The bonding on my window failed across the top, down both sides, and about 3-4 inches in from each lower corner. Most of the bottom was still attached. Some of the folded over top material around the opening had also separated. The black material that was bonded to the glass was still well attached all around.

I used the two part epoxy that I am using on my boat restoration for all the repairs. This is a liquid epoxy rather than a paste or caulk type material. I get my boat epoxy from Jamestown Distributors out east. It is their Total Boat 5:1. Unfortunately, the smallest quantity they sell is by the quart. Smaller quantities of suitable liquid epoxy may be available at hardware stores. I cannot vouch for their effectiveness in this application.

I had to take the project in three steps. Step 1 was to rebond the folded over top material around the opening. I first sanded the inside surfaces to be certain they were somewhat smooth. Then I wiped them with a paper towel wet with lacquer thinner. I then coated both surfaces with a thin layer of epoxy and clamped the material with spring type paper clips.

For bonding the glass to the fabric, I felt that I did not want the top material to be under tension so I operated the top opening cycle until the bar below the window had lifted off the deck about one inch.

Step 2 was to lightly sand all the surfaces to which the epoxy would be applied. Then I wiped the surfaces with lacquer thinner. Doing a pre-position of the glass relative to the top showed that it would be hard to hold the glass in position to do an all around bond, so I decided to do the bottom edges and corners and about half way up each side. I used towels and a blanket to hold the glass in place while the epoxy set up. The next day I removed the towels and blanket and left the window hanging, planning to do the rest later in the day. The weight of the glass was enough to cause the bond to fail as the epoxy had not yet reached full strength. So I had to repeat this step and this time I did not remove the towels and blanket after bonding.

During steps 2 & 3, I taped the outer top material to the glass to get a tight fit along the edges.

Step 3 was to bond across the top and down both sides to the previous bonded areas. I then left the whole setup in place for two full days to be certain that the epoxy had achieved full strength.

It has been finished about a week now and I have cycled the top once. I did push down firmly on the glass and there is no indication that it was going to come loose again, so at this point I am considering the process to be a success. Time will tell if aging has any affect on the strength of the bond.

By being careful with the epoxy application and using thin coatings, the mess during application and the cleanup after was minimal. Total time involved, including the do-over for step 2 was about 4-5 hours.

 

I also used the 3m window glue a year ago, and it is still holding. Yes,I do put the top up and down

 

These Roadster windows began to fail and detach as far back as February 2009 and this actual thread was created on 08-10-2009
If yours hasn't yet failed its amazing, but your time will come too I am sure.
My time was last summer and I got a NEW TOP installed right in my own garage !!
This thread has had 173,259 views since it began

 

9 years later from your post, THANK YOU!!!! So detailed and well written. I'm an engineer and was really vexed on how I was going to do this, then I remembered this forum!

 

My roadster's time finally came. I had it parked outside in the sun while doing some repairs in the garage, and later that night I discovered the rear window had separated at the top. I live in Michigan and the car has been garaged its whole life (and usually covered as well in the garage), although it spends the summer with the top almost permanently down and the 4-5 months of winter in an unheated storage unit with the top up.

Visited a local upholstery shop who had repaired my motorcycle seat and confirmed it was not repairable (reason below). They ordered a new top from somewhere in CA in the original German black fabric with a glass rear window with defroster. Should be here in ~3 weeks. Top is about $2100 and labor $770. This is not a DIY deal for me - I want if professionally repaired and good for another 20 years.

The rest of the story (reason): First, he told me a convertible top life is 12-16 years so I did pretty good at 20. Secondly, he told me the reason the glass fell out was not that the adhesive failed but that over time the top shrinks and as the fabric becomes "smaller" the failure point is the fabric pulling away from the rear window!! At this point I recalled that putting the top up a couple days ago was more difficult than usual (the car was parked outside during the garage repairs). He also shared that my habit of leaving the top down all summer probably contributed to the shrinkage. He recommended putting the top up periodically so that it is stretched out gently by the mechanisms rather than shrinking for months and then being subject to closing. So the message I took away is do not keep the top down for extended periods. My plan is to put the (new) top up at least every other week in the summer (it already spends the winter with the top up).

 

Your best bet would have been BAS Tops in Britain, about $650.00 plus about $250.00 shipping. You should have asked here first. There is also a member on here that provides and installs tops for much cheaper.

 

Yes Clifford in Ohio just bought 3 tops for 3 Roadsters at a cost of $866 each with shipping shipped to his residence
Many here have purchased there tops from BAS International as far back as 2009
They have sold hundreds of tops to us over many years and they are made exactly like our OEM tops
I got mine there to just 2 years ago and it was installed in my garage by another member here
He installs tops at the Woodward Dream Cruise in Michigan too (August this year)

https://www.car-hood.co.uk/crossfire

 

This is obscene. How can anyone charge that?

My BAS top was $780 and was installed free at the Eureka Meet in just under 90 minutes. And even if I'd taken it so someone, we have at least seven people nationwide who will do it for $300-400 depending on various factors. Why did you not ask the rest of us about options? (I take it you do not attend Crossfire meets - replacing of tops at meets seems to be a 'thing' now. MIne was done before breakfast in a parking lot. )

And my default position for the top is UP and always has been. I put it down when I want it down and UP when I park the car.

I dont see top replacement as a big deal - most of us are paying $750 or so plus $300 labor - a set of tires costs almost that, and they last only 25,000 miles at most -my first top lasted 12 years. If only tires could last like that.

 

I have not been to Woodward for over a decade and unable this year due to a knee replacement in two weeks, I had been following this thread for a while and just missed the BAS deal. I suspect my installer would not want to work with a top purchased elsewhere, but I should have researched the forum and asked. My bad. And way down deep, I am a little more comfortable having someone local I can go to if there are any issues -- no offense to the talented owners who are experts at installing tops. Thanks for all the feedback even if I feel a little foolish, and a little poorer.

 

Our 2005 rear window showed signs of coming loose last week. I did this myself, but it took at least 10 hours. The hardest part, as was noted on this forum, is putting the window weld on correctly. I had to apply some afterward because I was looking for perfection. This part is difficult to explain, but I used a very small tool that I found in my specialty drawer that had one end looking like a miniaturized spoon. After I applied the window weld and ran the spoon between the top and the window, it followed the small tiny fabric creases on the top and created what looks like a perfect mig weld in between! It really looked cool, but I had to make my vertical cut down through it to have a perfect, black width between the top and the window. Bottom line, this is probably not a DYI project for most. But it's one of those projects, that if you do, you can look at at the end result and be proud, you did it and save a lot of dollars doing it!

 

I went to a local shop I had used in the past as well ... I was able to have the top replaced and covered 100% under my Comprehensive coverage ...

 

I believe you but I find it hard to believe LOL. Why would comprehensive pay for mechanical defects? Insurance is there to make you whole after a covered loss. Unless a tree fell on it or it got damaged due to a hurricane etc I just don't see how insurance would step in. Comprehensive covers any covered loss other than collision such as hitting an animal, flood, fire, theft, vandalism. And then you have to pay your deductible and potentially have your insurance policy increase because you now have a claim on it. Not sure if it's worth it but also not sure everyone is so lucky to have insurance cover a fallen out back window as a claim.

 

Comp coverage also covers glass breakage ... even though the glass is in one piece it is still broke due to it being part of the top ... you cannot replace one without replacing the other ... to replace the rear glass you must replace the top ... I had zero deductible so it was fully covered and without a rate increase ... I have been with my insurance company over 30 years with no or few claims ... it might be worth looking into, just saying

 

If you don't mind my asking, who do you have for insurance?

 

State Farm ... I have been with them since the late 1960's and have multiple policies with them ...

 

The rear glass was pretty bad when I bought my 2006 roadster in 2021 (I have a 2007 coupe also). I purchased a new top made from the original German material by a company in South Carolina. Going through an upholstery/top guy the new top cost me $850, and $500 to install. If I had purchased the top myself directly the price would have been $$1,250 + the install cost. The back window separation problem was solved by making a V or C shaped "channel" for the window to be glued into so that it cannot come loose and has a lifetime rear window warranty. I had always thought that would be the way to do it and low and behold someone else finally figured it out. As an aside, I followed instruction by Top Hydraulics in Florence, OR, and uninstalled the hydraulic cylinders myself and sent them to Top Hydraulics to be rebuilt with better materials and seals. They are expected to last 35-50 years now.