I will be needing to instal the factory correct white vinyl top on my 73 challenger in the near future. I have installed a couple of vinyl tops several years ago and it went pretty well, but it has been a while.
A couple of questions;
On my Charger and Coronet when installing the vinyl tops I used 3M rattle can adhesive; on doing research on vinyl top installation, a lot of people out there are saying not to use rattle cans, but to spray contact cement. I'm looking for opinions, and also what glue you guys and gals have used to install your vinyl tops?
And secondly, the vinyl top was removed when my car was poorly repaired red in the 80's; the rear trim clip studs were ground off and the 4 trim clip holes were mudded over.
I bought a new rear vinyl top trim set from AMD, plus a set of the earlier clips that go on with screws; luckily I can see exactly where the studs were so locating them is easy. On each side of the car there are 2 larger holes for the trim; I up against the rear quarter window at the bottom of the C post, and 1 below the corner of the windshield.
Can anyone tell me what tupe of stainless trim clips go in these 4 holes for the vinyl top trim so that I can buy them?
Thanks for the help as always[emoji106]
I used the contact adhesive and we sprayed it. As you probably know, you spray both sides and let it dry many minutes before laying it down. Obviously, small areas at a time. I had a lot of fun learning on my car. I was fortunate to have an expert watching over me giving instructions. He showed me the little tricks that kept me out of trouble.
What brand of contact adhesive did you use?
How did you go about spraying it?
Weld wood by the gallon. Fairly inexpensive. He had a cheap ten dollar paint sprayer that he sweared by. Worked fine. I still have tons of it for my current project.
On the clips. I would just get the kit for the 70 model. Space the holes evenly. Three on each side and five or six along the back
Perfect; I'll have to see if Weldwood is available in Canada.
I have the 70 trim clip set that replaces the clips that were mounted on the tiny studs; in addition to those there are the 4 factory holes that were obviously for some kind of trim clip; that's the ones I'm needing to know what went in those holes
In this picture you can just see the holes I'm talking about; 1 by the rear vent window at the very end of the trim piece, and one below the rear window corner.
The other side is a mirror image
All the clips are the same size. They don't slide to easily in the trim so I put them in the trim and installed it before I painted the car to make sure it will go on easy and to mark where the top ends. Not very much room for error.
The hole by the quarter window looks right. I can't be sure on the other but here's the nice part. It doesn't really matter. Just lay out the hardware you have and space evenly. Mark position with a piece of tape. I would check the trim to make sure the tape location isn't in a bad spot of the trim. The only area I think that would be bad for a clip is where the two halves come together in the middle. Lastly, make sure you can access the inside to get a nut on. This is really important on the C pillar area of the roof.
I was going to do mine this weekend. It's gonna be a little hot this weekend so I may punt until next weekend when weather should be closer to 70 or 80s.
I got the gallon of weld contact cement too. It seems to be the most recommended one out there that I saw. Wish it came in quarts though. Now I will have to figure out what to do with 3/4 gallon of contact cement. Hmmmm.... I was going to get a cheap gun at harbor freight to spray with and something to roll over the top. I hope it goes good. My first attempt at installing the top.
:popcorn:
The guy who recently tutored me through it showed how important is was to find exact center of top on car and center on the cover. That took a while to get it perfect but worth the effort.
On laying it down, he had me using my fingers inch by inch work from center outward. The only area I used a roller was at the gutters. There, I used a dull window screen roller and it worked nice.
Your Harbor Freight gun should be fine but disassemble it and clean it. They come with grease inside.
Fireguy: Youi probably have your top already but if you don't I have a new Legendart, white wide seam I want to sell. Whatever the US$ price converts too in CDN, I'll take half plus shipping of course.
That's a heck of a deal! Too bad you don't have a black one for my project! Haha
Here's the RT I just sold.
That is a great offer, but you are correct, I already have a Legendary vinyl top ready to go.
It looks like Weld Wood cement is hard to find in Canada
Seems like in Canada all we get are Lepage products; I can't seem to find Weldwood.
Any Canadians out there that have been able to find Weldwood, or have used another product instead when installing their vinyl top?
Will be installing the vinyl top this week; I was able to buy some of the proper glue to spray from a local vinyl top installer.
I've got the vinyl layer out on the roof of the car in the shop to prepare for install; there are a couple of decent fold wrinkles in the top from when the top came in the box from Legendary.
If these fold creases don't go away before install time, should I take a heat gun on low heat and work the wrinkles out?
It seems that the most common problem area on E body vinyl top I stalks is the piece that goes across the bottom of the rear window; guys either wind up with too much, or not enough material there after installing the rest of the top.
Anyone out there have E body vinyl top experience they are willing to share, and tips how to get that area right?
I would place it in the warm sun. I'd be very hesitant to put a heat gun on it.
On the back, we did not open the hole for the window and left it as a big sheet working our way back. I seem to recall that we went down the center first including the Dutchman panel then worked out to the sides. I don't recall it being a major problem.
So you started at the front, and worked your way back?
Did you do the half at a time, side to side method?
We found the exact centerline of the top and also the fabric and marked both with a pen the entire length. We then marked a cross line on both so we would be exact in the placement front to rear. Then we sprayed a 12" stripe of glue down the length and worked out sideways.
If possible, pull the car out in the sun and drape the vinyl top over the roof. :idea: