Vinyl top / Outer Molding Clips

Looking for a tip or two. 1972 AMX Vinyl tops (Black) are in almost in great condition, however some of the edges by the upper moldings have curled up and not tucked under moldings. Is there something I can use to soften up a bit and try to reglue them down without replacing whole thing. Also I see several places to order parts. Any recommendations to go to replace alot of the molding clips from the windshield, roof, rear window, door. Dont need a complete set, but may not harm to have few extras. Thanks alot.

Hi there and thanks, definately need windshield metal clips couple on vinyl roof and a here or there piece. Do have all the original moldings, no rusting not the shiniest but original. Figured since not running at moment, carburator issue, I start seeing if I can piece it together. Thought I was fruther along than I am when I parked her 10 yrs ago. Lol. Forgot about all the cosmetic things. See some clips in windshield but thinking I may break some of the others working on them.

Kevin,

Vinyl tops do indeed shrink with time. Also the tops becomes brittle and dry rotted just like many other vinyl items left out in the sun.

There are a few tricks that might work, but be aware that even stretching the material 1/8 inch can be almost impossible. The other thing is the age of the vinyl top. The older the top the more dried out the top will be which translate to less stretching.

Each step offered here can and most likely will result in a tear or damaging of the existing material, therefore the suggested method probability of success is low. ( Please consider this prior to beginning. But at least an attempt prior to replacement is better then never trying at all)

1. Remove the vinyl top molding and top of the windshield molding)

2. Get heat onto the top. ( let the car sit in the sun on a warm day). If this is not an option, heat the top with heat gun or hair dryer. Heat the entire area that you will need to separate from the vehicle.

Work in the sun if possible or have a second person keep moving the heat gun over the area of the vinyl top that you will pull back

You want enough heat to help loosen the glue underneath the vinyl, but not so much heat that you burn or melt the vinyl top

3. Slide a dull putty knife under the vinyl top, slowly working the vinyl top loose from the glue and roof of the car. This is a big area of high risk. The chances of pushing the putty knife through the vinyl is extremely high- on a fairly new vinyl top this is not so much of a risk , on a older top it is very high risk) Keep the putty knife angled about 20 degrees off the roof and push gently, always pushing towards the roof and not at the vinyl.

4. Separate the vinyl top from the roof about 15-18 inches back from the vinyl top molding location. At the windshield you will need to heat and pull back the vinyl several inches.

(in essence you have removed almost half of the vinyl top from the roof.) Leaving the vinyl attached at the rain gutter and under the windshield molding.

5. If you make this far, the top must not be that old. Most older tops I have tried to remove with this method and a few other methods for body repairs, usually does not make it. We would then call the insurance company and let them know that removal did not work and replacement is warranted. ( Yes insurance companies know that removal of the vinyl top is risky at best, but we were always asked to attempt it, but with no guarantees of success)

6. You need to prepare the surface of the car for reinstalling the top. Clean the old glue off as much as possible, because this is a repair and not a replacement, some compromise is expected. After scraping or sanding most of the old glue off right up the the edge of the vinyl top that is still glued on. Have your replacement glue ready. A good vinyl top glue is needed, not your general 3M adhesive glue.

I like to mask around the area in preparation for spraying glue on the roof and vinyl at a later step in this process.

7. Reheat the top. This reheating step is much more critical that the first time. Get the vinyl top material warm ( all of it- yes is hard to heat an entire top which is why working in the hot sun is the best solution)

8. With two or three people start pulling the vinyl top back to the original position. Pull very slow and apply only enough pressure to see if the vinyl will stretch. Keep the vinyl down as close as possible to the roof. Don,t lift upward. If the vinyl stretches with out tearing, you can continue trying to stretch everything into place. Start at the windshield corner and the drip rail corner and keep stretching until you work the material to the center back corner. Stretch the material until it hits the clip post(s) on the roof.

Heat should be applied to the entire area of vinyl that was pulled back from the car. It is critical that the vinyl is heated to the point of being very warm but not hot-(hot will cause the material to rip or melt)

9. If the material stretches into place, continue stretching slightly beyond the clip studs, maybe a 1/16- 3/32 inch.

10. Apply new glue to roof and underside of vinyl top. Make sure glue covers the underside of the vinyl all the way to the the location of the vinyl top where it is still attached to the vehicle

11. Ease the vinyl down onto the car. One or two people pulling the top and one person running their hand over the top to ensure that the vinyl adheres evenly and without wrinkles.

12. Trim the vinyl to fit around the molding studs.

13. Keep running your hand over the vinyl to ensure it adheres evenly for several minutes.

Warning! If the vinyl top is more than a few years old, the chances of stretching the top back into position is very slim.

The process I just explained was used often in the body shops when you had to roll back the vinyl top for access to perform body work. These were fairly new cars at the time. On those same cars that age to several years or more attempting to remove the vinyl top for body repairs usually resulted in torn or damaged vinyl tops. Which resulted in replacement.

Murphy's Law:
Any given mechanical job you decide to solve alone will imminently require a third hand, at its most critical moment

Lot of great tips here. Top is on my 72 amx, looks really good, just curling up at the edges. Cant do much when grand daughters staying for few days. But definately gonna try some gentle heat on them and see if I can get the edges to lay flat where the moldings dont hold in place.

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Kkal72 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Fan Joined: Aug/19/2017 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 29	Post Options Post Reply Quote Kkal72 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Vinyl top / Outer Molding Clips Posted: Sep/21/2017 at 3:51pm
	Looking for a tip or two. 1972 AMX Vinyl tops (Black) are in almost in great condition, however some of the edges by the upper moldings have curled up and not tucked under moldings. Is there something I can use to soften up a bit and try to reglue them down without replacing whole thing. Also I see several places to order parts. Any recommendations to go to replace alot of the molding clips from the windshield, roof, rear window, door. Dont need a complete set, but may not harm to have few extras. Thanks alot.

304-dude Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Joined: Sep/29/2008 Location: Central Illinoi Status: Offline Points: 9082	Post Options Post Reply Quote 304-dude Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Sep/21/2017 at 4:05pm
	Well, there are a number of different clips, and some are hard to find. Are you looking for the plastic or the wire type. The plastic type looks like a rounded rectangle, and comes in two sizes, narrow and wide. Stainless steel trim along the front and rear glass are metal wire lips with a spongy plastic material. I have a bunch of new windshield and rear window trim clips, but you probably need more than just those if any of the vinyl top trim is loose and is in need the plastic clips. I think you can obtain all the clips from one source, but not sure exactly the online site. Someone should have more info on that.
	71 Javelin SST body 390 69 crank, 70 block & heads NASCAR SB2 rods & pistons 78 Jeep TH400 w/ 2.76 Low 50/50 Ford-AMC Suspension 79 F150 rear & 8.8 axles Ford Racing 3.25 gears & 9" /w Detroit locker

Kkal72 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Fan Joined: Aug/19/2017 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 29	Post Options Post Reply Quote Kkal72 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Sep/21/2017 at 4:25pm
	Hi there and thanks, definately need windshield metal clips couple on vinyl roof and a here or there piece. Do have all the original moldings, no rusting not the shiniest but original. Figured since not running at moment, carburator issue, I start seeing if I can piece it together. Thought I was fruther along than I am when I parked her 10 yrs ago. Lol. Forgot about all the cosmetic things. See some clips in windshield but thinking I may break some of the others working on them.

CamJam Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: Jan/04/2014 Location: Arizona Status: Offline Points: 6548	Post Options Post Reply Quote CamJam Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Sep/21/2017 at 11:24pm
	Not sure about the vinyl roof molding, but the clips used on the trim around windshield and backglass are the same as Ford and you can buy them at Napa. I had a thread on that somewhere a couple years ago. I'll post a link to it if I find it. EDIT: Here's the link. This was info I discovered when restoring my '69, but I assume most of the clips are the same on the 71-74 as well. http://theamcforum.com/forum/trim-fastener-information_topic72900.html Edited by CamJam - Sep/21/2017 at 11:29pm
	'73 Javelin 360 (current project) '72 Baja Bronze Javelin SST '69 Big Bad Orange AMX (2018 Teague Heritage Award) SOLD

hassyfoto Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Addicted Joined: Nov/16/2009 Location: Maryland Status: Offline Points: 3378	Post Options Post Reply Quote hassyfoto Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Sep/22/2017 at 2:21pm
	Kevin, Vinyl tops do indeed shrink with time. Also the tops becomes brittle and dry rotted just like many other vinyl items left out in the sun. There are a few tricks that might work, but be aware that even stretching the material 1/8 inch can be almost impossible. The other thing is the age of the vinyl top. The older the top the more dried out the top will be which translate to less stretching. Each step offered here can and most likely will result in a tear or damaging of the existing material, therefore the suggested method probability of success is low. ( Please consider this prior to beginning. But at least an attempt prior to replacement is better then never trying at all) 1. Remove the vinyl top molding and top of the windshield molding) 2. Get heat onto the top. ( let the car sit in the sun on a warm day). If this is not an option, heat the top with heat gun or hair dryer. Heat the entire area that you will need to separate from the vehicle. Work in the sun if possible or have a second person keep moving the heat gun over the area of the vinyl top that you will pull back You want enough heat to help loosen the glue underneath the vinyl, but not so much heat that you burn or melt the vinyl top 3. Slide a dull putty knife under the vinyl top, slowly working the vinyl top loose from the glue and roof of the car. This is a big area of high risk. The chances of pushing the putty knife through the vinyl is extremely high- on a fairly new vinyl top this is not so much of a risk , on a older top it is very high risk) Keep the putty knife angled about 20 degrees off the roof and push gently, always pushing towards the roof and not at the vinyl. 4. Separate the vinyl top from the roof about 15-18 inches back from the vinyl top molding location. At the windshield you will need to heat and pull back the vinyl several inches. (in essence you have removed almost half of the vinyl top from the roof.) Leaving the vinyl attached at the rain gutter and under the windshield molding. 5. If you make this far, the top must not be that old. Most older tops I have tried to remove with this method and a few other methods for body repairs, usually does not make it. We would then call the insurance company and let them know that removal did not work and replacement is warranted. ( Yes insurance companies know that removal of the vinyl top is risky at best, but we were always asked to attempt it, but with no guarantees of success) 6. You need to prepare the surface of the car for reinstalling the top. Clean the old glue off as much as possible, because this is a repair and not a replacement, some compromise is expected. After scraping or sanding most of the old glue off right up the the edge of the vinyl top that is still glued on. Have your replacement glue ready. A good vinyl top glue is needed, not your general 3M adhesive glue. I like to mask around the area in preparation for spraying glue on the roof and vinyl at a later step in this process. 7. Reheat the top. This reheating step is much more critical that the first time. Get the vinyl top material warm ( all of it- yes is hard to heat an entire top which is why working in the hot sun is the best solution) 8. With two or three people start pulling the vinyl top back to the original position. Pull very slow and apply only enough pressure to see if the vinyl will stretch. Keep the vinyl down as close as possible to the roof. Don,t lift upward. If the vinyl stretches with out tearing, you can continue trying to stretch everything into place. Start at the windshield corner and the drip rail corner and keep stretching until you work the material to the center back corner. Stretch the material until it hits the clip post(s) on the roof. Heat should be applied to the entire area of vinyl that was pulled back from the car. It is critical that the vinyl is heated to the point of being very warm but not hot-(hot will cause the material to rip or melt) 9. If the material stretches into place, continue stretching slightly beyond the clip studs, maybe a 1/16- 3/32 inch. 10. Apply new glue to roof and underside of vinyl top. Make sure glue covers the underside of the vinyl all the way to the the location of the vinyl top where it is still attached to the vehicle 11. Ease the vinyl down onto the car. One or two people pulling the top and one person running their hand over the top to ensure that the vinyl adheres evenly and without wrinkles. 12. Trim the vinyl to fit around the molding studs. 13. Keep running your hand over the vinyl to ensure it adheres evenly for several minutes. Warning! If the vinyl top is more than a few years old, the chances of stretching the top back into position is very slim. The process I just explained was used often in the body shops when you had to roll back the vinyl top for access to perform body work. These were fairly new cars at the time. On those same cars that age to several years or more attempting to remove the vinyl top for body repairs usually resulted in torn or damaged vinyl tops. Which resulted in replacement.
	Murphy's Law: Any given mechanical job you decide to solve alone will imminently require a third hand, at its most critical moment

Kkal72 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Fan Joined: Aug/19/2017 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 29	Post Options Post Reply Quote Kkal72 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Sep/23/2017 at 1:50pm
	Thanx for the info, need to figure out this forum. Read a ton of great information, just not a computer friendly guy. Lol.

Kkal72 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List AMC Fan Joined: Aug/19/2017 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 29	Post Options Post Reply Quote Kkal72 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Sep/23/2017 at 1:53pm
	Lot of great tips here. Top is on my 72 amx, looks really good, just curling up at the edges. Cant do much when grand daughters staying for few days. But definately gonna try some gentle heat on them and see if I can get the edges to lay flat where the moldings dont hold in place.