I have an NOS top gl*** for my '54. I bought it from a guy who had stored it in his attic for a very long time after he discovered he had bought it by mistake for his '55 gl*** top. I have had it stored in a storage shed for about six years, vertically on it's rear edge wrapped in bubble wrap. I have no idea if he had it stored vertically or horizontally. Here's my problem. It is warped. I laid it in the frame and my first thought was that I had twisted the body while doing my frame off work. I laid the old gl*** in and it lays perfectly. My idea is to lay the new one on top of the old one, put some weight on it and hope it reforms back to the correct shape. It is getting into the 80s here so my shop is plenty warm. I'm not aware of any replicas being produced any more and I'd bet money there isn't another NOS in existence so I can't screw this up. Any advice?
You don't say how warped the plexigl*** is but it should be flexible enough to bend back into the correct shape when you screw it down with the the four steel retaining pieces. The plastic is about 1/4" thick so I don't think that there is much risk of it cracking or breaking as you slowly draw it down to the contour of the roof. By the way, I ***ume that you will be using a reproduction rubber weather seal when you install the insert. I can guarantee you that you will not be able to pop your stainless trim mouldings onto the steel retaining pieces if you follow the installation instructions in the '54 Shop Supplement. You will only end up damaging your stainless mouldings. When I installed an NOS insert in my car 35 years ago I gave up after struggling with the stainless mouldings for 2 days and damaging them. I took the car to a professional auto gl*** shop and they gave up too. I then devised an alternate method of installation by modifying the steel retainers. I have since helped many, many members of the former '54 Ford Club easily install their inserts in 30 minutes or so. If you are interested in my method you can call me at (805) 205-4470 Alan
I've arranged to have a gl*** shop install it when they install the windshield. I'm not physically able to do it by myself. That is a couple weeks from now. If a modification needs to be done it makes sense to do it now. When is a good time to call? I think you made the same offer when the '54 Ford club was active but I wasn't anywhere near doing the job back then. I fabricated the outer retainers from aluminum stock because one side was totally rusted away and the other side is badly corroded. The front and rear long pieces are in pretty good shape.
You can call me during the day and if I don't answer please leave me a voice message. I am sure that your gl*** shop will be able to get the plexigl*** and the rubber installed but the problem with these tops is getting the stainless to snap on to the retainer strips. When you made the replacement strips did you provide for the "***s" which are needed for the stainless to snap down tight against the rubber seal?
I'm packing up for a week on the lake. I'll give you a call after the 3rd of Apr so that I can have the pieces in my hand.
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