Hardtop front seals

[taroz]

Hi all,

Hope everyone is staying safe and well.

I finally stopped putting off doing a renovation of my hardtop, I'm not doing the full job of removing lining and quarter light seals, mainly because they're all in pretty good nick. I'm replacing the front, rear and side seals as well as removing trim to sort out some rust and give it all a general clean and refresh.

My question: does anyone know of a supplier that provides the original profile front seal? They all seem to sell front and rear as interchangeable but those are actually all the rear seals. The front one has some stitching along the centre which gives it a more flush finish.

Am I just wishful thinking that a supplier might exist that has picked up on that, been able to replicate it and is able to make a profit from selling it? I've checked SOCSpares, Robsport and Rimmers and not yet found one.

Many thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Tariq

[DJT]

You will also find that the both front and rear originals were made from a different material than the ones available now. More of a sponge rubber rather than the extruded rubber. I restored my hard top in 2003 and couldn’t get the right seals then. I used what was available and had a struggle to get them to squash down initially. Plenty of light grease helped. After a year or two of fitting the hard top for winter they were fine and are still in good condition.

I contacted a local rubber seal company, Phoenix Trim, to see if they would be interested in making them, and the soft top door seals, in the correct material but without success.

[taroz]

Thanks Dave.

Struggling to get the top down on fitting it back for the first time did cross my mind with the new rubber, might be a three person job instead of two! I expect next summer it'll spring up nicely though!

Appreciate the tip on the light greasing to help with bedding it down. Figured I'd need lot of that to get the rubbers into the retaining strips too.

[DJT]

First couple of times I fitted mine I had to use a ratchet strap from one suspension mounting to the other over the top of the hardtop to pull it down enough to get the b-post handles to close.

[taroz]

When that happens, for my sanity, I'll try to keep in mind that it will eventually settle down.

[DZP]

Hi,
I am in the same situation.
I have ust finished renovating my hardtop, but cannot get it any near being able to lock-down yet, because of the new seals.
Den

[taroz]

Hi Den,

Nice looking renovation on the hard top. I think ratchet straps might be the way when I get there with mine.

Did you by any chance replace the screws holding the locking handles down to the spigot like mechanism? They are tiny little ones, one per handle, but I can't seem to find them sold anywhere.

Tariq

[fussydave]

Hi Den, hard top certainly looks different to when I last saw it! Well done.

Dave.

[DZP]

Hi Tariq,
No, I did not replace any of the handle screws, sorry I cannot help there.

Dave,
I am glad you like the changes I made to your hardtop.
I was going to paint it yellow, but the wife wanted a vinyl roof look.
I tried vinyl textured wrap, but could not get it to fit without creasing and so I painted with Raptor bed-liner paint and I really like the finish now.
Thanks for looking after the hardtop, it is in really good condition.
Den

[taroz]

Thanks for letting me know.