The Dodge Challenger Message Board

I am just about set to fit the vinyl top on the car.

However I also have a new headliner to fit.

Which way around should I do this? Headliner first? Or vinyl top first?

Since the vinyl top needs adhesive I would think that should go on first. Just in case some got on the headliner.

i wouldnt think it would matter as you will have to mask the paint when you put the top on , you will still need adhesive for the head liner so it shouldnt make any difference just do what seems easiest
cheers ian

How are you going to treat the roof before you apply the vinyl? Are you going to slightly sand the paint, or is there no paint at all on your roof?

Antoon

It is done and I found the glue used had plenty of grip without the need to roughen the painted surface. Better water/rust protection that way too.

What kind of glue did you use? I'm about to do this job myself and would like to know how to approach it.

Antoon

Supastick!

dave-r wrote:Supastick!

Dave how many 500ml cans of the above is required to do the job.
Cheers

Can't remember. I know I had at least one can left over but can't remember how many I bought?
I was still badly brain damaged when I did it. All I remember is "waxing" all the hairs off my arms when doing it.

Actually. Although the glue worked quite well it could be better. There is a couple of bits that have not glued down that well. Maybe I just didn't apply it evenly enough? You might want to try and find the 3M stuff instead. But it could be just the same stuff.

test

Looks like the Chilly had a vinyl top in another life
With the drip rails off the roof rail has what appears to be a resin running from the bottom of the sail panel to approx front of the door within its channel.
This fills up the rail to within a 2mm from the top edge.
I would have thought this rail would need to be as deep as possible to allow water run off.

Finely got this jobby finished and what a job.
If I had to do this for a living I,d starve as it,s one of the most time consuming things I have ever done on a car.
Life would have been a lot easier with the screens out and a second pair of hands but it,s very satisfying to look at it now and say I done that.
The car has returned to its origional form as built with a vinyl top.

Knew you would love doing that job.

Did you get that trim I supplied straightened out and polished up OK?

dave-r wrote:Knew you would love doing that job.

Did you get that trim I supplied straightened out and polished up OK?

I tapped them straight myself Dave, gave them a bit of a blem and on they went. The two fixtures closest to the rear windows are a right royal pain to get access to, I must have dropped a half dozen nuts down the wells on each side before getting one on to each stud.
I take it these were the trims you removed prior to removing the stud nuts many moons ago

I know what you mean.

The bent one was me. The studs and nuts were rusted solid. Hence the truma to it.
The other half was from a 1971 Challenger that got scrapped. I mate of mine took the trim off for his 1973 car but decided not to fit a vinyl roof in the end.

Since both of you just put tops on, I have a couple questions.

The guy who installed my top, wrapped the vinyl around the drip rails and accually covered up the trim mounting holes. I assume the vinyl needs to be trimmed more? You don't want the vinyl to be under the trim mounting flange right?

I bought new adheasive foam seals for the side window area. There are two per side correct? One seal goes on the car itself and then the drip rail trim goes over it? Once that is on, the other foam seal goes onto the drip rail trim before the window channel gets screwed to the car right?

How long are the drip rail screws? All my screws are in one big pile and I need to find the right ones. They are chrome plated correct?

Yes just trim enough to expose the holes.

Adheasive foam seals? There is supposed to be adheasive foam seals??

I actually ran the vinyl all the way in under the roof line to the edge of headliner covering the fixing holes. This is not a major problem as once you pick up one fixture all the rest line up, just pierce through the trim holes and vinyl with a large pin to get the head of the fixing screws started. I was a little aprehensive with the roof drip rail not being dished enough as they all seem to have a resin infill running along their length so I ran a bead of black silicone sealer along the inner side of the chrome drip rail where it meets the higher lip on the roof rail to stop any water ingress.
As I installed the top with the screens insitu this also creates a problem at the rear screen where water can lodge in the void between the body and the glass at the bottom of the screen which in turn can run up behind the vinyl as its adhered down into this void only. Running sealer around the screens in this void up to the level of the glass should help to keep the vinyl in place and force water to run off and not settle in this area.

I did that on a previous top but regretted it later because;

a) The water still got under the sealant.
b) It was a bastard to get off when I came to remove the glass at a later date.

Jeez Dave the bearer of good tidings you are not.
I would hope this will not be a issue in my case as the sealer looks pretty good all round and the amount of rainy days the car sees is minimal. It would only ever get wet if I got caught in a shower as if I see a cloud within a 100ml radius of the house it it stays put.

I talked to a guy who just got done taking his 73 apart. I was right about the foam strips. One strip goes onto the car before the drip rail trim goes on. The second piece of foam goes on the drip rail trim before the window weatherstripping channel goes on.

I got new adheasive foam strips from Detroit Muscle Technologies. They don't look like the origonal material but should work just fine. Now I just have to try my hand at polishing the stainless. Wish me luck.

The drip rail trim goes on over the vinyl does it not?

You sure the foam is not just for cars without the vinyl top?

I think you need to post a photo of where exactly you are working because I can't quite picture it.

I can take a few pics tonight.

I still have my origonal foam strips and my car is a vinyl top car. I would think that all cars would have been set-up the same since they all use both stainless pieces.

The driprail trim mounting flange(where the screw holes are) doesn't mount dirrectly to the metal of the car...or ontop of the vinyl. The adheasive foam rubber strip(gasket) is sandwhiched in between the trim and the body. There is another gasket in between the driprail stainless and the other stainless piece that the window weatherstripping clips into.

So, there should be an adheasive gasket installed onto the car, then the driprail stainless, then another gasket and then finally the stainless that holds the window weatherstripping.

I think i understand. I do seem to remember there being traces of very thin foam on the inside of my trim.
But as in most peoples situation there has been many hands on my car before I ever laid eyes on it and it recieved a re-spray and new vinyl top before it was shipped over to me from Texas.

It would be good to see photos if you can for reference.

When I striped the rails from mine it had the remnants of a previous vinyl top which ran in very close to the headliner. The chrome drip rails had no foam strips installed between them and the mounting points 5 fixtures.
The window rails had strips of double sided adhesive foam in place which I removed and renewed with a 15mm by 2mm replacement.

I'm glad I saved the adheasive strips. I can tell exactly how they went on the car by the impression the drip rail trim left on them. They weren't installed very carefully that's for sure. It looks like they were pretty crooked. Here are some pics...

Here is one of the drip rail pieces. You can see some of the gasket still stuck to the end. It the background is one of the stripes that goes on the car before the drip rail trim.


Foam strip still attached to the window weatherstripping channel.


A pic comparing the two strips. The one that goes on the car first is a lot wider than the other one.


How far down the vinyl was applied to my car. I'm going to trim about 3/4" off.


Finally, where the first foam strip is installed. Accually, it should be installed up higher...the bottom of the strip should be right where the top of the strip is in this pic.


This is on a 73 so maybe they didn't do it this way in earlier years. I have no idea. This just how mine was done. This was an origonal owner car with origonal top when removed.

DINGBAT wrote:When I striped the rails from mine it had the remnants of a previous vinyl top which ran in very close to the headliner. The chrome drip rails had no foam strips installed between them and the mounting points 5 fixtures.
The window rails had strips of double sided adhesive foam in place which I removed and renewed with a 15mm by 2mm replacement.

After all that hard work I see you have your Challenger for sale now Pat?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2137883.htm

dave-r wrote:

DINGBAT wrote:When I striped the rails from mine it had the remnants of a previous vinyl top which ran in very close to the headliner. The chrome drip rails had no foam strips installed between them and the mounting points 5 fixtures.
The window rails had strips of double sided adhesive foam in place which I removed and renewed with a 15mm by 2mm replacement.

After all that hard work I see you have your Challenger for sale now Pat?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2137883.htm

When the Chally was off the road Dave I bought a well modified 79 Camaro in Epping to use during the summer months. The car was owned by the the founder of the Damn Yankees Club UK for 24 years and is a well put together piece of kit. The intention was to sell the Camaro on after I had sorted the Chally out. Something has to go so both are advertised in the hope the Camaro goes first. Things were not as bad 6 months ago in this country as they are now. The shower in office have been there for 13 years and have squandered the boom years leaving the country bankrupt, so sadly needs must.

Looks like the Chally has sold.
Just waiting on the cheque to clear before it goes to the new owner.
Lost my rollix on it but thats the way of the world now, its better than starving.
Owning the car was as Vinny Jones once said "Its been Emotional"
Thanks for all the help you guys and big Kudos to Dave R.

Sorry to hear that mate.

It will be strange when mine goes in a couple of weeks. Even stranger talking about "that Challenger I used to have..."