Quote:
Originally Posted by Gunkk
I wouldn't try drilling the glass. It's likely to explode unless you know how to drill tempered glass.
If I was going to experiment with a DIY temporary fix, I would partly open the top to de-stress the fabric, use a clear RTV like this:
https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-...3242013&rt=rud
and get some then go for something like these old-school long-reach clamps: https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tool...cam-clamp.html
I did something similar to this hack to buy about 2 years of time with my wife's toyota vert top when the rear glass leaked on her daily driver. By the time the glue fix started to fail, the fabric was shredding from baking in the sun. Not beautiful, but better than duct tape.
But the single best thing you can do is find the best convertible top restorer in your area and ask their advice. The one that has been doing it for 20 years and does 2-3 tops a week. At least two Chevy dealers near me send their vert cars to one such fellow for top work. They don't let their techs touch the cars since they'll just screw them up. I had a specialty shop in Bradenton replace my wife's top, and he did a fantastic job. Worth every penny.
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Yep, I’d solidly agree on the highlighted.
If was to try a permanent repair myself, I’d probably use a different sealer (but clear silicone is no slouch) The defrost heater looks to be serviceable, I just jumped in the back seat and took a look. It felt like there was a connector just under the interior fabric (you can reach under). I’d probably use these clamps (or at least try to). The reinstallation “looks” like it would be breeze. Of course, everything looks easy to me until I start working on it. With that said, I’d try to remove the glass by first inserting some fishing line through the failure. Then, applying some heat and sawing away. If that wasn’t possible, I’d carefully razor closest to the glass, from the failure area all the way around . It looks like the glass is simply set in a plastic retainer.