Convertible guys....I need some help.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 4,282
Likes: 172
From: Lake Wylie, South Carolina
Convertible guys....I need some help.
I put the rear deck lid back on last night and can't get the seams lined up. The restoration manual that I am going by says that I should have a 1/16 to 3/16 gap on either side and 3/16 to 1/4 inch in the back. There is no way :mad :confused: Can some of you guys measure these gaps on your cars for me and if possible post some pics. thanks. :cheers:
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 3,023
Likes: 2
From: TEXASTEXASTEXASTEXAS TEXASTEXASTEXASTEXAS
St. Jude Contributor
Re: Convertible guys....I need some help. (wadew10)
Funny what you don't notice until you look. My digital camera is on the fritz, so no pics, but I measured. Mines not terrifically straight--all three sides vary from about 1/16" on one end of the line to 1/8" on the other end. Never gets wider than 1/8". Probably needs to be loosened up and adjusted a bit, but works fine & looks fine until someone gets me to measure it! :)
JB
[Modified by JB, 7:30 AM 10/17/2002]
JB
[Modified by JB, 7:30 AM 10/17/2002]
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 4,282
Likes: 172
From: Lake Wylie, South Carolina
Re: Convertible guys....I need some help. (JB)
Thanks JB. Have you ever had your lid off? If so how did you adjust it side to side. The arms have slots where you bolt the lid to that are adjustable front to back but I can't see where a side to side adjustment would be. I see no way that I will be able to get this gap down to a 1/16 but 1/8 may be possible. But it is true no two Vetts are exactly alike. I guess that's why we deem these cars so special. :smash: :crazy: :yesnod: :cheers:
[Modified by wadew10, 7:40 AM 10/17/2002]
[Modified by wadew10, 7:40 AM 10/17/2002]
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 948
Likes: 0
From: Johnston Iowa
Re: Convertible guys....I need some help. (wadew10)
This summer I put my deck lid back on my 69 convertible after it being removed for 4 years. You can get a little adjustment from side to side but not much. If you look at the area where lid fits into you should see some wedges on both sides. These wedges an be moved up and down to help you center the deck lid. They kind of force the deck lid into position. I loosely bolted my up, closed the lid, adjusted it into position, and then tightened up the bolts. My car is not painted yet so I did not have to worry about scuffing the paint. If your car is painted you may not want to do it that way.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 15,146
Likes: 477
From: NM
Re: Convertible guys....I need some help. (wadew10)
I would not worry about getting the gap to a specific measurement, just get it to a point where it looks right. Who cares if it is 1/16, 1/8, 3/16, or.... just as long as it looks right.
tom...
tom...
Racer
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 341
Likes: 1
From: Levittown Pa
Re: Convertible guys....I need some help. (wadew10)
I wouldn't worry so much about the exact distance, I worry about geting it not to leak, Mine just leaks even with new rubber. Any hints? check all the weep holes their ok, any suggestions?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 2,668
Likes: 43
From: Eastern US XX
Re: Convertible guys....I need some help. (wadew10)
My '69 is the same way (alignment - don't know yet if it will leak!). If you make sure all of the gaps are balanced (both sides the same spacing at top and bottom and the alignment is correct on the cabin end, it won't look messed up at all. Mine looks great now that I stopped being so ****!
[Modified by pws69, 9:54 AM 10/17/2002]
[Modified by pws69, 9:54 AM 10/17/2002]
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 4,282
Likes: 172
From: Lake Wylie, South Carolina
Re: Convertible guys....I need some help. (pws69)
Thanks for all of the replies guys. pws69 I agree that is my problem, I am being to ****. It's not like the car wasn't a complete basket case when I first bought it. :yesnod: Look at it now compared to then and there is night and day improvement. As far as leaking, I have new rubber on the deck lid but it will be some time before it will be in the rain so I don't know if it is sealed up tight now or not. After the WS relaxes a little I am going to take a cup of water and see if I can find any leaks. Thanks again. :cheers:
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Safety Car
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 4,101
Likes: 10
From: NorCal
Re: Convertible guys....I need some help. (Tom73)
I definitely agree with Tom73 on this. I've had mine off a bunch of times and I adjust it to look right. I look for level (matching in height) first and then I adjust front to back and side to side. Once I got it right, I painted the bolts and then scribed around them to mark them. I used front end alignment shims to adjust the height, and for side to side I'd loosen the upper bolts a bit and give it a gentle shove toward one side, tighten the bolts, check it and repeat as needed. Like the others have said, it's not perfect, but looks fine.
Hans
Hans
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,004
Likes: 16
From: Gainesville, Florida
Re: Convertible guys....I need some help. (Wrencher)
Agree with everything to date....these cars are definitely individuals. The tolerances and deviations were so great right off the assembly line that there are rarely two cars with the same body gaps anyway.
Mark
Mark