically I need to rebuild the whole thing and get it installed. Anyone know a good starting resource for doing that? I can always post pics if that will help get me what I need. Thanks in advance, Mark

[Bwk2000]

Welcome. I would recommend reading through the following restoration thread (It’s long, take your time). If you have any specific questions afterwards, Alvin, Fergus and a few other here who have recently redone hardtops (all to a very high standard) can likely help you along with your project.


http://311s.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f= ... it=hardtop

[FergO2k]

Thanks Kai!
Glad to help however needed.
For replacement seals, I removed the old ones, cut a short length, then went looking for the “sales by the foot” guy at the local hot rod swap meet. Cost me all of 11 bucks I think.
I can help coach you through the fiberglass refurb, it is very simple and non-toxic!
Where in California are you located, and yeah, we need pics!

[marcusrpreal]

thanks for the replies and the thread link. I'll start there. for car images, hopefully they are below inline:

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[marcusrpreal]

I can get more detailed/zoomed images if requested.

[FergO2k]

Cool! Well, for starters, those fender flares are off the charts, but are nicely done, rock 'em!
The hardtop seals, well, I have seen a LOT worse, so don't dismantle just yet, but finding resources along the way.
(the red interior and yellow car don't blend anyway, so they will come out for painting, in the long term... and if you go all-black on the inside the rear window does not really have to come out, its seal looks decent on the visible inside area)

Not sure why someone did the black area (looks to be painted) in the center-inside, maybe to make up for a previous scratched area? Really strange triangular area. Then it got stored in a manner it re-scratched!
Hah, anyway, blank canvas for what you would like. Black tends to darken the inside, I think I would have gone with a light gray in a "spatter" coat (webbing compound) so that it doesn't show the imperfections / waviness in the surface.

The driver side corner has had some damage, but can be re-crafted easy enough. We will need to re-craft/sculpt a "deck" so that when laying up new material it has something to sit on while it cures, and then comes out the shape to match the passenger side. This "deck" can all be done in cardboard, as I have access to release film materials that you can tape on and ensure the cardboard releases easily.
See if you can find a label on it, though it looks to be one already seen. (there were like 3-4 top makers in LA area right near the incoming port, all were camper shell manufacturers, including Snug-Top, though none will do them now, the mold tools are long gone)

Looks to be in pretty good shape.
Previous topic here:
viewtopic.php?t=21601&hilit=hardtop+refurb&start=15

Just so that you know (go searching for pics), almost all the hardtops had a chrome C-channel across the front which followed the windows around and down to the doorline. This was because the top skin and inner liner skin were fabbed as two pieces then bonded together, and the "chrome welting" covered the seam. So we might be either considering how we do that metal piece, or sourcing a rubber U-channel to do this. (so then a black line that follows that path, start thinking about the end look you want to achieve. Black welting would blend in with a black top nicely, and would be MUCH easier to source and install.)

Let the fun begin!

[marcusrpreal]

Thanks for the feedback Fergus! There are not labels of any sort on the shell. The fiberglass repairs are actually the most managable part in my opinion. As you said, simple cardboard backing, and a template to make sure the newly added fiberglass is cut/sanded to same profile on both sides. Thats the one and only part I have actual past experience with.

As to your chrome trim comments, I want to keep things simple, so no, I dont want to try and do anything besides what I have to do to make it functional and look decent. Most of the time the car would be driven with the top off. I have a roll of that soft metal that is embedded in a black rubber channel shape for trimming any edges that need it. But actually the fiberglass edges appear to be bonded such that the two halves of the shell are not really discernible. I think i could get away with some light sanding to get rid of rough imperfections and simply leave at least the front edge that meets the windshield frame bare. I dont like the look of those chrome edged tops anyway, I prefer a cleaner look myself.

As for the paint, the inside is flaking off, you can see where the white is showing through in the middle, and I just scraped a lot of the loose stuff off. I was wondering if I could simply repaint the inside what appears to be the white original coat, and what type of paint or coating I should use. Would rather not go to the huge trouble of upholstering or lining the inside with anything, so maybe some spray on coating with at least a minimum of sound deadening quality? Then paint the outside a satin black, since its not smooth, it has a strange almost wood grain like texture from whatever mold was used originally. Or maybe the paint/coating was done that way? Not sure.

The windows are all plexiglass, the toughest part seems to me will be sourcing and re-installing the back window rubber seals, and second the round port hole seals, although those appear to be simply sandwiched with two aluminum trim rings using relatively easily sourced rivets. But I may be wrong, I dont see how they would have popped those rivets in with the rings/plexiglass in place on the fiberglass shell. You'll see with closer pics the rear window seal actually needs redoing. Similarly, the port hole plexiglass panels are moving around in the aluminum frames so they will have lost water tightness. I'm guessing whatever caulking like sealant they used to sandwich the plexiglass between the two aluminum frames has gone off over time.

The next hardest thing I feel will be the rubber weatherstripping between the top and the vehicle rear deck, and the top and the windshield frame. The low windshield frame I have is L shaped on the top I assume for blocking and routing away water ingress, so any rubber will have to fit in that L shaped channel. The ones I find readily available dont appear to easily bond or fit to the completely flat surface of the tops front lip. Ditto for the rear deck to top seals. Any direction I can get for all the rubber seals would be appreciated.

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[FergO2k]

Great detail pics. Yep, all the windows need to come out, but notice that the existing seals have a slit at one corner (at least one), so they were not custom to this, they were generic seals to start with. (and Sanford Rubber Cement does great for re-joining at the corners, always buy a few xtra feet of each one, so that you can practice joining on the bench first)
Top looks to be sound. The texture and "faux vinyl overlaps" are very familiar. They did the texture (it as in the mold) because it then doesn't show up waviness / imperfections in the surface like a glossy top does.
I used this for fiberglass tops with great success:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum- ... /202058470

I also found getting one of these makes for much better results as well as less cramped hands at the end of the day:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum- ... /100670383

You could think/look into the bedliner coating that get applied by brush, as they leave a felt-like texture and folks seem to point to sound dampening features.

In terms of surface prep, wire brush like you said until you get to a well adhered coating.
Then wipe the dust with water/shop vac first, let dry, then wipe dry with ISO alcohol works just fine. (my industry used to scour with harsh solvents for years, then learned IPA - IsoPropyl Alcohol - works just as well)

Something to consider for back deck seal (and maybe a more correct term is "rubber landing strip so that hardtop doesn't scratch the paint):
Go look for "garage door seal" at Home Depot. It is cheap, and soft, so not great in sun exposure, but good for paint protection and sound deadening.

I am very biased, but I hate rivets. Once removed, small screws & acorn nuts would be my preference.

[marcusrpreal]

ok. it sounds like generic weather stripping would be workable as long as I can buy segments of varying dimensions, thickness and sponginess. I've used gasket sealant numerous times for metal applications, I assume it will adhere just as good to fiberglass.

i like the idea of screws instead of rivets, I also dont like them. I'll look at some spray on rubber paint for the inside, I did plastic spray coating for the deck trim piece and that went ok. If the texture is part of the mold, then yeah I'll have to do the entire thing with a wire brush by hand to avoid ripping off fiberglass like a rotary tool might, or sanding it down too much like a sander probably would. joy.

So last thing is the the rear window seal. I pulled at it initially and its so hard and dried out that small chunks came loose, I had to rip out the entire thing in numerous pieces, and all I have now is the sheet of plastic. I can probably get rid of all the scratches using headlight lens restore kits, I think that will work good enough to clear up the plastic.

But I researched a little bit and cant find anything to replicate/replace the rear window seal to even a kludgy degree. Any ideas on that? Would a marine/boat store sell or better yet install that kind of stuff? I'm not worried about breaking the plastic its easy enough to source and cut sheets using the old one as a template, but the way the plastic is sandwiched and then fit in the frame seems beyond my ability. Or maybe I just dont want to try, it seems like the worst of the jobs to do.

[FergO2k]

So what you are looking for is an H-Seal, though the selection at this link is not broad enough for our purposes.
(their ranges are either too narrow or much too wide.... 2.5" wide is going to be real fugly!!)

https://www.mcmaster.com/door-weatherst ... n-h-seals/

These can be found by the foot at Hot Rod swap meets, because before the most recent "bond in the glass" method, this was what was used. (and is also the reason that all VW bug rollover wrecks had the windows pop out!)

So the installer will put the seal onto the "glass" fully, and then get a piece of twine ( ~ full circumference ) and put Vaseline on it and bury it into outside part of the H.
One person puts pressure from the outside, while second person starts pulling the twine going from center bottom around. This pulls the last leg of the H over the top thickness, and Pop! - you are in place.

Since you will be buying lengths of stripping, and usually the lower corners are right angles, your seal will be a C covering top and sides, then a single strip across the bottom. Spliced and bonded completely before install.
The twine technique is a known one, but everyone has their own preferences. (like you can probably set the lower base across the groove, and only use twine on sides and top edge)

[marcusrpreal]

Thanks for all the help. I did some initial sanding and cleaning up on the top, but due to all the pitting on the surface, and because its got that ripple pattern, I ended up bailing on the project due to the huge amount of manual labor I'd have to put into it. Since the top is the last component to complete and the car will finished, I handed it off to a guy I know in my area who said he'd take it on for some $. He's also refinishing/refreshing the entire body for me, so it makes sense to just give that to him as well. Im sure you'd like to see pic's, so here you go.

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BTW, the car is going up for sale, why all this work is being done now. Regards and thanks again

[gnob]

im just finishing a resto on one of these tops.
heres the locking channel rubber i used for the rear class.
i was able to find the others through steele rubber.

rear glass rubber. the locking strip is lower on the page
https://www.grainger.com/product/TRIM-L ... ble-10G547