[Sid Coleman]

Should have bought the pre-assembled ones I now know. UUgh, not looking forward to this.

My cousin advised me to purchase 1/8" rivets and washers for them to hold the weatherstrips to the metal frame-supposedly impossible to reuse the staples.
Anyone have tips/suggestions on how to do this before I get started?

Thanks all!

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71 Ragtop
MCC #347, TC (Gold) #174
[email protected]

 

[JWagner]

Yes, the 1/8 inch pop rivets will be good for attaching the upper round part to the panel as well as attaching the wiper to the upper round. Get some spring clamps to hold the upholstery to the upper round when you fold it around and glue it. I prefer to use hot melt glue at that point because it sets up so fast. Do a search here for more info, as this has been covered before.

 

[Wilbur]

I just did my 69 panels, don't know how different they are. First I removed the old stuff from the metal shell. Using a needle nose pliers I straightened the points on the punched holes in the metal. Applied contact adhesive to the mating surfaces of the metal and new cardboard, aligned the parts and placed them between two 2x2's, then beat it(the 2x2) with a large hammer to drive the metal points thru the cardboard. I also used contact adhesive to attach the vinyl around the corner of the metal. I've tried other adhesives, but they take too long to set up and require clamps to hold in place during setup (clothes pins work good). The contact adhesive sets up quick so you can immediately screw the new fuzzies in place (the new ones I got had screws with them, but rivets would work too). After they were all assembled, I applied a bead of adhesive to the seam between the metal and cardboard, just to prevent any possibility of moisture getting between the surfaces and them peeling apart. (I design hardware for military applications, so brute force and redundancy is second nature) Took an evening to do two door panels, they look like new. Hope this is more informative than confusing.

 

[elkyD68]

i used pop rivets to hold my felts on too. four of them should do the trick. as for attaching the top rail to the cardboard i hammered all the points with a ballpeen and used 6 rivets to hold it together. i had a pack of 20 rivets so it worked out nicely.

 

[Sid Coleman]

Update:

Ok-have got the lower (new cardboard & fabric) attached to the panels. I used a pair of diagonal cutters and needlenose pliers to straighten out all the little "points" that were bent, sprayed the metal & cardboard with trim adhesive on just the mating area, then lined them up & had someone step on them to press the points in for a pilot line up.
I then used a hammer and a deepwell 7/16 socket and slammed the cardboard around each fastening point, then after they were poking thru, used a hammer to bend them back over. Feels real sturdy.
I've also glued the padding material to the metal.

This is what I've done so far.

Now-my problem. I'm assuming you use the spray adhesive on both the vinyl and metal, let it tack a little, then lay the vinyl over. Use some vice grips to secure them after being pulled tight.
My ???-even when I pull them tight, I still see some faint wrinkles. Am kind of hesitant to spray the adhesive not knowing if I can get rid of the wrinkles

Any tips-was thinking about using a heat gun to soften it before glueing? Any comments??

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71 Ragtop
MCC #347, TC (Gold) #174
[email protected]

 

[RT]

Apply contact spray adh. to the back of the vinyl in the area that will wrap over the metal formed panel and to the back edge of the metal.
Allow a minute or so to get tacky, then use a heat gun (hair dryer will work on this) to make the vinyl more pliable.
Pull up and wrap the vinyl over the metal starting at the center out to the ends.
The small wrinkles you may have at this point will be minimized when pulling the rmaining vinyl to the left and right (back and front of door panel).
Eliminate any small waves by applying heat (slowly) to them. Vinyl responds well to an alternating heat and cooling with a wet rag.
Happy wrapping!
Rich

 

[Sid Coleman]

Thanks Rich-just what I was looking for!

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71 Ragtop
MCC #347, TC (Gold) #174
[email protected]