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My 68 convertible deck lid does not have this cutouts at the corners lower side to accomodate the soft top latches.
What does that mean ? Normal or aftermarket or ???
I borrowed this pic of a lid with the cutouts( recesses ) of the stringer reinforcement near each corner.
I had to cut some recesses into myne as otherwise, when closing the lid , it damages the soft top window seals.
Not sure what you mean. All stock C3 decklids had rear bow locks. In your picture, top two are only the deck lid latches keeping the lid closed. Two circular indentations a little farther down are for the rear bow locks which are not on this particular lid. Everything else looks stock.
Your right, without pics it isn't understandable.
So here we go:
I am talking about this corner recesses, see the Buba cutout on my lid. On my lid, there was no recess at all, contrary to all others I saw so far, see first pic.
The soft top latches shouldnt be a problem since you just squash the top down with the hard top lid. Looks like bubba had a top installation issue so he cut out space to get the lid to close correcly. Not sure?
For all the world your deck lid has differant look to the undersides than my '72 here.....the side latch cables disappear into the glass under mouldings, and mine are on the surface...I have a wear mark in the glass where the lid hits the folded top, just noticed that...
Buba was me. I cut this because when I renewed my soft top, I found that the decklid damaged the old tops windshield seals and this recesses are fitting exactly over this damaged section.
I copied the dimensions from a other lid that looked like the one in the first pic and now the lid closes fine over the soft top.
So with other words, my lid was just plain , no recess or cutout.
I just wonder if anybody also has a lid without this recess cutout.
Or is this an other 68 only mistake that was corrceted later on.
Gunther,
My '68 has cutouts approximately where you cut yours. They are semi-circular in shape and roughly 25mm in dia. The cuts are just large enough to clear the soft top latches when the top is folded back. They appear to have been cut that way from the factory as the cuts were covered with the original paint. There was no sign that the deck lid had ever been repainted on the underside until I did it during the restoration, so it is doubtful that a dealer or any previous owner made the cuts. My bet is this was a running change on the assembly line that was accomplished to get them through until the design change to the underside of the deck lid (that your first picture shows) went through.
Just for your reference my car has a 12/27/67 build date. I'll try to get pictures for you when I remove my hardtop.
Look at the first picture you posted. See those two black round things near the release latches on the inner two braces. Those are there to push the soft top frame down a little so that it won't hit the lid and also to keep the soft top from rattling. It appears in your second picture that these are missing or the factory added them in the later vert years. Mine has them and when I replaced my soft top about a year ago I had to make some minor adjustments to them. my$.02
I have a 69 out here and the guy said if he doesnt pull the top material out from between the bows it fits too tight.The car is covered but if I get some time I will check it out.