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I don't know if anybody has successfully installed a hardtop rear window seal without help from another person or using any tools before, but I did just that- unintentionally!
Sorry, I don't have any pictures, because I was not planning to do this DIY. I've had a hardtop seal sitting around for awhile now waiting for me to have the time to install it. Today, I had about an hour, so I went out to my Tiger and took off the cover. I just wanted to see how easily the rear window would pop out. I reached around the quarter window and put my hand against the inside of the plexiglass back window and applied a little force with the palm of my hand. The window and seal were not frozen in place- I felt some movement. I went around to the other side and gave it the same treatment. Once again, I felt some movement. So, I pressed a little harder on the inside of the back window, and out it popped! My car is stored in my garage in sunny Ca. and it's covered, so it would not be a problem if I didn't have a back window for awhile. I figured I could at least get all of the silicone seal off of the plexiglass that the previous owner had applied all the way around the glass and seal.
Well, the silicone came off pretty much all at once, so I still had most of my hour left. I decided to lay out the new seal and see how it looked. Nice! Thanks, Rick McLeod, for the quality product! Hmmm, might as well see how the seal fits around the back window, rather than put it back in the box. That way, it can mold itself correctly while it is waiting for me to have time to install it another day. Wow! No need to worry about the fitment- it fit my rear window perfectly. Sheesh, still have more than half of my time left.
I decided to lay the plexiglass with seal on the back of my hardtop to see what it looked like. This certainly will beat the crusted, torn, cracked seal that had been on the top at least since I bought it in 1989. Now, I've read all of the installation tips done over the years, and had decided on the wire all the way around the inside seal, pulling it out while a second person applies pressure to the outside of the plexiglass until '"presto", it pops in.
Except, I noticed my particular piece of plexiglass has some flex to it. I don't know if it's the stock piece or not. This is the only factory hardtop I've had on a Tiger. It occurred to me that if I laid the bottom of the plexiglass seal into the groove on the bottom of the hardtop, I might be able to flex the sides enough while exerting pressure on the rear window to get the seals to seat on the inside. I really didn't have much hope of this working because I hadn't heard of it being done this way before. I'll be darned if the bottom and the sides were almost entirely seated after this effort. I knew the remaining top edge seal would be harder to seat because I didn't have much flex left in the back window with the other 3 sides mostly seated. Much to my surprise, I was able to mostly pop the top side seal in, also.
All that was left to do was go around on the inside of the hardtop and release a few areas where the rubber was hung up and slightly folded under and, voila!, my hardtop seal was installed, by myself, without any tools, in under an hour! I did take a little plastic scraper and run it under the seal on the outside and on the inside just to make sure no little flaps were tucked under, and found a couple of spots where this had happened, but I was DONE!
The harder job was getting the hardtop rear window trim back on, but I had time to do that, also.
Funny how things go, sometimes
Sorry, I don't have any pictures, because I was not planning to do this DIY. I've had a hardtop seal sitting around for awhile now waiting for me to have the time to install it. Today, I had about an hour, so I went out to my Tiger and took off the cover. I just wanted to see how easily the rear window would pop out. I reached around the quarter window and put my hand against the inside of the plexiglass back window and applied a little force with the palm of my hand. The window and seal were not frozen in place- I felt some movement. I went around to the other side and gave it the same treatment. Once again, I felt some movement. So, I pressed a little harder on the inside of the back window, and out it popped! My car is stored in my garage in sunny Ca. and it's covered, so it would not be a problem if I didn't have a back window for awhile. I figured I could at least get all of the silicone seal off of the plexiglass that the previous owner had applied all the way around the glass and seal.
Well, the silicone came off pretty much all at once, so I still had most of my hour left. I decided to lay out the new seal and see how it looked. Nice! Thanks, Rick McLeod, for the quality product! Hmmm, might as well see how the seal fits around the back window, rather than put it back in the box. That way, it can mold itself correctly while it is waiting for me to have time to install it another day. Wow! No need to worry about the fitment- it fit my rear window perfectly. Sheesh, still have more than half of my time left.
I decided to lay the plexiglass with seal on the back of my hardtop to see what it looked like. This certainly will beat the crusted, torn, cracked seal that had been on the top at least since I bought it in 1989. Now, I've read all of the installation tips done over the years, and had decided on the wire all the way around the inside seal, pulling it out while a second person applies pressure to the outside of the plexiglass until '"presto", it pops in.
Except, I noticed my particular piece of plexiglass has some flex to it. I don't know if it's the stock piece or not. This is the only factory hardtop I've had on a Tiger. It occurred to me that if I laid the bottom of the plexiglass seal into the groove on the bottom of the hardtop, I might be able to flex the sides enough while exerting pressure on the rear window to get the seals to seat on the inside. I really didn't have much hope of this working because I hadn't heard of it being done this way before. I'll be darned if the bottom and the sides were almost entirely seated after this effort. I knew the remaining top edge seal would be harder to seat because I didn't have much flex left in the back window with the other 3 sides mostly seated. Much to my surprise, I was able to mostly pop the top side seal in, also.
All that was left to do was go around on the inside of the hardtop and release a few areas where the rubber was hung up and slightly folded under and, voila!, my hardtop seal was installed, by myself, without any tools, in under an hour! I did take a little plastic scraper and run it under the seal on the outside and on the inside just to make sure no little flaps were tucked under, and found a couple of spots where this had happened, but I was DONE!
The harder job was getting the hardtop rear window trim back on, but I had time to do that, also.
Funny how things go, sometimes