At 11:29 AM 11/27/99 -0500, you wrote:
>I'm reinstalling the trim strips around the rear window my Tiger factory
>hard top. Or, I should perhaps say installing because they've never
>been on the top during my ownership. I have the two clips, replacements
>that I bought probably in the late '70s, but I want to be sure of what
>to do with them. The originals did not come with the car.
>
>The outer part that matches the contour of the trim is easy to figure
>out. There is, however, a tab on the back that now would be sticking
>straight into the gasket and top, but I'm guessing that this is supposed
>to be crimped down against the backside of the trim strip to hold it in
>place. Am I right? If not, then what?
>
>Is this usually enough to hold the strips in place, or have some of you
>added a little adhesive or RTV or something?
>
>Stu Brennan
The normal failure mode of the trim is for the two side pieces to work
their way sideways until they pop out of the rubber. It has already been
pointed out to you that the original installation was probably made with
the stainless trim already installed in the window seal assembly.
I've found it very handy to drill a pair of holes on the lower step of the
top and bottom of the side trim pieces before installation. When in place,
you can lace a thin strand of stainless wire through the opposing holes to
tie and pull the two halves together. The trick is to twist the wire ends
together and bend the resulting curl flat against the rubber. The center
clip is then only required to cover this tie. It requires a lot of
"fitting" with long nose pliers to get the center pieces to lay flat, but
they are no longer being pushed out by the ends of the larger side trim pieces.
Tom
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