Convertible Top Weatherstripping

[bluedot]

I've been working diligitenly on finishing the top - meaning weatherstripping, trim, etc.

The weatherstripping has been quite challenging. It was necessary to use shims under the rubber like the originals - and finally figured out to use black cove rubber base cut into 7/8" strips.

While the weatherstrip fit in the correct holes on the windshield frame, to get the angle right at the back of the door (hinge side) I was required to move the holes 1/4" in. Worked great, but hard to drill!

We picked up this cheapo belt/disc sander from harbor freight, and am actually pretty impressed by it. What a lifesaver to taper these shims, and get the compound angles right on the end of the weatherstripping.

I ended up purchasing all new #4 stainless pan head phillips screws for the project.

I'll let the pictures do some speaking:

Before latching - pretty even!

After latching-

Rear pillar rubber, shimmed for alignment

Windshield frame rubber-

Another shot of the alignment at the pillar-

Door jam weatherstripping - per the leak guide

Bow header - missing the washer/estuchean and my spring is broke on the crank. Wish I had non-perf vinyl for it. Didn't want to use red.

The magic sander. Totally paid for itself with this project!

Rubber cove base. Contact cement does great with it to the rubber. Cut in 7/8" strips. Tapered on the belt sander where needed.

Inside the header - got the plates polished and in

Another week's worth of work maybe I will be able to complete the other side! 2 guys 4-1/2 hours to build this top? I'm on 200 I think!

[KGCoupe]

[sputnick60]

X2.
Totally useful. Hey JM its Sticky time!
_________________
'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[John Moxon]

[bluedot]

Thank you! I'm so honored to contribute!

I'll take some better pictures of the process on the next side, and add them to this post.

[danielsan]

This is fantastic -- Getting those seals to fit is my least favorite part of this job. Did you take any photos of the process itself ? The more photos the better.

[rcooled]

Installing the top frame weatherstripping was one of the most difficult tasks I had when restoring my '67 convertible. I used a fresh razor blade for every cut, and getting those compound angles just right was a real b!t<h. Using that belt sander was a good idea, bluedot...nice job!
_________________
'63 Ragtop (current)
'65 Ghia coupe (totaled)
'67 Ghia convertible (current)
'69.5 Ghia convertible and
'62, '63, '65, '69 Bugs (all long gone)

[sputnick60]

Bluedot has made a good start with the subject so this is a contribution from me on the topic.
The weather stripping on my car is in a preliminary stage at the moment. I have reused the original flat rubber packing pieces reasoning this is a good starting position. I will adjust the thicknesses where required. These photos are therefore before any adjustments have taken place.

This photo shows the RHS rear section with the flat rubber insert. I am yet to properly adjust these and in some spots the screws are too tight which squishes the smooth line.

This is the top section where there is no insert.....yet.

and the front section sighting down from the top. If the shot was better focussed you could better see the insert roughly in the middle portion of the A pillar.

What is also interesting is the protective rubber buttons that go over the screws along the inside edge. These are usually lost from the frame although my frame has many still there. I found quite a few extras floating in the crevasses around the carpet edges and under the rear seat very early in the project but not enough to completely cover them all. I have not seen a supplier for these so my ideas are turning something up from rubber on the lathe. ( search uTube for ideas to approach that one)

Just like 'rcooled' I have used a sharp blade to cut the edges but was unable to avoid some serration. After these photos were made, I managed to fix that with the stone wheel on my bench grinder. I found the right angle and gently pressed the faces until they rubbed perfectly flat. I have a belt sander that I will use to taper the ends of the flat inserts in a similar way 'bluedot' managed.

I'll post more photos as I progress.

Nicholas.
_________________
'66 Karmann Ghia Cabriolet...
'65 Porsche 356C Coupe...
2005 Mecedes Benz C180 Kompressor Estate
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

[bluedot]

So glad that nicholas is contributing - his ghia build is amazing and well crafted.

Mine on the other hand - well, let's just say that I've never done a top like this before!

So today I realized I messed up. Big conceptual difference - if instead of putting the screws in the middle and then screw them to the car, i push the weatherstripping against the window, and then line up the holes, poke them and put the screws in while sitting in the car.

This would have saved me hours, while still using the same holes. I think there's a good 1/4" each inside/outside direction of movement the aluminum strip allows. That is enough to make them tight against the windows the first time instead of relying on adjusting the window.

So don't do what I am doing in this photo. It's the wrong approach. Instead - put the screws in the right place of the rubber ON THE CAR.

Hope my foolishness is of use to others!

[bluedot]

Today I backed up even further, stopping what I was working on as I ran into a measurement that was going to cause me troubles. I had too big of a tapered gap above the window as it came to the header. It was going to need some big shims,and when I installed it, it looked wrong.

So I studied a bunch of old ghias, and realized the corners were too far in on the front, and the window frames too high.

I disassembled the header down to the bow, and shimmed the frame to the bow. This dropped the window frame top 1/4"+ that I was needing for my upper weatherstrip.

I also realized that I needed to pad the bow better around the window frame so it was smooth at the weatherstripping, at that connection to the header and frame.The top seam needed to come out to the drip line on the windshield frame, or water would poor in that mitered weatherstripping joint, and that would suck.

I live in Oregon you know. It rains here!

This took some padding and gaffer tape.

But, what a difference! So glad I had the guts to take it apart and tweak it.

Here's what I mean. My top frame was sitting high, and the canvas wasn't pulled down enough in the corner, so it needed 1/4" or shims or to drop the frame at the header.

It wasn't too hard to pull out the staples, and pull the canvas back to expose the header again.

This is what it looked like after the shimming and padding the corner. Now my gap is 5/8"!

And now it extends out to the drip edge. I want to pull on this corner some more and see if I can get that seam 1/4" lower!

[bluedot]

Took her out with the weatherstrip done, windows rolled up, doors sealed, heater on.

It was pretty cold on the coast today - but she did amazing!

Will she not leak in a rainstorm? I dunno - but I do know that she's been wrapped up.

Here's what I learned.

1. Make sure that top and bow is properly installed by aligning your window gaps BEFORE starting top upholstery.

2. Shim the bow as needed to get the top to have "flaps" that extend to the drip rails at the front. I had to redo this by adding 1/2" of padding to each side.

3. Get that window frame flat BEFORE you upholster - as sealant and shims aren't a good option with the canvas, and it's easier to seal if the frame has no dimples at the bow.

4. Align the windows in/out in the middle before starting the rubber. This way you can adjust the window if you can't get the door shut.

5. Silicone spray is the answer to sticky rubber. (Thanks house of ghia!)

6. Hack the first set of rubber to get the lengths right (especially if you don't have the originals), and replace it with a new set when you get the lengths and angles right.

7. Headliner. If I had read further into the Bentley, I would have realized there are front screws to the header trim. This would have forced me to stretch it more than I did, and now I have wrinkles that I cannot fix. Oh well.

I'm leaving her in a warm shop with the windows UP, hoping the weatherstrip decides to conform to the glass a bit more. The passenger door wants to bounce out of the striker when shutting from the armrest. From outside it's fine?

I ended up not even trying to get the factory style rear trim with the big nails into the composite bow. I can only imagine something bad coming from it. I ordered some wired mould in tan stayfast canvas with s/s ends to cover up the staples. Pretty typical in top installs.

The reason nobody has really shared this process, is that it sucks and it's humbling. I had to redo it many, many times and purchase new rubber before I got it to a point of acceptability.

Your results may vary.

[beatnavy]

Can anyone share a good picture of what I'm showing below? I'm trying to figure out how those two pieces of weather stripping are supposed to join.

Thanks all.

[tlambert]

So I'm in the middle of installing these top weatherstrips and getting the door glass to align properly to them. The car is a 72 Ghia Vert.

Some of the door glass meets the rubber good and some doesn't. I've been adjusting the glass and made some good progress but I'm not sure exactly where the glass is suppose to hit onto the rubber all around.

I looked at the pics already posted here but they are not clear enough.

What I need is some good pics of the door glass to rubber showing where the glass hits all the way around.

Also where or how much the glass goes into the rubber when rolled up or when shutting the door, if at all.

Any other details and things to look for in getting this to fit good will be great too.

I'm posting pics of where I'm at so far.

Left door glass pics.

_________________
Tim

[bhartwell59]

I'm no expert but that looks pretty good... tucking into the channel in the weatherstripping as you have it.
_________________
'74 Zambezi green Ghia vert, autostick, 101k
'87 Jeep Wrangler, 4.2, 330k

[tlambert]

What about the back edge of the glass top right corner and coming down a bit, how should that corner look?

The seals meet up decent in the corners and the right one has a small factory shim to make it meet the top corner. But I don't see any way that the glass would ever match up in the right corner like the A pillar and the top section does.

Ideas or is this the way the cars were in 72?

I appreciate your help. I hope someone can post pics of the way the originals fit or pics of how others have gotten aftermarket seals to fit....right or wrong. At least I'll know when I have a happy medium.

BTW it has the original glass in it.

Thanks again for the info.
_________________
Tim

[rcooled]

You know, that looks pretty good as it is. You'll probably won't be able to get it much better than you have it now. You really don't want the glass to go up into the slot in the weatherstripping, 'cause that'll make it difficult to open & close the doors with the windows up. Ideally, the glass should just meet the lip at the edge of the slot...not go up into it.
_________________
'63 Ragtop (current)
'65 Ghia coupe (totaled)
'67 Ghia convertible (current)
'69.5 Ghia convertible and
'62, '63, '65, '69 Bugs (all long gone)

[tlambert]

I appreciate your responses.

I like the way it's fitting. I would really like to see some pics.

I'm soooo close to finishing this car and door panels are next if I can get the seals completed.

Anybody? Please post up!

Here is my project.

_________________
Tim

[tlambert]

I made more adjustments now to the right door glass for fit. Looks ok.

I would still like to see some pics of how the door glass fits the rubber.

Anybody please help out with pics of how it fits. Right or wrong, OG or aftermarket. Anything could be a help.

I'm ready to finish this beast!
_________________
Tim

[bhartwell59]

Curious... does the door vert weatherstripping/seals have pre-cut screw holes?
_________________
'74 Zambezi green Ghia vert, autostick, 101k
'87 Jeep Wrangler, 4.2, 330k

[tlambert]