online170

Im repainting my car this spring, and was toying with the idea of removing the very outer weatherstripping on the T-top. I remember i saw someone posted a picture of it, with tinted windows, and it looked really nice. However, it was an irrelevant topic in the thread, so i cant find it.

Im am trying to acheive a "smooth, simple, and factory" appearance, short of shaving and fabricating stuff.

Anyways, my question is, what would happen if i removed THIS particular peice of weather stripping? I guess it acts as the drip rail on our cars. I dont plan on driving in the rain too often, but dont wanna be in for a rude surprise if i do get caught in it...... Will it leak?

dirtywhiteZ28

Yea it will, well..., I guess it depends on how good of condition the larger strip that meets the body is. My '84 has those pieces missing due to age, and every time it even sprinkles out, I have to avoid the EPA for fear they might condem my vehichle for emmiting to many mold spores and contributing to the delinquency of my right foot.

online170

Hmm i guess that answers my question. My T-tops dont leak one bit, and ive driven on the highway,and stop and go in conditions where my wipers couldnt keep up with the rain. Even so, i was dry. It just looks like whatever rain falls, will fall onto the window instead of seeping through. Because the top of the window seems to be a fraction of an inch UNDER the main T-Top bar.

How hard is the weatherstripping to remove? I could always do a live test, and if it fails, i guess ill keep them on.

dirtywhiteZ28

I'll try to get my camara out to the car this weekend. Maybe I can get some decent shots of how it looks without them on. That should make it a bit easier for you to decide if you really want to remove that strip. Personally I think that taking them out verses having them rott out will make a difference because you will alter the way the main gasket is mounted in the glass in order to get at the outer splash strip. You would be suprised at how much help in the rear corners having them in there really is. Besides, to me it looks like there's a funny GAP between the metal glass rail and the main gasket as you will expose the metal pinch seam that's holding the main gasket. Plus if you tear that splash strip, you will have to buy the whole KIT to replace them as they are rarely sold individually.

online170

I have a spare set of T-tops, maybe ill try it on those. Hard to picture since ive never seen the strip off. Illw ait for your pix.

dirtywhiteZ28

I am trying to upload the picts but for some reason the upload keeps failing, I'll get it figured out in a little bit.

compuwiz1937

iTrader: (17)

You can buy that piece in the later version where it is made of plastic, it looks much better and is more durable.

dirtywhiteZ28

O.K. I'm not sure if I've really got this thing figuered out but here's a shot at it. Attachment 155032
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dirtywhiteZ28

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dirtywhiteZ28

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dirtywhiteZ28

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In this last shot I stuck a cig. in the gap to help give a better perspective of its size. Keep in mind that it is stuck in the very front corner of the T-Top because thats the only part where the gap is SMALL enough to BARELY hold it.