Fellow (factory) Hardtoppers,
Check the underside of your hardtop where it rests on the rear edge.
There used to be a rubber pad (about 1" by 1-1/2") surrounding each
bolt hole. The purpose of these pads was to keep the hardtop (edge)
from resting on the rear deck (and damaging the paint). Problem is:
They were only attached with a dab of glue, so eventually they fall
off. If they didn't fall off, by now they've taken on a compression
set and are about 1/2 their original thickness. Either way the
top ends up sitting too low, especially if you torque the rear bolts
much. The foam rubber weatherstrip compresses pretty easily <g>.
It's not hard to cut some new pads out of some (relatively) hard
rubber. The originals were about 1/4" thick, but I made a couple of
sets out of some ~1/2" thick rubber stock. This made it a little
harder to get the rear bolts started, but once tightened, the top
seals nicely in the back and sits a comfortable distance off the
rear deck.
If you decide to try this and don't have an original pad left to use
as a guide, contact me (off-list) and I'll measure mine for you.
-Bob
(who really really wished he didn't have the hard top on today)
On Tue, 26 Jan 1999 09:40:19 -0600 "Mostrom, Paul"
<Mostrom.Paul@principal.com> writes:
>I noticed that there was an exposed metal edge when I got the top and
>was
>wondering about that. I thought that maybe there was a rubber seal
>missing.
>Obviously if you bought yours new, you would know! Does anyone out
>there have
>an idea how to avoid gouging the paint where the back of the top meets
>the car
>around the back of the cockpit?
--
"Striving to be better, oft we mar what's well."
-- William Shakespeare
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