C3 T-Top Leaks

[Michael H.]

I just finished a body off frame restoration of a 1974 coupe. All new weatherstrip, trim, etc and she leaks like a 60 year old German U-Boat. I've followed the Service Manual and AIM explicitly and show minimal improvement. Most of the water is leaking from the rear and side. I've been told by a number of people that this is "normal". As an engineer I think the T-Top design is lousy, but there must be some way to keep it from leaking.

Help and insights greatly appreciated, guys.

[Warren F.]

Re: C3 T-Top Leaks

Mike:

I replaced the weatherstripping and adjusted the tops on 6 '70 to '72 coupes, all with good success. There are 8 ways of adjusting the fitment of the tops to their respectives sides. You just need to continue to fit the top so the weatherstripping has medium pressure applied against the 3 sides. Sometimes this leaves very little gap between the 2 tops, others allow more of gap, also depends on whether GM original or aftermarket rubber is used.