Stan's Customs

1. Hardtop as it came

2. Trouble area...doesn't sit down on the deck correctly

3. View of trouble area from lower edge

4. Bottom outside rear window stainless...plastic retainer crumbling (This is removed by removing row of barrell screws on inside lip of lower rear window)

5. Start from front work toward rear with thin bladed tool to pop
stainless off....

6. Rear stainless must be removed before side stainless

Stan's Customs

Continued:

7. Remove nuts and barrell screw on each side and nuts above rear glass after stainless is removed

8. Don't forget the barrell screw..

9. Remove out side stainless pieces after nuts and screws are removed

10. Protect glass and grind flatspot on rivets securing rear glass..

11. Center punch rivets

12. Drill out rivets

Stan's Customs

Continued:

13. Remove nuts on top of rear glass...remove stainless from other side with studs

14. Grind and drill out rivet from this location

15. Remove 2 screws from this location...easier to do if window top seal is also removed. Remove seal and stainless...slide side glass forward out of opening.

16. Remove snapin retainers from bottom edge of rubber seal...turn top over, and work windshield out of rubber with putty knife (easier when started in corner and work toward middle on lower edge).

17. Seal can be removed at this time

18. Old incorrect seal on right...correct new seal on left

K2

Great pictures and documentation Stan! Saved in my archives for when I do mine someday. I've had it for over 25 years and have only had it on the car briefly to test fit and has been in storage ever since. It is in good shape but could use all new weather stripping and a rear glass so this thread is going to be very helpful. Keep the details of completion coming.

Merry Christmas

Frankie the Fink

Damned impressive Stan.

Stan's Customs

Glad it was helpful Klaus..

If you archived it.... I made a couple of additions to the print this morning that I realized were needed for clarification on a couple of small points..

You may want to update your saved copy.

Stan..

Stan's Customs

Well thanks Frank..I'm glad you liked it.

It was in answer to your request...on another thread. You've always been quick to post up for me. (although...I'm not very adept at it..!)

I will follow up with more when I get my parts.. after Christmas.

Stan..

Ironcross

and that's only for weather stripping across the back?

I would think the header is another possible problem according to some videos I`v seen......

firstgear

Stan, when you put the barrel screws back in.....caution don't let the damn screw driver slide out and scratch the glass......

Just wanted you to know, I am proud of you!

Stan's Customs

I thought it might be too..

As it turns out...about 20/30 minutes longer and the rest of the top is completely naked. I t depends how stuck the old adhesive is..and if the screw heads are not rusted off or something. My practice top was in pretty bad shape ..and it wasn't hard.

Matt at Glassworks said that you nearly had to tear the top completely down to replace the rear seal...I was skeptical, but that is accurate. Very little left to do after that.

I didn't take pics when I tore down my practice top...but I will when I take down my best top the rest of the way.

I really was going to stop where the last pics end...but I want to repaint with Base/Clear like the car will be instead of the laquer that's on it.

After finding how easy it is to go the rest of the way on the tear down.... it's a no brainer if you are going to refinish the top!

Stan..

62Jeff

Looks great Stan.

I'm looking forward to the reassembly photos. The original top from my 62 has been torn down to the same state as yours is, for 30 years. I'm awaiting motivation (still) to reassemble it. Perhaps your thread will do that for me.

Jeff

Stan's Customs

Thanks Herb...it's been a long time getting to this point and I'm really enjoying myself.

I need to find out where you bought the screws you used to install your lower rear window retainers with. I like those a lot better than rivets....in fact there may several places where screws may be better than what they did back in the day.

Fortunately I am not bound by the need to do anything "exactly" as it came..especially if something can be improved on.

Stan..

Stan's Customs

In a case like that I better hurry before you change your mind..lol.

The top I really thought was junk...is turning out tho be a perfectly restorable top. So I think I'll do a dry run and reassemble it for practice..

I can't afford to do the stainless on it or I'd restore them both...but cleaned up reassembled and put away ..or sold, will be good practice for the keeper top. (which already has new but old, never mounted glass...stainless, window and header seals)

I'll take pics of the practice top reassembly so I won't have to wait till I do paint and minor stainless repair etc...on the keeper.

Stan..

ptjsk

Found it!!

rustylugnuts

Was contemplating ripping my hard top apart, after reviewing your photos, I'm now inspired to start on it this weekend.

rustylugnuts

Stan's Customs

Hello again boys and girls... it's been along time since I did those pics.

I'm glad the photos were helpful...I was having a good time when that was going on.

I had planned on having some reassembly procedure pics as I finished the project.

However... as I started back together with the top ...I discovered I had some very complicated fitment issues that required a jig for straightening the top frame. (Most of which I had attributed to my top being from a previously wrecked donor car).

After numerous conversations with Matt at Glassworks, I decided my best bet would be to send the top to him and see if they could get my twisted frame back to specs on their jig.

So...I gave up my extra top in trade and some cash to get Glassworks to address the problem ...which left me without a top to assemble for reassembly pics in this tread.

As it turned out, I'm fortunate that I took this route. ...I had greater problems than I thought. The top "still" had fitment issues after being jig fitted when I got it back !

Fortunately Matt and one of his guys came to my location on the way back home after a Houston car show...and did their magic to "finally" make it work properly on my car.

Whew!! Thanks Matt!!!...I was running out of options.

If your top latches up right on your car in the beginning ...I believe this would be a pretty straight forward project. Just take your time.

In my case the windsplit in the back window would not line up with the deck lid crease...in fact was at least two inches off center even with side pressure on the top. It was a combination of things that I would have never figured out.

Having said that...would I try another... Yep, in a heart beat, "if" the top fits the car to begin with. Nope if it doesn't...within reason of course, none are absolutely perfect as far as I can tell.

All the best...Stan

Robert61

Yep I know it's an old thread but I'm at this point and it's still helping 9 years latter. Thanks for posting.