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Since the car is a restomod I used thru-bolts on the #4 mounts/I fished the bolt under the deck lid support until I could see the end of the bolt trying to enter the thru-hole (in a mirror placed on the floor)......
Next...a telescoping magnet to pull the bolt downward thru the 1" body spacer while I leaned into the cargo area pushing down on the bolt with the mechanical fingers (I told you it would get graphic)...
May as well double-nut the mount while I'm at it........
The upside is...the left and right rotors are no longer 3/4" different to the fender arch.
Well...that's todays medical procedure on the Vette
Dude..... I'll look but I think I threw mine away..... I'm somewhat of a packrat so hopefully I didn't toss it on one of my cleaning binges.
Originally Posted by gbvette62
I would either call Melanie at Al Knoch, or check with a local convertible top/auto upholstery shop. Knoch makes their own tops and might be willing to sell you just the trim strip, and a local top shop may have something laying around or may be able to get or make something up for.
Originally Posted by carriljc
doorgunner
Pretty sure it is the thinner one....or maybe not....not really sure...... If you want it just say so. The larger piece must be for the forward edge. I think I'm on my third (or fourth?) top since 1984.... not sure which kit this one came in..... don't even know why I hold onto this crap.
Originally Posted by doorgunner
The vinyl trim strip I removed had a soft metal strip attached to it lengthways.
It was about 5/8" wide and 3/16" "tall".
Half of the vinyl trim strip is thin and covers the bendable soft metal.
The other half of the trim strip is much thicher.
You tack or staple the thin section of the vinyl trim strip to the bow tack strip thru the vinyl top.
Then you fold the thicker half of the vinyl-metl strip over the half you just tacked down
This method hides the tacks in the vinyl trim strip and "dresses-up" the area across the bow.
The stainless end caps hide both raw ends of the folded trim strip.
I hope that makes sense..
.I'll go to the garage to see if I save the worn-out original trim strip
Originally Posted by carriljc
Yeah.... you're right. This isn't that. I'll look more but I must have tossed that 2-sided foldable one...
post the pic when you get it
Originally Posted by doorgunner
It took 20 minutes but I found the original trim strip! Nasty, but let me clean it up to see if it's o.k....
A good wipe-down with alcohol......
Now some dye to see if it can be usable again...........
That was the first coat of dye...they recommend 3 coats for exterior use.
YOU GUYS have been great....I think this one will go another 50 years.
I'll tack it down then puta coat of Black silicone bathroom sealer over the tacked side.
Then I'll fold the thick part over the tacked part
THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE...
I'll transfer this thread to my build thread to save your names and advice!
So...I'm doing the driver window trim almost right this time......No one had rubber trim the correct size so I used vinyl flexible trim to overlap the gap between the window frame and the door panel....the original worn piece is on the left.......I marked the bracket holes on the new vinyl........
After using a fine-point punch to drive out the original rivets for re-use I drilled the vinyl matching holes and re-set the original rivets with a flat punch........
The original rivets are less than .050 high and hold the vinly to the oem bracket....
Rebuilt trim & bracket on the left vs. original trim on the right
The inner and outer trim and felt strips are ready to be installed in the door after I slide the glass inside the channels.........(I used a different style/round weatherstrip on the outer bracket to hold the glass snugly in place with the glass up.....
the left trim & bracket needs wiping with acetone to remove the primer...the rubber needs a silicone shine
NOTE: I tried using aluminum rivets 1/8" dia. x 1/4" long to hold the FELT strips in place
THEY WORKED GREAT....the heads sunk down into the felt strips just like the oem rivets!
Last edited by doorgunner; Jul 20, 2023 at 05:05 PM.
More door work...cheat sheet for '68....sorry about the pics.... ***REMEMBER...I ground off the bottom metal tab roller stops in order to make installation easier per a forum member.......***
I lowered the bare glass window into the door frame and attached the window rubber with metal support...much easier doing this......plenty of room for hands and 1/4" drive ratchet to fit behind the glass...
The original rubber cushions for a few special glass bolts were mashed so I made new ones.....
I installed the nylon thru-washers where needed starting at the rear bolt hole in the glass and working my way forward.......
The #2 bolt in the middle and #3 bolt at the front of the glass are installed in the support....(I will have to remove that bolt and install one with a larger head to fit the nylon washer )
The front roller is installed in the glass......needs recleaning to roll smoothly...
So...this is what caused the popping noise every revolution of the crank handle...the pin is 1/8" off-center......
The pin is driven until it protrudes equally on both sides of the crank shaft gear.......NO MORE popping noises.......
The regulator is installed thru the bottom hole of the door frame..it took a bit of manipulating until it moved into place...the crank housing is also installed with the reworked crank shaft inside... all bolts are loose for shifting everything into place.....
The front vertical track is fed thru the frame hole ...it is engaged with the front roller and fished into place ahead of the regulator.....
The 6" long rear roller assembly is installed onto the last empty bolt hole at the rear of the metal glass support....... the extra roller you see fits into the rear vertical track which will be installed later...
The 7" long horizontal track for the regulator 12" long pivoting arm is engaged with the pivot arm roller and snugged into place for final adjustment later on.....
The rear vertical track is fed into the door frame hole and guided onto the rear roller.....
After guiding the rear roller into the rear vertical track the track is move up into place and snugged with bolts for adjustment later
Tomorrow I will touch-up-paint the frame area and clean the glass...then roll the window up against the forward edge weatherstrip and tighten all adjusting bolts that were only snugged up.
Then I will install the 4 nylon white roller stops that limit up/down travel.***
"***see note at top***
Last edited by doorgunner; Jul 22, 2023 at 09:50 PM.
Thanks Gang......more STUFF.....ONE would think letting the door panels hang flat on pegboard for a year would keep the back side flat-----WRONG!
OLD SCHOOL....De-Arching warped door panel.......look to the right end of the straightedge/there is a 1 & 1/2" Negative-warp in the panel.
This warp will not allow the lower half of the panel to fit against the door.
NO problem.......
^^^^^^^^^ I need to sand and re-pattern that vinyl repair at the bottom corner (I forgot about)
Padding the sawhorses to prevent creases in the panel vinyl covering........
Adding a LITTLE weight to cause the door panel to form a concave-arch. I will have to do the same thing to the driver door panel.......it would have been faster to do this in the noonday sun for a couple hours rather than overnite on the patio
Tomorrow I will remove the weight to see if the back of the panel maintains a concave-arch of 1/2" or more (once the panel is attached to the door it will flatten completely (been there 10 years ago)
12 hrs. later.......overnite the panel de-arched to 3/4" concave....
Wheb the weight was removed. the panel became straight and ready to be instlled on the passenger door....
Now to remove the driver door panel and de-arch it. While the weight is on the driver door panel to de-arch it also...I decided to use the spare time for some insulating/soundproofing,,,,,
Last edited by doorgunner; Jul 25, 2023 at 06:15 PM.
While I waiting on vinyl repairs to cure on the door panels.....
The 54 y.o.? top was due for a redye after 10 years to try and get a few more years out of it..,,
the 1st light coat of dye covered alot of the badly faded areas....................
Tomorrow it gets a 2nd coat....Friday-a 3rd coat. (according to the Dye mfgr.)
Then I'll lock it down on the car to see if the wrinkles flatten out.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
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