skullandbones

It's been a while since I posted. I finally got to the task that I have been dreading for a while. So now one less thing to bother me. I finally finished the install of the cloth top. I took the old vinyl white top off about a year ago and did a couple of frame repairs and cleanups. I've been driving with the top down or with the hardtop. I got back to it a couple of days ago. There were still hours of cleaning the old adhesive off. It was more like 3 hours than the suggested 6 to 8 hours. I used a combination of xlyol, brake cleaner, wire brush, and elbow grease. Then it was time to actually install the top. I took a couple of days to let the contact adhesive (3M black pn:8008) completely cure. It is extremely volatile. I had to work fast in this weather here in AZ that has suddenly gone summer on us. Today was the first day I could stretch the top to see how it fits. I reminded my why I got a convertible. There are three distinctive looks: top down, soft top up, and hard top (like owning three different cars). So I'm happy with it so far. Haven't adjusted anything. It may be OK from the old top but going from vinyl to cloth may require some extension of the number 4 bow but we will see after a couple of weeks. I still have to install the new weather striping but that isn't here yet. Anyway here she is.

Thanks,

WEK.

corvetteronw

Looks pretty darn good.
Where do you sail your boat?

ghlkal

Wow, I bet that was a job. It looks great, and I like the color too

zachaeous

Looks great! I have put new tops on a 1966 and a 1968. I know how much work it is to do these jobs right. Congrats on doing a great job.

skullandbones

Thanks, Ron. I have not sailed either the Mirage or snipe since I moved to AZ. They are pretty far down the priority list but I couldn't store them in a better place. If I ever get to a point where the cars or observatory don't have a project going, I may take a sail up at Apache or one of the other small lakes below Roosevelt. Missed the Route 66 this year. Heard the weather was not too good (second year in a row).

Just a comment about this sort of job: I find that the necessary information about how to do this is not all in one place. I must have sourced five different places to get tid bits that were all helpful in some way. The correct adhesive, certain technique to do a particular area so it is stretched correctly, or things just not to do are all important when it comes to that portion of the install. It is definitely a craftsman sort of task (not for the faint of heart). Since I do many DIY projects, it was doable. I noticed somewhere an expert compared the old tops and the new ones saying it used to be a 10 out of 10 difficulty job now it's only a 1. I think that was pretty overstated. I would personally gauge this as a 6 or 7 difficulty level still even with the nice features like the front pocket that completely surrounds the front bow. As a former sailmaker I know that features like that make the job user friendly as opposed to hand fitting the front if there is no such pocket. Of course, you can install one of these and consider it a success but for me the "devil is in the details". I will have to do a final assessment on that level when the top has had a chance to shape and stretch over the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for looking,

WEK.

scuba717

Nice work. I need to do this, but haven't worked up the courage yet.
Now just in theory, if I was to drive from PA to AZ and just happened to have a new top in my car and just happened to show up at your house.......

Weck86

Skullandbones. aka WEK. You obviously have superior craftsman skill as that top looks excellent. Dare I say better than factory I sorely wish you had sticky with pictures of your process. I put one on my '63 back in 1975 but haven't tried one since. And that's the problem, most of us vert owners only try this once, twice maybe three times in our lifetime. But the pro's do two or three a month and learn/know the 'tricks'. My '86 needs one, could use your help.

mickey5

Your top looks GREAT! I dread the day my '90 looks shabby enough to require a replacement. I have 2 questions that may help me and others when the time comes. First, who made your top and would you recommend them to others? Second, did you remove the frame assembly to do any of the work? Thanks in advance.

skullandbones

That's funny Scuba..... I guess I would feel somewhat obliged to help if you went to that much trouble.

Weck86: Thanks. I hope it keeps looking good. I took it out today and the top has already started conforming to the natural curves of the frame better than yesterday. I knew a fabric top was a better choice than going back with vinyl. I did not have to man handle the fabric as much as I would have with the vinyl version. Fire off any questions. I will do what I can to help. I have a few pics but was not producing a sticky so I did not approach it like that.

Mickey5: do not want to get in trouble with the administrators on the sight but if Topsonline is not a vendor here, they should be. I also got the rubber for the top from them. I ordered it two days ago from CA and got it today via UPS ground. There's a 6 year warranty on the top and 15 year warranty on the rubber.

I did repair a couple of places on the frame but the rivets and staples on the woven spreaders (top stay pads) were nearly perfect so no work there. One piece on each side of the no 5 bow made of aluminum had terrible oxidation on them. I removed them, wire brushed back to the metal and cleared them. Other than that there was no removal. I had to remove weather strip retainers and clean frame. If you wish additional info, I will do my best to explain. One issue I thought I would have was centering the top but found that the centering marks on the frame and the top were very helpful. I only had to use the edges of the top articulating to the edges of the bows that they were in the proper position. I checked and rechecked those reference positions all during the process. So gluing the rear double flaps on the no 5 bow, gluing the front flap on the no 1 bow, gluing the front flaps of the wings on the upright frame rail and attaching the retainers with screws, and finally measuring and installing the top retainers in bows 2 and three (anti ballooning retainers) were the hardest tasks. Also, I was constantly reminding myself not to get any black sticky glue on the top. I had to stop many times to remove it from my fingers and hands. Keep the xylol handy.

Thanks,

WEK.

skullandbones

Just to follow up: I got back from our vacation so the top was sitting there waiting for me. The instructions direct that you leave the top installed in the up position to allow it to stretch and form a permanent shape for about two weeks (warm weather helps). We are having warm weather: 119 yesterday. I had to install the weather strip kit for the windows and back bow. The 6 window pieces went on perfectly. The 7th rear bow piece required that I trim some of the fabric back that I had left in case it came loose so I could re-stretch and glue if necessary. So I removed that with my fabric cutting gun which I still have from my sail making days. I ended up not using any glue on this piece as it has 3 plastic inserts per side that push into the bow. The retainer for the WS only required some stuffing with a paint stirring stick. So it actually went on easier than I thought. After readjusting the tension bolts on the rear bow, the top still looks pretty good. Notice the broken retaining tabs in the bow. Those are the many small but time consuming operations that make this job so much of a hassle. I can imagine the pro shops put their 3rd team on it to get the tear down and clean up done before they put the expert on the actual install.

WEK.