cracked glass t top repair

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rod444rod@hotmail.com - 16 Jul 2005 13:02 GMT

I accidentally pushed my seat back into one of the t-tops stowed behind
the seat on my (formerly) mint 81. Now the corner has 4 diagonal little
cracks about 2 inches long. Very very very annoying as the rest of the
car is about as mint as you can get.

After giving myself a thorough whipping, and calling myself some names
I haven't used since high school, I decided I could shell out the $400
to buy another top but I'd rather try to repair it for now. The cracks
are in the dark bronze area and the average person won't notice it
unless the sun is hitting it from the wrong direction. They seem to be
only in the top layer of the glass and it appears to still be strong
enough not to flex and run more.

Has anyone found a repair that will hold on something like this? I
could fill the cracks with the chip repair glue first and see what
happens, but I wonder if it would hold for long. Any other ideas?

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Paul H. - 17 Jul 2005 15:10 GMT

> I accidentally pushed my seat back into one of the t-tops stowed behind
> the seat on my (formerly) mint 81. Now the corner has 4 diagonal little
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> could fill the cracks with the chip repair glue first and see what
> happens, but I wonder if it would hold for long. Any other ideas?

Sorry 'bout the linguistics--absolutely shocking!! Long ago though, I
decided that there wasn't much gain in preserving virginity (mental or
otherwise).

I took a rock hit on a trip and there wasn't a windshield within 200
miles. A local glass guy ground (drilled?)small indents at the end of
the cracks and filled them with repair stuff -- held for 5000 miles
until I got home. The appearance wasn't great though.

Give your insurance claims folks a call. Tell them that you're not
submitting a claim but want a referral to a local glass repair outfit
that can give you a good price on the repair. My insurer transfers me
to their national glass contractor who sets up a conference call with a
local associate. I've done this on both glass and side mirrors and
saved nearly 1/2 the price of retail.

A match might be difficult--particularly if there's mirroring on one
surface. I had aftermarket T-tops on a '79 and the mirroring was on the
inside surface of the glass. I'd seen others mirrored on the outside.

Paul H.

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rod444rod@hotmail.com - 17 Jul 2005 17:32 GMT

> Give your insurance claims folks a call. Tell them that you're not
> submitting a claim but want a referral to a local glass repair outfit
> that can give you a good price on the repair. My insurer transfers me
> to their national glass contractor who sets up a conference call with a
> local associate. I've done this on both glass and side mirrors and
> saved nearly 1/2 the price of retail.

Great idea. I never think of actually *using* my insurance as those
guys are normally out to rob me, not help me :-)

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sbright - 23 Jul 2005 12:18 GMT

They drill the holes to keep the cracks from spreading. Are these tops made
of glass or plastic like the C5's?
I know the windshield repairs are usually done under a vacuum to suck the
filler in the cracks although I did see a do it yourself windshield patch
kit at either Autozone or Pepboys one time. It was near the silicone in a
tube and other misc. glues. Good luck. Messing up your own car is probably
worse than letting some b---h drive it and mess it up for you.

-Stan

>> I accidentally pushed my seat back into one of the t-tops stowed behind
>> the seat on my (formerly) mint 81. Now the corner has 4 diagonal little
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
>
> Paul H.

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