will65

I have a freshly restored 65 and need some advice on hard top alignment. I have to roll the window down a bit on the drivers side to open and close the door. If it were the passage side it would not be as big of a deal. I was able to remove the two rear screws that you cannot reach anyway to since down the wing nuts with a soft top down. Then I could move the top a bit to get it closer. Once I cinch down the latches it sucks it down too far forward. Maybe a window adjustment in combination with a little something else?

This is the window full up.






This is the window rolled down a bit. The gap to the weather strip when closed is a bit much. I could probably live with it if I just adjusted the window, but wondering if there is somethin more I can do. I made a small mark on the screw bracket as to where I think it needs to be, but the latches would suck it back again. (Don't look at the chip I made. It makes me a little sick seeing as how I did this trying to get it a bit better on fresh paint.) I would like to use the hard top more that most. Some think it is a selling point and they basically do not use it that much on a convertible, but I think it looks quite nice. Also being in Colorado there are a lot of nice days in the winter to drive and I would like to have the hard top a bit more user friendly.






Thanks I and advance … any experienced advice out there would be appreciated.

Sky65

There are more adjustments on the soft top than the hard top. I found it best to adjust the windows and such to the hard top first. Then adjust the soft top to the car. Problem is if the soft top was installed to fit the car 1st, it may not fit correctly after you readjust for the hard top. Best scenario in my mind is to install hard top and adjust the car to fit the top. Then have the soft top installed to fit the car which may mean a new top to get both right. IMHO

Tom

davekp78

I'm having the EXACT same issue since reinstalling the hard top. The shop manual talks about adjusting a stop, but I haven't pulled the door panel yet to play with it. Not sure the stop affects the window up positioning, though.

Gavin65

Is this the original top, to the car, has it been sitting upright not on a stand, it could be that it needs some time to conform back to the body, it also looks like its to far forward, and when you latch it down it brings it further still, i know when mine is off for a period of time I have some difficulty getting it all to line up.

Mr D.

If I recall correctly of something JohnZ posted one time;

At the factory when a hardtop option was installed the car was adjusted (side windows) to fit the hardtop, when a soft top was installed the soft-top was adjusted to fit the car.

davekp78

OK
How do we adjust the windows to fit the hardtop?

mike coletta

. When you remove the door panel, there is a short "track" held to the inside of the door panel about half way up. Loosen those two nuts/bolts. If you have room, loosen your vent window post, and push it forward, paying particular attention to the top of the vent window. Tighten it up. Now roll you sideglass up to about 1 or 2" from the top, and push the top of the glass forward, noting which direction the short track that I referenced earlier moves. Push it hard to that position, and tighten. What you're going for here, is to "roll" the glass forward at the top, as it rolls up. Now adjust the front top stop, so that it stops the glass earlier, than in the back. It should go all the way up, but you want it to hit resistance before it reaches the top. 1/8" makes a huge difference. Now raise the back stop, so the back of the glass will roll forward as you finish raising it.
You should also read the service manual, as it details the assembly of the glass, post, and tracks. It also provides "some" adjustment information.

will65

It is the original hard top. The soft top fits pretty good. If I get this solved I may need to look at the soft top adjustment again and that is OK. Thanks for the feedback. My next step maybe to take the door panel off and look at the window adjustment. From what I can see I can gain a bit from this, but I think I will still need a little more. It almost seems like I need to move the bracket on the hard top forward. Does any one know if this is welded or riveted on or is it adjustable with slots? … I took the trim off, but with out going deeper into removing weather stripping it was not immediately obvious. Thanks again.

will65

I just wanted to add that the passenger side if fine. In looking at the top of the window it does not look that un-even … but maybe the entire roof is too far forward as you mentioned or the window frame is not as even as it appears … and the drivers side is too far back compared to the passengers side.

will65

Thanks. I am prepared for having to re-do the soft top after … if (and hopefully) I can get this sorted on the hard top first.

pop23235

mike coletta

You can't adjust the hardtop. Your windows are way out of adjustment. You adjust the windows to the hardtop, and then align the the soft top frame to fit the windows. I can see in your pictures that the front of the window is too high, the back of the window is too low, and the entire window is too far back. Read my post above.

will65

You guys are awesome and I appreciate the knowledge out here. I should have checked before I put a chip in the paint messing around, but I guess the first one hurts the most. I may tackle this myself, unless anyone knows a good corvette guy/shop that could help and may have some experience with this in North Central Colorado? I am near Fort Collins. The shop that did most of the restoration is awesome, just not too close by. Thanks.