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On late 69 - end of run, the adjuster is rubber tipped. '68 and early '69 are an acorn nut tip. Rubber seems smarter, any reason not to use the rubber style on my '68 dd?
Hi t,
In looking at the 68 latch it appears the later style rubber tipped bolt may well work.
I guess it's a matter of the threads matching.
I believe later latches (after at least 72) have a larger tip.
Regards,
Alan
Here are front and rear latches with the smaller tip and the rubber 'pad' in place. (71)
I put the '72 in with the rubber tips, threads match. Seems like it's nicer to the fitment then metal to metal.
Originally Posted by Alan 71
Hi t,
In looking at the 68 latch it appears the later style rubber tipped bolt may well work.
I guess it's a matter of the threads matching.
I believe later latches (after at least 72) have a larger tip.
Regards,
Alan
Here are front and rear latches with the smaller tip and the rubber 'pad' in place. (71)
For years the substitution was to use the rubber bolts. The acorn headed bolts tended to squeak... My guess is the change was made due to this.
The bolts changed in late 69, they also changed in 1978 and went to a larger rubber headed bolt (1/2") and they seemed to last even longer..
The threads are the same for all of the latches and I've never had any issue using either the larger rubber headed bolt or the smaller 69-77 bolt.
Willcox
Thanks, I was prompted to change mine because of the squeak and metal/metal seemed poor design. I only had the two left over from refurbing the '72s tops so I'll toss some in my next order to finish it out.
Doing some cleanup on my '72 and want to replace my t top adjusting bolts. I've ordered the bolts but see the ones ordered are the exact same length. On my vette, the rear bolts need to be appx 1/4 inch longer than the front. The bolts ordered are the short ones.
The suppliers I use all have the same lengths.
What am I missing here?
Doing some cleanup on my '72 and want to replace my t top adjusting bolts. I've ordered the bolts but see the ones ordered are the exact same length. On my vette, the rear bolts need to be appx 1/4 inch longer than the front. The bolts ordered are the short ones.
The suppliers I use all have the same lengths.
What am I missing here?
The bolts, front or rear were the same length on all cars. My guess is that your T-top latch handle assembly may be bent which is making you think you need a longer bolt... There's no way for me to know for sure but aside from that and the triangle bolt the top seats into, there is no other adjustment.
Hi Jim,
The stud and rubber bumper seat against the bottom of the chrome trim on the halo.
Is that piece of trim installed properly so the bumper can tighten against it?
Regards,
Alan
Yes Alan, my setup looks just like yours. The chrome trim looks the same and follows the contour of the roofline. I don't see any other adjustment. Both sides are identical and both sides require a longer bolt.
When I use the longer bolts both t tops fit perfectly and follow the roofline.
I have the optional pop out rear glass, maybe that option required a different roofline setup?
The t top clamps look fine, not bent or otherwise damaged and appear to be installed correctly.
Anyway, I'm sticking with the longer bolts...
Thanks, Jim
