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I recently had the convertible top replaced. They replaced both cylinders due to leakage. I purchased them from ThePartsPlace. The upholstery shop said they had to repair the mechanism and painted it. I do not know if they replaced any bushing or washers.
Top looks good. Not too stretched. But I cannot latch it closed. I have taken it back to him 3 times. They latch it and say to leave it for 7 days to let it relax. But when I put it down and back up, I cannot latch it closed.
It appears that it is not going forward enough. The drivers side guide pin is not aligned. They did replace the Rail Seals. But with the top up but not latched, the seals are not even touching. I did not have this issue with the old top. But the old top the cables and springs were broken. Could that have something to do with it??
Is there an adjustment to move the top forward?? The last time, all he did was unscrew hook on both sides, and play with it until it would latch. Prior to his repair, i never had an issue latching it closed. But the pin still does not align.
Also both release handles go too far into the top and make it hard to reach to unlatch. They appear to be curved down and not flat. Is that damage or are they curved?? They do not appear to hit the back portion of the top an just go above it and too far.
Sorry for the stupid questions. New to Olds and new to convertibles.
I will be watching this thread as I have problem with my 71 'vert also. Mine latches ok but requires quite a pull and when driving down road LOTS of wind noise, also if raining water drips in at windshield frame to top on right side. I also have the problem with the latches. Mine are new repops which are working better than the originals. I found out that the latches wear and they go past the stop. When they are new and tight they go up to the stop and hold the top there. After they are worn they go up and over the stop and go overcenter. This causes the top to loosen some. In other words, if you hold the handle right where it is supposed to stop, it is at it's tightest but if you let it go and it goes past the stop it loosens up. You can see it do it. Then the handle is so far in it's hard to grab. I found the problem with my old latches and bought another set of used latches on Ebay. I even sent the seller a email asking if they were tight. When they arrived they were just as loose as the ones I had. I had a dispute then and got ebay involved and got a refund. Then I bought a new probably China made repop set which are good but who knows how long will be good? I hope other chime in....
So did the upholstery shop replace the top, replace both cylinders and repair the frame?
If so I'd bring it back to them to fix it! Have them lower, raise, and latch the top before accepting the car back.
My first car in 1969 was a 1965 GTO 'vert. The top worked great, up/down and sealed. I've owned a few 'verts over the years, and I own 2 right now. I've scoured the net, I've read tons of books, magazines, factory lit, I don't actually know of anybody who knows more. I don't really understand what you're saying about the handles, but I understand what you're saying about it not coming far enough forward.
In the old days, they would put the tops on and steam them to tighten. Nowadays, everybody wants their tops drum tight. They lift the top like 12" and fasten the top, then when they close it, it looks great! But, they are too tight in reality. The header bow can be moved forward maybe 3/4-1". The holes are slotted there for adjustment. Once the top's on, it's hard to do. The top pads are a fixed length, the top has to be peeled back, the pads adjusted, the weatherstrips adjusted, etc. There's adjustments at the back of the frame where the hinges are that can move the whole frame forward. The top material has changed...a lot! Originally, they had a layer of Butyl (think tire tube rubber), that allowed the tops to stretch more opening and closing.
I had a top (Electron) done on my 70 GS a few years ago. It was done by a well known place that had done interior work for me before. I explained I didn't like the way the frame fit, I asked if he thought I should strip it off and adjust it myself. He told me no problem he would do it, it would be great. I wish I had done it, it's still not as good as I'd like. But the top looks great. Driving on the highway may help loosen it. When you drive at highway speeds, the top billows a bit and stretches. I drive my car on the highway for hours sometimes, so it's improved a bit. I doubt it's the springs or seals, I'm sure your windows need to be adjusted. If you post some pics, maybe we can help more.
For Greg: I can see looking at your avatar, the back bow is not at the right height, I think. That's why the top is puckered in the center over the window. The seals used to have flaps that extended out so when water dripped off the flaps stopped it. Most seals don't have those flaps now (Fusick seals are vg). Finally, like the top, the well liners suck now. Legendary sells a nice one like an original, but it's like 5 times more $. But it will make the car quieter inside, because it's insulated and much heavier.
Thank you for the GREAT information. I will attach pictures tomorrow. I was regretfully thinking about having them remove the top and seals so I could work on it. When they worked on it, they may have moved the bow. I would want to order the rebuild kits and replace the bolts, bushings and washers. Then disconnect the cylinders and make sure the whole mechanism moves freely and aligns with the pin. I want it work and latch easily. I think adjusting the hooks should only need to be done for seal wear. Not to pull it into alignment. More tomorrow.
Sure, take some pics, that would be helpful. There are a couple other guys here like Kenneth that have a handle on some stuff. It is the 2 handle bolts on each side that you need to loosen the front header. But it still won't move, because the screws that hold the front seals on screw into both the header and the top.frame Then you can take the those screws out, and it still won't move because the top and pads are attached.
That is interesting that you say the handle bolts hold the bow in place. I believe the drivers side is loose. So the bow may have moved back out of adjustment when they stretched the top. Hopefully I can take some good pictures tomorrow.
Thanks Mrolds. That pic was of when car had been sitting most all summer with top down. It gets unpuckered after it's down for a while and looks flat. Thanks for the info!
When you drive at highway speeds, the top billows a bit and stretches.
Yeah, it is like a big wing generating a lot of upwards lift, and the faster you go, the more upwards lift there is. One thing to note is the windows have to be all the way up for this to happen, otherwise the pressure between the inside of the passenger compartment and the outside of the vehicle is equalized and there's no lift. Turning on the vent fan to high will also help balloon the top at highway speeds and keep a loose top from flapping. I do this on my Jeep when the soft top is on as the continual flapping on that thing will drive me nuts after a couple hours.
Here are some pictures. I put the top down and back up.
These pictures are when the top up maximum with latches open.
You can see the drivers side has some light. Passenger side is touching. Not latched. And I would expect some gap.
Front of top.
Tried to take a picture of the pin alignment. It is at the very rear of the hole.
Now trying to latch top down on the drivers side. It just misses. If I loosen the hook. It still goes by.
After I fight with it for a while. Pushing and pulling I can finally get it to latch.
After it is latched. Here is a picture of the outside.
On the handles. I can feel something on top that is loose. It feels like a screw/bolt. That tells me that the head bow is probably all the way back. And the handles go too far in missing the stop. Possibly that just needs to me tightened down.
Any suggestions would be nice. To a novice, I would think the head bow is not far enough to the front of the car.
I think the handles should only pull the top down, and not try to pull it forward.
Your outside pictures definitely show the top is too far rearward on the drivers side. The forward edge of the top should be covering the black vinyl on the top of the windshield frame.
You are correct, the alignment pin should land in the hole, or at least very close to it so the pin falls in easily. My top contacts one side of the windshield before the other as well, but keeping the motor running forces the higher side to make contact and the pin falls into the hole.
My top pin doesn't make it into the hole without a little "help". I raise it as far as it will go with the motor, and then I have to, while sitting in the driver's seat, pull down (towards the ground) on the center section of the top bow (above the driver's window) and pull down with my left hand while simultaneously latching with my right. This flattens out the top bow and moves it forward enough that the pin slips right into the hole and the hook grabs its mooring. Works a treat! Then it's usually pretty easy to latch up the passenger side as it's been pulled into position,
Your top looks to be positioned similar to mine. Have you tried this?
I don't know how you're even latching on your driver's side with the bow as far back as it is. Mine latches the passenger side fairly easily but I have to pull down the driver's side with my left hand and latch it with my right. Once the alignment pin is in it pulls the bow far enough forward
I took the car back to the upholstery shop and explained that the box was not out far enough. He said that he would fix it.
Here are the after pictures. And now I can latch it fairly easily. He said he moved the bow out as far as possible.
Thanks for the update. It looks a lot better, I'm glad the shop took care of it or you. Although, I still can't understand how they let it leave like that.
November 26th, 2020, 10:44 PM
