The Dodge Challenger Message Board

I am restoring a 1970 Challenger per the build sheet. It came Plum Crazy with a white vinyal top. The previous owner didn't like the white vinyal, so he removed the top, ground off the vinal top trim retention posts, and painted the entire car blue. Now I have the task of returning the car to original.
Does anyone know of a way to reinstall the trim clips now that the posts are gone?

There should be holes to put the trim clips into then they are fastened with a little nut. There should be three holes on the rear quarter where the top should end and then there are about 5 or 6 across the rear deck just below the window. you can get replacement clips from Hardens muscle car world.

order line 1-800-633-4690
tech lines 1-660-259-4886

Are you going to put the top on yourself? its not an easy job. I did all the work on my car so I figured it would be easy to do the top. It cost me a top and two days of glue removal. Buy one and have it done. I was charged $150 for installation.

do you have to remove the drip rail moldings to put the top on if so how do you do this. P.s Dave my email is messed up but i got on

Jen does not read this board every day. Try going to the 'Testing New Users' bit and click on her name to contact her direct. She should know.

Lets see if I can remember how to take those off. You have to take the rubber wetherstriping out, and there will be screws holdin the crome. Take them all out. It will come off in two sections. Then there will be another set of screws, once those are out the drip rail will just pull off.
I can e-mail you pictures from the shop book if you want. It has a whole section on vinal roof instalation.

Jen, would you be so kind to send my also some pics from your vinyl instalation book? i'm also in the middle of an installation and i never done this before... will start mounting this weekend i hope,...

does any one else have some tips?

thanx allready !


ps : dave,I painted my challenger yesterday... it's finally coming to an end

Jen does not come around here anymore.

See this link instead. http://challenger.mpoli.fi/forum/viewto ... 9861#19861

dodgefreak wrote: dave,I painted my challenger yesterday... it's finally coming to an end

PHOTOS!

see link

http://challenger.mpoli.fi/forum/viewto ... c&start=15

PHOTOS! [/quote]

more pics to come!
btw, do you still see/hear Hans(from holland) sometimes?
i called around to find some people with experiece on vinyl roofs... but i haved found one(!) at the moment... an other problem is that the car is'nt running and it has no windows ... but i'm working on it! will post some pics, i promis!

(always wanted to place emoticon )

Here is an illustrative article from Basic bodywork & Painting.

I have the opportunity to purchase a second challenger 1973 318 original car with fender tags and 80,000 original miles for $6000 US.
Numbers matching 318 cars in the US do not bring high dollar amounts so If I purchase this car i will not keep it stock. My question is the vinyl roof nneds to come of as there is obvious rust underneath it (it is bubbled) Is there a way of telling how bad the rust is without pulling the top off? The rear quarters need patched / replaced the trunk pan and frame rails are solid as are the front fenders. Are there any secrets in vinyl top removal?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

The vinyl just rips off in strips.

Simple formula. Multiply the rust you can see by 3 to get the total rust you will find when you rip the top off.

Jen at the top of this thread mentions Hardens muscle car world as a source for the trim clips.

I see they have a web site now.
http://www.hardensmcw.com/

not exactly what I wanted to hear Dave

Well it might not be as bad as that.

But vinyl is very good at covering up imperfections. Why do you think the factory prefered to fit them? These pain in the butt people that ordered their cars without the top caused them all sorts of extra work.

That makes sense. I guess if it is real bad you could replace some metal? That is the bad part of buying one with a vinyl top, you are not going to see every little bit of rust on a car until you start taking it apart, but not knowing how bad it is under the vinyl kinda concerns me.

The bubbles under the vinyl are going in an upward direction, so I don't know if that means anything or not. I seen earlier in this post the directions to re-install a vinyl roof I guess it would just be the opposite to remove (trim pieces etc.)

Yeah you have to remove all the stainless trim from all the edges and the edges of the glass. To do it correctly you should also remove the glass.

Chances are it will need rust repair along the bottom sealing edge of the front and rear glass so you may as well take the glass out anyway.

How good are you with a welder? Are you sure you are not taking on more than you can handle?

welding is one thing Iam good at. I probably am taking on more than I can handle. This would be the first challenger I would redo. I guess you have to start somewhere though. I do have a mopar buddy that has done many super bees and roadrunners and he would help. Thing is I could take my time with this car as I already have another one to drive. anything over and beyond I would have done by a professional. My thinking is for the price I could afford to have the major stuff done by someone else and I could do the rest and still come out ok on this car.

I'm thinkin some nice B5 Blue when it is done. maybe drop in a 440 and change the drivetrain.

Dave,
Is there manuals to chrysler products of this era readily available? (something like the Chilton manuals) I'm not sure if they have chilton manuals in England. Plus there are plenty of you knowledgable Mopar guys on this board that are always answering questions.

Haynes manuals over here. Haynes started the whole manual thing off. He has a great Museum I have never been too yet.

We can order Chiltons from some parts suppliers.

I find both the Haynes and the Chiltons as much use as a handbrake on a canoe.

You need the factory workshop manual.
http://www.moparmanuals.com/mopar/main/Home.asp

thanks dave, I'm guessing in england it is about time for some curry eh?

Funny enough I will be doing just that in about 3 hours time.

HI,Can someone tell me who I can buy a replacement vinyl top kit from. I have 1974 Challenger.Thanks for any help.ric

I got mine from Year One because I get very good service from them and they are used to dealing with overseas customers but they are usually slightly more expensive than some of the other sources.

Look in any Mopar Magazine and you will find dozens of restoration companies that sell this kind of stuff.

dave-r wrote:I got mine from Year One because I get very good service from them and they are used to dealing with overseas customers but they are usually slightly more expensive than some of the other sources.

Look in any Mopar Magazine and you will find dozens of restoration companies that sell this kind of stuff.

. Thanks,for you help.Ric