Hi Dan:
Well, is this coincidence or what? I've just been finishing up my
hardtop restoration (as this is being typed, my rear window/gasket/trim
assembly is sitting in the garage with a cord in the gasket to hardtop
slot, waiting for a second pair of hands to be available to help push it
in), and have noticed some of the same things.
Initially, the rear pins would not go in because the rear gasket was so
stiff. I left the top on the car, sitting in the hot sun for a couple
days and eventually it yielded a bit, and the pins now go in OK. It was
off the car for several months over the winter, and it went back on OK.
I also have the problem of the pins at the door post not aligning with
the holes in those chrome things, and there's that same space there.
What drives me crazy is that the latches seem to latch just fine, and
the windows seem to touch the gaskets all around. If it's that high,
that far misaligned, why do the latches close? Anybody else out there
have a clue?
I had replaced the top to windshield gasket a couple years back, but it
just doesn't seal well. At various times I've had a piece of rope, or
some stick on foam weatherstripping, filling the gap. Same deal on the
soft top. Driving in the rain was no fun, with water spraying in at
me. Any thoughts here, anybody?
Now I have to throw in a disclaimer here. My car had the rear fenders
replaced, from a series 5 Alpine parts car the previous owner had. The
area around the doorposts was rebuilt. I'm not sure whether the hardtop
came with the Alpine or the Tiger. As far as I can tell, no work had
been done to the hardtop before I got it, but you never know.
So, Dan, you aren't alone.
Stu
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