Top of the column. If this method will not work for your car Ididit or Flaming River makes a complete steering column for the early Corvette. Preparing the 9” Ford housing for installation: Before painting or powder coating mask off the face of the housing and the bearing surfaces, this will save a fair amount of time in the next step. Zip's EPDM weatherstrip is the finest available, manufactured in the USA - providing a fit and finish that is second to none. Deluxe soft top weatherstrip kits include the primary weatherstrips plus hardware necessary for installation. 1961-1962 Corvette 12-piece convertible top. '63-'75 CORVETTE CONVERTIBLE TOP INSTALLATION This is a relatively easy top to install. We have provided a very detailed step by step procedure in the following two pages of text and graphics to guide the reader. In doing so we also encountered some real life rust and worn parts that had to be resolved as well. The top of the rear bow has soft-sided Velcro applied to it to prevent glass scratches during top lowering. If it is in poor condition, now would be the time for replacement. This is the crucial part of the top installation. If the top positioning is off, the entire top placement will suffer. Gluing the vertical section first makes the most sense.
Glad you're still with us. As you can see itsa little involved. Years ago we used to do a simple top replacement inone day. The pads and straps back then were only five or six years oldand didn't warrant replacement. Today its a top restoration and usuallytakes us three to four days to complete. Todays cost is about four timesthat of those done during the 70's while the value of the cars has increasedabout ten fold. Hope we can make the same statement 25 years fromnow.
| Begininstalling the new top byfirst centering the material side to side to the verticle rails (ill.15). Once properly aligned, (equal fit on both sides), the sideflaps are fitted and glued to the side rails as illustrated(ill.16). Notice the appearance of the top everywhere else at thistime (ill. 16). Most of the time we are able to wrap thetop fabric properly around the rear bow as we align it to the side rails,but not this time. The next step is to wrap the material around the rearbow. This should be done with the fabric distributed evenly along the bow.Wrinkles in one area indicate the material should be pulled along the bowmore. Fasten the top material to the rear bow by tucking the beading intothe groove in the bow as illustrated(ill. 17). Pushthe rear bow down catching one latch notch. In preparation to fitting therest of the top and giving rear tack bow seam alignment one last look,pull back on the tack bow while you pull the top forward. Grabbing thetop material approximately 1/4 the distance back from the front works bestfor us. With the material pulled tight from the rear lower bow to nearlythe front bow one has simulated a finished fitting top and the alignmentof the overlapping seam over the rear tack bow is likewise accurately simulated(ill. 18). It's still not too late to alter the tack bowlocation if necessary. It's a lot of work to undo a lot of what has justbeen done but better late than never. The tolerance or error beyond centeris + or - 3/16 inch. - We understand Arthur, it's important. Fitand staple the rear window panel to the rear tack bow with thefabric edge ending at the front side of the bow as illustrated(ill.18). Next pull from the the forward-most edge of the fabric andover the front bow. The pull force should be about as much as one can physicallyendure. While holding the fabric firmly in place put a mark on the fabricon the leading edge, somewhat of a sharp shape. While pulling andshaping achieve fit for a straight edge of material over the door glass.Do not try to achieve a tight top. Achieving a nearly straight line inthe fabric edge over the door glass will result in a tight top. In factwe strive for a medium tight fit and usually settle for one a little tighterthan our goal. It seems that as the frame pivot points wear and rails bendwith age that wrinkle free tops of medium tightness are much more difficultto achieve than when these units were new. Applyadhesive to the front bow(ill. 18) and the matingsurface of the top material (ill. 17). Allow to dry. Releasethe rear bow latches. Carefully pull and locate the top material over thefront bow using the reference marks made earlier. Pull the top fabric 1/8inch beyond the mark or tighter than the mark would otherwise allow. Liftthe rear bow and deck lid and fold the top down. Apply adhesive to thefront bow tack strip and mating top material. Allow to dry. Firmly putthe material into place over the tack strip and around the leading edgeof the front bow. Prefitthe leading edge fabric molding bycentering it from side to side. The round foam filled molding protrudesbeyond the front bow but leaves no gap between it and the frontbow or header (ill. 19). Staple into place. Locate staplesinto the front tack strip which firmly secures both the fabric moldingand the top material to the header (ill. 21). Raisethe top and loosly secure clamps at the front and catch one notchat the rear latches. Pull remaining loose center top material back andstaple to the rear tack strip (ill. 20) using a few staplesspaced approximately 12 inches apart. Test the final fit by firmly securingfront and rear latches. When satisfied with the overal fit loosen frontand rear latches and staple rear window panel with staples spaced approximately3 inches apart. Trim excess material so that material edge occurs withinthe tack strip bow 1/4 to 3/8 inch (ill. 20). Installthe wire-on molding upside down with the larger part of the shapefacing forward. This molding's final shape occurs after it is folded backand its front edge meets its rear edge. Test this before committing itto the car with staples. Locate the molding first centering it side toside then and most importantly so as to cover the material overlap seam.The rear edge of the molding locates over and just forward of the rearedge of the rear tack strip bow. Secure one side with three or four staplesplaced on the corner. Pull the molding toward the other side creating atight and straight line (ill. 22).. Apply staples and theend and procede toward the first side with staples spaced approximatelysix inches apart. Randomly secure completely with staples placed one inchapart. The molding is supplied approximately one foot over-size in length.Look inside the car for very small holes indicating the location of thestainless cap molding. If no holes exist there should be a an outward shapeddent where the screw was. If the hole exists stick a small wire up throughthe top fabric indicating where a hole is to be drilled through the wire-onmolding. If you only have the slight outward dent for evidence press yourfinger upward against the top fabric and make a mark on the wire-on moldingto indicate the location of the hole to be drilled. The excess wire-onmolding is then cut 3/8 inch outward from the hole drilled. The stainlesscap molding is then installed (ill. 22). Locatethe rear weatherstripwith the end fitting over a round segment extending from the short moldedrear bow filler weatherstrip. Since the rear weatherstrip fits into a groovein the rear bow and is retained by a wire-like plastic tube, we spray theentire weatherstrip and retainer wire with Armorall during its installation(ill. 23). The retainer tubing is crammed into the groovesecuring the weatherstrip. This is somewhat tedious and timely, but it isthe last thing to do. |
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1961 Corvette Soft Top Installation Systems
Al Knoch Interiors – Corvette Interior Parts
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