Camss57

Okay, I have been working on my 80 for over 4 years now and it's almost ready for the road. I haven't had the tops in for 4 years now and they have new weatherstripping in them. I really don't remember how they fit when I bought the car. Here are some pics to help with my question. The passanger sit seems to fit fine, but the driver side wants to touch the back of the car. I don't want it to crack or rub on the body. Is there anything I can do to fix this. I tried adjusting it, but the back still seems to want to touch. Thanks!

Passanger side:



Driver side:

...Roger...

These tops are not perfect,adjusting is a little there and a little there and then sometimes you have to find the happy medium. Changing the shims on the t bar side of the top does some moving also.

damoroso

The tops shouldn't touch the car body anywhere and should have the same gap along the halo panel and between the tops. The service manual walks you through the alignment procedure, and it can take some time and patience. If you need the procedure, let us know!

Camss57

I loosened up the three latch bolts and the bolts for the tabs that go into the t bar. I tried to rotate the top to move it away from the body, but I'm not having much luck? This is something that I should be able to correct right?

0Willcox Corvette

My best advice is to loosen everything up, latches and the guide tabs... (and remove the existing shims)... Start from scratch so to say. Then put the top back on the car and adjust to fit.

If you do this you should be able to tweak the top to the correct position. The tops will never match in height left to right, but they should not be hitting the rear roof of the car.

Also... make sure that when you put the top back in the car that the weatherstrip is in the correct position on the T stainless. If it folds under (and with new rubber that is easy to do) it can cause you fits in adjustment too.

Willcox

0Willcox Corvette

Also.. I forgot.. I have the factory glass top adjustment in a pdf file on the site at this link.

http://willcoxcorvette.com/repairand...lp.php?hID=264

You'll need to use Adobe reader to view it so you can actually read the text better.


Willcox

Camss57

Thanks Willcox,

That's your carpet and weatherstripping in my car. I'll start from scratch tomorrow and see if I can get it to fit a little better.

0Willcox Corvette

Good deal and thanks for the order! Something I just noticed.. Are you sure the rubber is on all they way on that corner? It looks as if it's pulled out a little in the picture. It may be a picture thing too.. not sure.

Camss57

I couldn't wait until morning. I tried every combination of shims and the corner still touches the body. I checked the rubber and it will not budge, so it must be on all the way. When I unlatch the top, that corner pops up where it should be. Could I elongate the holes on the switch plate/body and move that up a little to fix the problem?

Crash80

Don't forget that there are "female" receivers in the center section as well. I adjusted mine down with some home made shims (code for washers) that helped me a bit. I can't remember how much fore and aft play there is but that might be the ticket in getting your top off the body in the back.

Camss57

I'm still not having much luck guys. This car is driving me nuts! How can I tell if these are oem tops or aftermarket?

0Willcox Corvette

They are.. you'll have to trust me... Just kidding.. the LOF on the glass tells me OEM. Reproductions don't have that. Blue tempered.. I think is 1978-1979. I'd have to check that to make sure.

csradley

Have you tried adjusting the rear pin guide plate mounted to the car body that the back pin fits into? You might want to loosen the two screws and adjust that plate up a bit and see what that does for you.

R/
Chris.

...Roger...

This is where you need to determine what is moving the top "as" you apply the latch. Watch carefully as you apply the latch to see if it is the locating pin in the front by the latch or if the sliding pin at the rear is moving the top.

You can also try another method,loosen the front latch nuts,put a piece of rubber in the gap at the rear that you don't want to close, slowly apply the latch and see if the loose latch slides to its limits. If it goes to its limits then you might have to elongate the holes.
(I would not suggest this method if your tops were blue "laminated" )

1nicecorvette

car ever been in an accident? dont adjust the shims too tight on the roof or it will crack the glass.