hard top ross brace question

[johnnybgood74]

Hey guys! i have a question about my hard top. i have like an inch gap brtween the top and the cross brace which makes the top very flimsy. the P.O. installed a ton of self tappers in it to suck it to the brace. i removed all the screws to weld up all the holes. now i have a 1" gap between them. you can barely push in on the top and it flexes inward. what can i do to solve this? will the heat of my filling the holes shrink the metal enough to stiffen it up?

 

[johnnybgood74]

I Meant Cross Brace Question! Lol

 

[DirtDonk]

Expanding foam maybe? Might need it to fill that large a gap. Originally many of them had both a semi-sticky looking strip of something (rubber perhaps?) along with a glue-looking like substance.
Others just had body filler foam (for lack of a better term) that squeezed out from between. Can't get a pic of mine while it's hanging in the rafters though. Sorry bout that.
I've even seen wood glued in the gaps on some. You just never know whaty you're going to find with one of these things, do you?

When yours was riveted, did the curve of the top get pulled down to the brace? Or did the brace pull up to the top?

Paul

 

[stock1970]

live and learn.. it may have been better to do one at a time.. just thinking out loud..

 

[johnnybgood74]

Paul, when he put the self tapping screws in the top, it pulled the top down to the brace. when i took the screws out, the top took back its original form.

 

[DirtDonk]

Excellent. Then maybe just some dense foam insualation or the aforementioned minimally-expanding sealing foam.
Hopefully someone else will chime in with some suggestions.

Paul

 

[Hawkdoc]

You might try a layer or two of seam sealer or silicone instead of the expanding foam. Won't hold in the moisture that way.

Hawkdoc

 

[zeeman1]

Excellent. Then maybe just some dense foam insualation or the aforementioned minimally-expanding sealing foam.
Hopefully someone else will chime in with some suggestions.

Paul

That is what I did. Got a can of 'great-stuff' from the hardware store and sprayed it in. It's been there for a couple years and has worked out great IMO.

 

[Devin]

I have the same problem with my top. I have been experimenting a bit with shrinking sheet metal to get rid of the "oil-can" effect. I did it to one of my doors. It works very well at getting rid of the oil-can syndrome, but it does leave small dimples where you heat it. You can beat it out with a hammer and dolly, but it is tedious. On my door, I finally got it "good enough" and I am going to finish it up with a bit of body filler.

I am pondering doing this with my top, but I haven't decided if I am yet. It will be a lot of work. I may just go and buy a soft top instead.