hardtop

[lal Naja]

Originally Posted by my427cobra

Great pics lal Naja. Thanks.

In your build pics you show that you sacrificed the original rear window seal to use as spacers.

What is and where did you find a replacement seal and chrome locking spline?

Greg

Greg, I didn't make spacers. I fully installed the glass with the edge grip rubber seal and inserted the chrome locking strip around the entire perimeter of the back window. This would normally be considered a completed installation.

In my installation this it was my trial fit and necessary to make sure the gap was right. When I first temporarily held the glass in the fibreglass rough opening, the space between the glass and fibreglass was uneven and varied from 1/4" to almost 1/2" inch. So I ground down the fibreglass opening to create an even 3/8" space all around the perimeter. After fitting everything together I could have left it like that, but being who I am, I had to check that the fit was correct and the only way to do that was to X-ray it or biopsy it. As I don't have an x-ray machine, I cut out sections of the rubber to be able to look inside. It revealed to me that the fit is very close, but it is still a little tight in one or two places. I will grind these areas down before the final fitting.

When I did this biopsy, I assumed that Ron Butler had more of this rubber extrusion and locking strip, but he has no more. So now I'll have to find a source for the rubber and locking strip. I'm sure there are a number of places that sell this on the web. I'm not ready to buy it just now, but when I get the hard-top and sliding windows finished I'll track down the correct rubber. Below is a link to McMaster Carr and you can see what the extrusion looks like and the two tools that are essential to doing the work.

McMaster-Carr

Another source for the rubber & locking strip http://www.hitechglazing.com/product/40017/40008