C/1 Hardtop Header Molding Removal

[BIDFORPARTS]

Hi Guys,
Can anyone tell me how to properly remove the header molding on a '62 hardtop.
Thanks,
Jamvette1

 

[Ken's67]

Is this what you need?

YouTube - Header Stainless Removal

 

[BIDFORPARTS]

C/1 hardtop header molding removal

Hi Kens67,
Yes, that was exactly what I needed. I can see how pictures were better than words here. Frankly, I was getting a little "nerved up" just watching the process.
Anyway, thanks so much for the help, it was greatly appreciated.
bidforparts

 

[firstgear]

My good friend Jeff came over this afternoon and we dove in head first in disassembling the hardtop. We started with watching the Glassworks video on you tube on how to remove the header stainless steel.
YouTube - Header Stainless Removal

Then we got into getting everything apart.....it is not always obvious, but the best thing I can say, is don't force anything, chances are that a rivet that you thought that you drilled out may still be in the hole and holding the part in place.

It took us the better part of 3 hours to get everything off the fiberglass. That included getting the laptop into the garage and watching the videos a couple of times. There are a lot of things that they don't tell you, like how to get the rivets etc out. But if you watch enough of their videos you find some of their tricks, such as using a die grinder to grind off the head of the rivet very carefully, then using a center punch and then a drill to get it the rest of the way.

We watched the How to Install the 1/4 windows to figure out how to take them apart. Watching the video we were able to figure out how to go backwards and take it apart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXPre...eature=related

Watching this video we saw the use of the die grinder, once we saw that we were off to the races...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7GaH...eature=channel

we took some photos of the assembled hardtop so that we would have some idea of how it had to go back together later.....photos always help.

I was amazed at the number of screws that were rusted in place big time. We had to drill almost all of them out, there was no getting them out otherwise.

The big ones on the right that had the flat blade screw driver were easy to get out, but anything that had a phillips head on it, OMG it didnt want to turn at all.

ahhhh the die grinder....my favorite tool in the garage....

the hold down tab on this one was broken and we will have to replace the piece with a new bracket and rivets.

we were able to get the back glass out, wasn't a big issue to do....

When we pulled the head liner out, this was on the top....

there were some penciled in numbers on the fiberglass under the headliner...

The headliner pulled out. I will take it to the guy that did my trunk and have him do a headliner to match in RED and BLACK. I figure that with the headliner he will get an idea of size and how it attached.

the bare hardtop

sorry about the lack of quality in the photo, but you get the idea of the holes that are at the ends of the hardtop that have rivets or screws going through them to attach the front and rear headers in place. The rear one has everything hung off it, so it needs to have good holes. I think we counted 15 rivets that hold on the back header that all had to be drilled out. You need to make sure that they are all the way out, we tried to pull off the rear header a couple of times only to find that even though we drilled out the rivets, there was enough of a piece in there that wasn't coming out. so we got after it with a bigger drill bit and out it came.

make sure that you have a sharp bit, 15 rivets to be drilled out are much easier with a sharp bit....

I also found this article on how to take apart in Vette tech forum archives...
http://www.vetteweb.com/tech/vemp_02...ion/index.html

next the stainless parts go off to get "refreshed" and the hardtop to get painted with basecoat/clearcoat.....stay tuned....probably will get back to putting it together sometime in January.....

Only comment I would share, was that Jeff and I are a bit nervous putting it back together with freshly shined up pieces and a nicely painted lid......we will just have to go slow and hold our breathes as we go.....

here is how the top looked on the car and I photoshopped the white to torch red since that is the color it will be...

update....I pick up the finished top tomorrow. I had Harry and his gang take care of the paint. they removed all the paint and then fixed some bad spots. then covered it with gelcoat, sanded, primed, several coats of c5 torch red sand, clear, sand clear sand clear sand and buff.....

The guy doing my stainless will have some done tomorrow and the rest next week. I had him fully polish the aluminum header so it should be nice and shinny.

I got my pieces I need to put it all back together from Glassworks so depending on what trim pieces I get from the polisher will dictate how far we go this weekend. Stay tuned....

 

[BIDFORPARTS]

c/1 hardtop header molding removal

Hi firstgear,
Wow! That was nice of you to go to the trouble of such a reply. I subscribe to the phrase, "A picture is worth a thousand words". You not only did the picture, you threw in the thousand words part too. Thank you.
Where can I get the correct tool to "set" the rivets and where do I get the correct rivets?
You know, The NCRS is a very valuable resource in this hobby but, I gotta tell ya I'm having a carefree time of it with my '62 since I'm not following any rules but my own in working to bring this car back to life. in the late 70's, I did one according to the book and it was a little stressful. This one can be called a Rat Rod Corvette because I'm using as many good used parts as I can that still are really good functional parts that a NCRS guy would never use. Again, all due respect to the NCRS guy(s) but I'm having way more fun doing this one the way I am. Who knows, maybe it'll be the start of a new trend.
Anyway, that Corvette of yours is way too cool. I love the way it sits and also the individual expression going on there. That's kind of where I was going with my rambings in the previous paragraph. I think you have more fun that way. What do you think?
Well, thanks again and good luck with your project!
bidforparts

 

[firstgear]

Hi firstgear,
Wow! That was nice of you to go to the trouble of such a reply. I subscribe to the phrase, "A picture is worth a thousand words". You not only did the picture, you threw in the thousand words part too. Thank you.
Where can I get the correct tool to "set" the rivets and where do I get the correct rivets?
You know, The NCRS is a very valuable resource in this hobby but, I gotta tell ya I'm having a carefree time of it with my '62 since I'm not following any rules but my own in working to bring this car back to life. in the late 70's, I did one according to the book and it was a little stressful. This one can be called a Rat Rod Corvette because I'm using as many good used parts as I can that still are really good functional parts that a NCRS guy would never use. Again, all due respect to the NCRS guy(s) but I'm having way more fun doing this one the way I am. Who knows, maybe it'll be the start of a new trend.
Anyway, that Corvette of yours is way too cool. I love the way it sits and also the individual expression going on there. That's kind of where I was going with my rambings in the previous paragraph. I think you have more fun that way. What do you think?
Well, thanks again and good luck with your project!
bidforparts

thanks for the compliment on the car....it is truly a labor of love....only way I could ever justify the money that I spend on it....

You can get all the parts you want and need via Glassworks. Glassworks :: THE HARDTOP SHOP

Right now I am wondering if I did the right thing taking on redoing the hard top....I only say that because a new one bought outright is $5k. I have $1600 in parts plus $1500 for my paint....and I still have to pay the polisher for all the pieces which I am guessing to be another $750 to $1000.

I picked up the top today and the paint is fantastic. Harry did a great job. I will have to get some photos and post them.....now I need to get the rest of the car to shine up as good as the top looks. I stopped over at the polisher today and the header had some broken off bolts that he couldnt get out. So I am going to tackle that tomorrow and get it back to him on Monday and hopefully by the end of the week I will have the parts back. I wont be able to work on it next weekend due to other commitments but I will get on it the following week.

I called Paragon and ordered my headliner without any finish on it, just the bare ABS. Dropped ship to my house it will be $100. But the guy doing my upholstery (did my trunk) will use the uncovered new ABS to put the covering on and then it is just a matter of attaching the headliner ABS to the top. At least that is the plan....

Here is the trunk that he did for me this past summer...

used black and torch red leather to match the interior

so the top will have two torch red stripes near the edges with black on the outside edge and big black center section......

stay tuned....and good luck!!!

 

[BIDFORPARTS]

c/1 hardtop work

Hi firstgear,
I gotta tell ya, that car is real nice just from the few pictures I saw. I'm not a fan of the red/black interior like the c/5 Z06's have on some of them but, it sure seems to work for the looks on your car. Very tastefully done. The trunk should have been done like that from day one at St. Louis. Whoever is doing the work, is good at it. Just for laughs, I'm going to try to post a couple of photos of the '62 interior & trunk.....here goes.

 

[firstgear]

Hi firstgear,
I gotta tell ya, that car is real nice just from the few pictures I saw. I'm not a fan of the red/black interior like the c/5 Z06's have on some of them but, it sure seems to work for the looks on your car. Very tastefully done. The trunk should have been done like that from day one at St. Louis. Whoever is doing the work, is good at it. Just for laughs, I'm going to try to post a couple of photos of the '62 interior & trunk.....here goes.

you mean like the interior of my c5 Z06? To each their own.....I like the modified black/red and believe it or not, it was modeled after my C5 Z06 interior........oh well.......some like it and some don't......

Good thing is that you recognized that it was similar to the mod red interior, which is what I wanted........

 

[BIDFORPARTS]

Is that dash pad custom made or is it a standard molded one that you can order? It looks too good to be the later.

 

[firstgear]

Is that dash pad custom made or is it a standard molded one that you can order? It looks too good to be the later.

Dash pad is leather from Al Knoch.......they can make it for you.....no problem, just bring $$$

 

[BIDFORPARTS]

Dash pad is leather from Al Knoch.......they can make it for you.....no problem, just bring $$$

Yeah! $$$ is where the problem lies.:eyerole

 

[firstgear]

header bolts

not sure about you, but in my case almost all of the bolts that hold the front trim pieces to the header broke off.

to get the pieces out, I took my die grinder and ground the bolt down flush to the header and I tried to make it as level as possible.

next, I took a center punch and tried to get the punch in the center of the bolt. I would suggest hitting it lightly, enough for you to see where the punch hit. in some cases I was off even though it looked good when I whacked it. In those cases where that happened I took the die grinder and got rid of the mark and did it one more time with a whack.

I then drilled it in successive drilling's up to #25 drill which is the right size for a 10-24 screw which is the size I figured was needed based on one bolt not breaking off and checking the hole with the tap.

the die grinder was the key to getting the old pieces out. In some cases the old pieces were still in the hole and were tapped and now are more like a heli-coil insert......

 

[BIDFORPARTS]

not sure about you, but in my case almost all of the bolts that hold the front trim pieces to the header broke off.

to get the pieces out, I took my die grinder and ground the bolt down flush to the header and I tried to make it as level as possible.

next, I took a center punch and tried to get the punch in the center of the bolt. I would suggest hitting it lightly, enough for you to see where the punch hit. in some cases I was off even though it looked good when I whacked it. In those cases where that happened I took the die grinder and got rid of the mark and did it one more time with a whack.

I then drilled it in successive drilling's up to #25 drill which is the right size for a 10-24 screw which is the size I figured was needed based on one bolt not breaking off and checking the hole with the tap.

the die grinder was the key to getting the old pieces out. In some cases the old pieces were still in the hole and were tapped and now are more like a heli-coil insert......

OK, here I thought the fastener that held the retainer for the header trim was secured by a roundhead, rivet-like object that had a spiral, splined shape to it. Kind of like the license lens screw shoulder that I think might be on your '63(s). Maybe I'm thinking of my '71 front parking lamp lens screws. Do you think a dissimilar metal thing is going on there between the steel fastener and the aluminum header?
In any case, that sounds like a real fun time.

 

[firstgear]

OK, here I thought the fastener that held the retainer for the header trim was secured by a roundhead, rivet-like object that had a spiral, splined shape to it. Kind of like the license lens screw shoulder that I think might be on your '63(s). Maybe I'm thinking of my '71 front parking lamp lens screws. Do you think a dissimilar metal thing is going on there between the steel fastener and the aluminum header?
In any case, that sounds like a real fun time.

yup, they were all corroded, but of course everything under the trim pieces in the front was corroded including the piece that the trim pieces hook onto. I need to get that piece sand blasted and then I will get it powder coated at work. I plan on using stainless steel fasteners but when I put them in I will use the never seize paste on them. if it was held on with the spiral type, it isn't any more, they are all threaded with 10-24 threads.......ha-ha

I am getting my header piece completely polished rather than leaving it anodized. I figure since my car is custom anyways, I might as well make it look good inside.....

 

[BIDFORPARTS]

I'm probably going to need a picture of this top when it's done.

 

[firstgear]

I'm probably going to need a picture of this top when it's done.

and I will need a padded wall room!

 

[61vette]

Herb, I felt that way about getting windshield put back together. Ace

 

[firstgear]

Herb, I felt that way about getting windshield put back together. Ace

yup, the windshield and bumpers were the death of me......3 windshields to get one and more than 80 hours trying to get the bumpers and everything right.......really the only things on the car that gave me a real fit.......

 

[BIDFORPARTS]

yup, the windshield and bumpers were the death of me......3 windshields to get one and more than 80 hours trying to get the bumpers and everything right.......really the only things on the car that gave me a real fit.......

Well, I got all the inside chrome off as well as the trim around the window and the rear window itself. I haven't gotten the nerve to remove that front header molding yet. I did remove the front header weatherstrip which was like a saltine cracker. The rivets I was refering to earlier, turned out to be the rivets that held the "P" plates and weatherstrip in place on the header. I got those out by tapping on them with a punch left then right then left again to see them slightly move. Then I knew they were loose and ready to be pryed up and out. That was done using a 90 degree screwdriver driven under the "P" plate and gently prying up on it.
Right now, I'm debating whether to replace the rear window weatherstrip or not. A much bigger problem is what to do about the broken off studs on the rear window trim as well as the rotted backing plate they're afixed to in back of the trim itself.
It might be time to call GLASSWORKS for some answers........

 

[firstgear]

Well, I got all the inside chrome off as well as the trim around the window and the rear window itself. I haven't gotten the nerve to remove that front header molding yet. I did remove the front header weatherstrip which was like a saltine cracker. The rivets I was refering to earlier, turned out to be the rivets that held the "P" plates and weatherstrip in place on the header. I got those out by tapping on them with a punch left then right then left again to see them slightly move. Then I knew they were loose and ready to be pryed up and out. That was done using a 90 degree screwdriver driven under the "P" plate and gently prying up on it.
Right now, I'm debating whether to replace the rear window weatherstrip or not. A much bigger problem is what to do about the broken off studs on the rear window trim as well as the rotted backing plate they're afixed to in back of the trim itself.
It might be time to call GLASSWORKS for some answers........

that trim separates from that metal rusted piece. Glassworks will sell in the kit those t-studs to replace......I had to show my SS guy how to get it apart in order for him to get the dents out and replace the t studs