C2:67 ConvTop-Boy isthis tough work

[Gerard F.]

Finally got it on the car and after this picture, I got the wire-on on and the wringles out of the rear window. But it takes a lot of time going back and forth between the car and the Al Knoch video. Or is it that I just work slow?

Here's my makeshift shop:


Slow but having fun,

Jerry Fuccillo
#42179

[Patrick T.]

Re: C2:67 ConvTop-Boy isthis tough work

I talked to somebody at Al Knoch and they told me when they install a midyear ragtop at Carlisle, it takes two of their experts about 2 hours to completely remove the old top and install the new one. Just for comparison. PT

[Dave M.]

Re: C2:67 ConvTop-Boy isthis tough work

Hi Jerry,
I had Al Knoch (Adam was the installer) install a correctly dated top on my midyear at the Bob McDorman show two weeks ago. The work was outstanding and it took Adam about 6 1/2 hours by himself. He's been an
interior and soft top installer for over 20 years, so I would say be patient and follow the video. I do admire your undertaking of the project though. I bought my top with the same intentions as you ,but some things I just don't think I can do especially after talking to others about the installation.
procedure. Keep up the good work and keep the pictures comming.

Dave

[Kent K.]

Re: C2:67 ConvTop-Boy is this tough work

Jerry,

Keep up the good work! And keep those progress photos rollin'.

Regards,
Kent #6201

[Mark H.]

Re: C2:67 ConvTop-Boy isthis tough work

My Dad and I put an Al Knoch top on my '64 a few years ago. Took us two full weekends to get the job done (we were inturrupted by discovery of a completely rotted front bow). We took our time, went back and forth with the video, and it came out great.

MSH

[Tim E.]

Re: C2:67 ConvTop-Boy isthis tough work

My wife and I had never done a top before but it came out very nice! I took a laptop and Al's video out to the garage to keep from running back and forth. It took more time for me to clean, remove rust, paint, and replace tack strips on the frame than to actually install the fabric. Slow and easy are the keys!



As you can see, we have very minor wrinkles on the sides and none at all in the back window.

[Gerard F.]

Re: C2:67 ConvTop- Questions

Tim,

Looks good.

I've got a DVD and TV set up in the garage so it is pretty convenient, and I'm following Al's 67 video as close as I can. Here's some questions:

Did you do the side window flaps last as he shows on my video, that is, after the front header was done? In a Restorer article on the tops, the writer did the side rear window flaps and installed the rear side window weatherstripping, prior to attaching the top to the front header and making the stretch.

I wonder if doing the side window flaps first would be any advantage to getting a better fit along the rear of the side windows? I did Al's measurement of the side fit prior to installing the top on the rear bow, and it worked out good, fore and aft. However, vertically for the last 2 or 3 inches at the bottom of the rear bow, the top has slightly rolled around the edge of the rear bow(about 1/8"), with no way to stretch it back or hold it in position. I'm going to try to work on this first, before doing the front header or the side flaps.

Maybe I'm being too fussy. What do you think?

Jerry Fuccillo
#42179

[Gerard F.]

Re: C2:67 ConvTop-Boy isthis tough work

Tim,

Please see the post above - What's wrong here- Maybe you ran into this problem and have a solution.

Jerry Fuccillo

[Tim E.]

Re: C2:67 ConvTop- Questions

Hi Jerry! I did the side flaps as a last thing, after stretching and securing the fabric at the front header bow. When stretching over the front bow, I chose to back off the tightness by about 1/8" just to avoid the difficulty people have with getting the top clamped because it's so tight (see recent threads on the Corvette Forum).

One of the keys I discovered both with stretching seat covers and with installing the top fabric is...get it heated up in the hot summer sun. In Texas, that's easy to do! Al does it with a heat gun (hair dryer won't get it warm enough). Once the fabric is warm it becomes very pliable and almost rubbery. When cold, I couldn't pull those tabs enough to get a good fit...once warm, and with a second set of hands, it was a snap. That step alone eliminated virtually all the wrinkles I had. Try heat!

Concerning the edge that's rolled under your rear bow. Mine didn't do that. Is it possible that the plastic welting has jumped out of its groove in the process of installing the rear bow weatherstrip? It seems something has caused your welting to get "too deep" in the weatherstrip channel. Just an idea.

Tim