Any good hardtop restoration threads out there? Been looking, have not found any....
Help
Help
Hardtop resto (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Tommy Shumpert
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
jim land
SILVER Star
How is your ?
We need pics
We need pics
x2 I would love to see some resto progress of a factory hard top. mines in need of some love.
x3
Not sure exactly what you are looking for.
I disassembled mine. Pulled the glass. Patched the ejector-seat porthole in the fiberglass top (maybe it was just a huge sunroof, I guess we'll never know). Repainted the bits— Nebula green on the sides, Shell Ivory top. Glued in aftermarket headliner that fit "okay". New weather strip pieces on ends of rear crossmember. Bolted her back together, new rubber. New pull handle for hatch door. Removed springs from original hatch struts. Installed gas struts inside original ones.
Are you wanting more rust repair info?
I disassembled mine. Pulled the glass. Patched the ejector-seat porthole in the fiberglass top (maybe it was just a huge sunroof, I guess we'll never know). Repainted the bits— Nebula green on the sides, Shell Ivory top. Glued in aftermarket headliner that fit "okay". New weather strip pieces on ends of rear crossmember. Bolted her back together, new rubber. New pull handle for hatch door. Removed springs from original hatch struts. Installed gas struts inside original ones.
Are you wanting more rust repair info?
Last edited:
I’d like to see some metal work on the hard top sides - no patches available and it is very much in my future.
What ^ he said.
Beautiful cruiser. Love the color.
I have a few questions. I am getting ready to dive into a restoration myself.
My top and rain gutter are in ok shape. Someone did a meh paint job on the top at some point and it is peeling in places. I have also touched a few garage entrances with it myself. The rain gutter is in ok condition, I believe it to be salvageable, but its the main motivation in doing the restoration now. The old rust is bubbling thought the meh pain job.
Main main questions are:
1) how much disassembly is needed? I assume you need to unrivet the fiberglass from the rain gutter - wanting to double check.
2) what is the process and materials suggested for the fiberglass portion? My assumption is you sand it down to the primer then build up.
3) Epoxy primer has been suggested by a few friends, is this what you used? What paint / etc?
4) Rain gutter - my plan is to take the gutter all the way down to the metal, get rid of any/all rust, por-15, fill, primer, paint.
5) reassembly - what riveting tool would you recommend for reattaching the fiberglass to the gutter? Did you rivet before or after painting?
6) what filler did you use for the gutter?
Thanks!
I have a few questions. I am getting ready to dive into a restoration myself.
My top and rain gutter are in ok shape. Someone did a meh paint job on the top at some point and it is peeling in places. I have also touched a few garage entrances with it myself. The rain gutter is in ok condition, I believe it to be salvageable, but its the main motivation in doing the restoration now. The old rust is bubbling thought the meh pain job.
Main main questions are:
1) how much disassembly is needed? I assume you need to unrivet the fiberglass from the rain gutter - wanting to double check.
2) what is the process and materials suggested for the fiberglass portion? My assumption is you sand it down to the primer then build up.
3) Epoxy primer has been suggested by a few friends, is this what you used? What paint / etc?
4) Rain gutter - my plan is to take the gutter all the way down to the metal, get rid of any/all rust, por-15, fill, primer, paint.
5) reassembly - what riveting tool would you recommend for reattaching the fiberglass to the gutter? Did you rivet before or after painting?
6) what filler did you use for the gutter?
Thanks!
I’ve got my roof removed for overhaul. The steel frame/gutter was a little bent up from contacting a tree once upon a time. I was able to straighten that up and replace a few rivets using some anvils I made up. There was a break in the steel half way down the left side, which I was able to weld up and reinforce without disassembly, by using a bunch of heat sinks and insulating the fiberglass from the heat. Today, I finished sanding the inside and outside surfaces in preparation to lay a couple layers of mat on the bottom side and some fine weave on the top. The glass is in pretty rough condirion but the shape is still there. I‘m also going to glass in a few foam core cross supports. Forgot to take any pics today.
workingdog
GOLD Star
It all depends on the condition of the fiberglass and the drip rail if they need to be separated or not. My drip rail was like a piece of metal lace and had to go - and my top needed a new coat of gel-coat. I ended up buying a new drip rail from CCOT and getting the top gel-coated. With all the money and time I spent, I should have just bought a new top from Gozzard.
But, if you can just sand an epoxy primer the fiberglass and bend the drip rail back into shape, I'd avoid separating them if you can. It's a HUGE PITA.
If you do separate it, there's a guy on here with a loaner rivet gun he'll ship to you. There are a lot of rivets.
I ended up bed linering the underside/headliner of my top with Raptor liner and I'm very happy with the results. I also raptor liner'd the inside of the sides of the top and that seems to be working out well. It's definitely quieter - although still far from quiet.
But, if you can just sand an epoxy primer the fiberglass and bend the drip rail back into shape, I'd avoid separating them if you can. It's a HUGE PITA.
If you do separate it, there's a guy on here with a loaner rivet gun he'll ship to you. There are a lot of rivets.
I ended up bed linering the underside/headliner of my top with Raptor liner and I'm very happy with the results. I also raptor liner'd the inside of the sides of the top and that seems to be working out well. It's definitely quieter - although still far from quiet.
