After talking to Alan Freeman today I decided to fit my seal around the old top gl*** to see what I was in store for. I bought this seal about 8 or 9 years ago thinking I would be driving the car by now. The front corners do not lay flat on the inside and I don't see how they could. This is a Dennis Carpenter seal. Should I bite the bullet and buy a new seal or is this normal?
No familiar with the gl*** top seals but if the seal has a groove that the gl*** fits into it may flatten out when the gl*** is installed.. Lay it flat our in the hot sun may help in flattening it out
To me it looks like there is too much material around the inside lip although the outside lip seems to fit tightly around the plexigl***. I think that Carpenter has some tech people on their staff that may be able to help so I would call them on Monday. It might help if you send Carpenter your pictures. Steele Rubber Products also sells the Skyliner seal and I think that I bought mine from them back in the 80's when they were the only ones making it. Other than the usual problem snapping on the stainless mouldings, the seal fit well. I would buy the next one from Steele if you don't get anywhere with Carpenter.
The gl*** is inside the groove Paul. I'll give Carpenters a call on Monday but I'm anticipating spending $174 for the Steele seal.
I talked to the guy who will be doing the installation. His opinion is the seal is from China and would never fit correctly. I've ordered a new one from Steele.
I have the new seal from Steele and it fits a little better. Now I have another question. How do you determine where the bolts go through the rubber? The original has holes in it. I'm thinking I have to predrill holes since there isn't any way you could push a bolt or stud through it. I'm also not too certain how the seal is supposed to lay on the roof. Does it go over the lip of the roof opening? Or inside the lip? If it is supposed to be over the lip the gl*** is not fully seated inside the slit in the seal.
Using a piece of the old seal I answered my own question about the overlap. It does. The question remains, how do I locate where the bolts go through the seal?
Put the rubber all around the edges of the plexigl*** and lower the plexigl*** and rubber into the opening in the roof. Get the ***embly in the best possible position even all of the way around and then drill pilot holes in the rubber from below at the location of each of the cage nuts in the roof. This should line up with the holes on the four steel retainer strips and tell you the proper position to place them for installation. I am not sure of what you are asking in your second question but I can send you pictures of my car if you PM me your email address.
Most of the caged nuts are not accessible from the bottom side. I think I have found out why using the repair manual method for installation doesn't work well. The after market seal isn't shaped exactly the same. I was hoping to avoid drilling the cage nuts out and the welding but I can't see any good alternative. I found the answer to the second question. Life would be much simpler if the oblong holes had been molded into the new seal.
If you drill out the cage nut from on top you will need to drill larger access holes from the inside big enough to get a socket onto a 3/8" hex nut from below. All of this modification will be hidden by the interior garnish mouldings.
I know. I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to all that work, plus I have yet to figure out how to effectively bond the studs to my home made straps.
Use flat head screws and countersink the heads into your homemade retaining strips and then put a dab of JB Weld on each head. This should hold the screws from turning long enough to tighten them with hex nuts from inside.
I'm still wrestling with this project. My brother who lives in OR has a '54 gl***top and I just returned from there. His seal is 1 3/4 to 1 7/8 inches wide. The new Steele seal is 1 1/2. As a result the small cutouts in the gl*** protrude above the edge of the seal. I'm not convinced that it will spread out when I tighten the retaining bolts. Am I being paranoid?
I'm going to experiment with a couple ratchet straps and the old gl***. This whole thing has intimidated me more than any other aspect of the restoration.
Feeling better now. Compressing the seal using a pair of ratchet straps tightened gradually allows the gl*** to settle fully into the slit inside the seal but it isn't a quick process. I'm getting the holes drilled in the seal to position the hold down bolts. I have a prototype punch to cut holes into the seal to simulate the holes in the original.
Are you going to try to bolt it down from the outside (repair manual method) or from inside the car (my method)?
Your method. I've gone past the point of no return by drilling through the nuts to locate the holes in the seal. I have another question. The two rear corners have sheet metal screws to hold down the stainless. Did you drill those holes out also?
I see that the picture on page 121 of the 1954 Shop Manual shows the screw under the corner clip moulding. I really don't remember that detail of the installation that I did nearly 40 years ago but if the sheet metal screw merely screws into the metal top, I probably just attached it as shown in the manual and I didn't drill it out.
I'm thinking I can use the screws then just pop the corner stainless pieces over the side and rear stainless pieces. Thanks.
40 years ago there might have been OEM seals available but if not, did you cut holes into the aftermarket seal to match the holes in the original?
As I recall, the seal that I used came from Steele and it already had the mounting slots just like your original. I guess that at some point Steele stopped stamping the holes.
Must have been on money saver for them. It was a PITA for me. The holes I made aren't pretty but should do the job. Waiting on butyl rubber to finish the installation. No one local carries it and it is a 2 week delay on line.
Finally got it installed. It isn't show quality, but it's in there. I don't want to ever do another one. The corners didn't snap in so I'm regrouping. I managed to bend them up so now I have to learn stainless trim repair procedures.
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