----------------- Jim '88 LX 5.0 (now in car heaven) '89 LX 5.0 vert '99 GT 35th Anniversery Edition - Silver Mods to date - Relocated trunk release to drivers side, shortened throttle cable.
How about get a helper, and both of you just stretch the top as hard as you can until it mates with the windshield... it's possible that two people may be able to yank it hard enough to close the gap. But I suppose if the top is very old, or depending on what it's made of, there is a possibility of splitting something via this method. What is the top made of again? I wonder if soaking it with hot water would help to loosen it up a bit, just enough for you and a helper to stretch the heck out of it and get it to mate with the windshield. Once it is up and clamped in place, of course just leave it up for several weeks at least so that it will stretch out nice. How long was the top down previously? It must have been a while to allow it to shrink so much.
Hey Steve.... Warm it up. Use a blow dryer or find a way to warm the vinyl on it while it's "relaxing" as you are putting it up..or park it in the sunshine then close it.
Put the top up as far as it will go, then park it in the direct sun for an hour. After that, it should regain some of it's "stretch", at least enough to allow you to put it all the way up and latch it in place. If you have to, after it has sat out in the sun for at least an hour or two, you could always have a friend add some body weight to the middle of it to allow it to fold closer to the latching mechanism............
Do not use any sort of chemical on the roof, as you will degrade the material to the point that it will be ruined within a short time period.
Just curious, what type and year car is this? How old is the top itself? Is it a stock original top, or a replacement? Sounds like maybe it is a cheap replacement top, or perhaps it's just really old...? I would think that good original tops would last a long time before shrinking so bad that they are almost impossible to put up. The top linkage etc is all adjusted correctly, yes? I wonder if there's anything that could be done to the linkage to help give you a little more slack in the top? I am surprised that once the top gets stretched out that it shrinks back so fast... just sounds like the top either never fit right from day one, or is perhaps made from a cheap vinyl that has shrunk way more than it should have. Another idea... just leave the top down all the time and get a good rain coat.
How old is the top itself? Is it a stock original top, or a replacement? ORIGINAL, I AM PRETTY SURE
The top linkage etc is all adjusted correctly, yes? I DO NOT KNOW NOTHING ABOUT "TOP LINKAGE". WHERE CAN I LEARN ABOUT SUCH THINGS?
Another idea... just leave the top down all the time and get a good rain coat. I HAVE GONE THIS ROUTE, TOO. NOW ALL THE ELECTRONICS DO NOT WORK PROPERLY!
You're starting to. Using a chemical softener (never heard of such a thing anyway) would degrade the material of the top and you would end up replacing it anyway. My suggestion:
Quit whining about it.
Get the top up, and leave it up until you can....
Scrape together some money.
Have top replaced.
Enjoy new top and get on with your life.
Nuff said.
Iggy '01 Dyna Super Glide '96 Mustang GT Convertible Keep your powder dry and don't let your meat-loaf. :o)
What Bill is saying is that if you go the chemical route to solve your problem, you will have a more expensive one in the future: your vinyl top will disintegrate.
If heating it up will get it closed, but under normal operating conditions it's too tight, then this will work:
Are you daring? Do you have a good staple-gun? :)
Put the top half-way up. Pull back the top material from above the rear window. There should be a cloth strip with staples in it, the strip/staples are holding the top material taut from the rear-most bow to the windshield. Remove staples, beginning with just a couple in the center of the strip. Try to close the top each time you remove a couple staples. You will eventually get it to close. With luck, there will be enough material there to re-staple the strip in a position that will allow the top to function normally.
Don't remove all the staples at once! The top will be baggy as hell and will take forever to get the top looking decent again! Adjusting the corners is a PITA.
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