I think my Vert Top needs replacing....

[Revvv]

Met with the person that will be doing the work, gave him a down payment so he can go ahead and buy all the parts. It will probably be another week before he has all the parts needed and can get started on the work.

Spent some time talking with him. I have a leak that comes from the top of the drivers side A-pillar and well as another one a little further back from where the A-Pillar and top join together. He mention that is is probably due to the old weather stripping. He recommended getting some new weather stripping from Ford directly. I mention this cause I know others have mentioned having a similar leak. He pointed out how the roof stripping tends to get out of place and he was able to show me a line that was fine toward the back but clearly moving away and separating from the cloth top the further forward it went. To me it all looked fine, and rubber material seems okay and all - but he mentioned it probably needs to be replaced.

On a side note he said he could replace the leather on the bolster of my driver's seat for less than $300. This sounded like a deal to me so I'll be getting this repaired as well.

I'm so looking forward to getting all this work done!

I have an A pillar leak on the passenger side. I plan to make a few adjustments before replacing the weather stripping.

Sent from my SM-G930V using the svtperformance.com mobile app

 

[Huachipato]

I got the weatherstrip pieces yesterday. Best price was from our forum dealer member (FordSVTParts):
https://www.svtperformance.com/forums/threads/oem-and-ford-racing-parts-at-employee-pricing.193978/

For those interested - here are the parts numbers:
Part Number Part Name
1R3Z-7654000-BB Top Assembly Seal, LEFT

1R3Z-7654000-AA Top Assembly Seal, RIGHT

YR3Z-7651565-AA Top Assembly Seal, LEFT

YR3Z-7651564-AA Top Assembly Seal, RIGHT

3R3Z-7653986-AA Top Assembly Seal, RIGHT

3R3Z-7653987-AA Top Assembly Seal, LEFT

3R3Z-7603110-AA Weatherstrip

There are 3 weatherstrips per side on the top itself and the one big one that goes around the windshield.

I have the car scheduled to go under the knife tomorrow. I'm hoping to get a bunch of "Before" pictures later today.

 

[Huachipato]

Got the car back today - and I am stoked with how this all worked out. The driver's seat is where I obviously noticed the most change. That bolster just looks factory brand new to me now.

The top is now really tight. He refilled the oil into the canister and told me to leave it closed for about it week so it can stretch into place a little better.

I did ask for the old one back and can now more easily see where all the faults where at. I'm still impressed with how well the actual top held up for all these years. I did find a few spots where the glue was coming undone - but overall the material still feels and looks fantastic. It was very much stretched out. Picture below of glue coming undone.

Now - the back window - I got to say I think Ford skimped on quality here from the factory. The back window really is a vinyl top with just cloth over the bottom outside part (the only part you see when the top is up). I'm holding up the cloth part of the top - revealing the vinyl below it.

This part by far looked the worse. I think if you have leaks in the back part of the car - you might just want to have this part replaced with a better part. This is the one part that also has the rain channels. With time they get dirty and clogged.

I'm happy to know the new top is cloth throughout.

In the next shot you will see the vinyl backing wearing out - this is what ensures the vinyl doesn't loose it's shape and stretch out. In my car it was pretty much deteriorating. You can see where I tried to patch a leak with the tape too.

I can't imagine I'll every want this part back - so this went into the trash right away.

Last part I had new weatherstripping installed. It all looks to be doing it's job properly. There is tension against the window again - I kind of have to close the door a little harder than I'm used to get the door to latch properly. I did find a few worn folds in the old weatherstripping, so I'm glad I got this part done.

If anybody is in the North Dallas area and needs this done - I got to say that Shawn Cook does some fantastic work.

Edit: 9/12/2018
I don't think I want to bump this thread, but did want to provide an update. I took the car a road trip for the last few days. It sat out everyday, and it rained everyday. I want to say that I did not have a single drop of water make it's way into the car. I do believe the new weatherstripping is the main component that assisted in keeping the water out - especially the piece that goes around the windshield. The little drip I had on the front driver window is gone as well.