Re: My new Glass Window Top

I decided to bite the bullet and buy an after-market glass window top for my ’99. The car has 130k miles. The original plastic window was replaced by a professional in 2004. In 2011, that window cracked, so I bought a very good condition top & frame from Trygve's Spec Racer conversion. Unfortunately, that window developed a crack at one of the seams. Since I kept the previous frame & top, I decided to tackle a DIY project. I bought the top on ebay for ~$550. I used the instructions that came with the top and also relied on the Pelican Parts write-up - Pelian Parts Convertible Top DIY and Mike Focke's Site

The top looks great. I have a bad back, so working with the frame off the car at my leisure worked out well for me. I did the entire job solo. The only other expenses were 3M double sided tape, weather stripping adhesive, two plastic slide rails and rivets and a can of Ragg Topp.

Here is the patient on the Operating Table


The other top is removed, waiting for the new one:


The finished product - The original top was blue, the new top is black, but looks blue in the pics:

Nice job and congratulations on tackling the job yourself.

Now you know it was done properly!

Regards, Maurice.

Thanks Maurice! I kept seeing your name on several convertible top DIY posts. Your suggestions were very helpful!

on my web site. I just cajoled him into writing some and then hosted them. Besides that, he has helped many online on several forums and in person.

Bob,
Great upgrade to have the glass rear window. Some tops I have done are very difficult to install.Yours seemed to go well.Care to share which brand/source it is?
Thanks

I ordered mine from autotopsdirect.com

BTW there are different grades & thicknesses of clear vinyl(plastic) windows. The best are rated as marine vinyl and have very high u.v resistance. So if anyone is planning a plastic window replacement, make sure you know what grade they are really using . I prefer to buy the vinyl by the yard from a specialty Marine vendor so I can be certain the correct grade is use.The cheap asian stuff yellows and is very brittle in cold temps.

As a CA daily driver without a garage, the lifespan seems to be 5 - 7 years. I used Plexus and did the chop and I'm looking forward to retiring both.

Here is some info I posted several months ago that may help others:
"Here is a slightly different angle on replacing flexible vinyl clear plastic windows: consider using "marine grade" vinyl instead of the usual material . Why? Because although the regular material is cheap , in Los Angeles it lasts no more than 2 years outside before it yellows & then becomes brittle. This is because it contains inadequate u.v. inhibitors.This marine grade should last at least twice as long but can be hard to find at auto upholstery shops. The Trade cost of marine grade is about $40/yd(54" wide) compared to $29 for cheap clear vinyl that is often used for windows in soft tops.. It is virtually impossible to tell the difference by just looking at it so best to buy it from a reputable supplier. Locally I use Keystone -PWCC4054111"Crystal Clear" but any equivalent is fine. NAFYYY. It is 40 ga .The incremental cost factored in to the entire cost of the job is trivial considering the benefit in longevity IMHO.Whatever you use I suggest you are vigilant in verifying that the marine grade is what they actually stitch into your top! FYI the trade cost to do the stitching is the same for either grade of clear vinyl.
I hope this is helpful."

Looks great; you'll love the glass window.

feels great to succeed at a big job like that, eh?

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/26/2014 08:36PM by grant. (view changes)

Were you able to connect up with the window defroster?

This top did not have the interior liner. The defroster connector was included and connects to the plug next to the driver's side rollbar. I have't had the opportunity to try it yet.

Not the cheapest way to do it, but definitely a luxury to be able to do this DIY leisurely. Awesome!

Doing the job on a work bench over a few weeks was worked well, I was able to apply the adhesive to the window channels and front edge and use binder clips to hold everthing in place over night without any time restrictions.

I took it to the self serve car wash today (it's a sin to wash your car in the driveway here in California these days ) and passed the water tight test with flying colors! Here are a few more pics in the sun so the top doesn't look blue.