C1 Hardtop installation

[Wayne P.]

Re: C1 Hardtop installation

My old 57 was this way for the 6 years I owned it. Never caused a problem or broke anything. I was going to fix it when I restored it, but sold it instead. Sure wish I still had it.

[Gerry P.]

Re: C1 Hardtop installation

Thanks again everyone for the comments. Dennis, I would like to have a correct '57 top but the '60 top was available so I've got it. In the meantime, I don't have any plans to have the car judged so it will work for now. I plan to keep my eye open for a '57 or if there is someone out there with a '57 who needs a '60, maybe we could work out a trade.

I'm hoping I don't incur any stress problems due to the tight fit. I didn't hear any unusual "groans" from the top as I slowly lowered the jacks. A couple of comments mentioned body shimming. Does anyone have experience in this? Easy or difficult to do?

[Tom B.]

Re: C1 Hardtop installation

That's what I was thinking. If you have to flex the frame and body to get the holes to line up you will be putting a lot of stress on that top when you remove the jacks. I bought a '58 top once for my '59 and it slipped right on without any alignment problems. I'd shim the body until the top fits without prying or jacking.

Tom

[Gerry P.]

Re: C1 Hardtop installation

One of the things that I'm not sure of is whether the top had been improperly stored in the past which might have resulted in a "warpage" which could have caused the misalignment. Does anyone know if there are any measurements between the holes etc which might provide clues to this theory. Or how to correct such warpage, if that is in fact the problem.
I will also look at the body shimming solution but would like some feedback from members who might have done this before.