1998 - 2004 Corvette: How-To: Convertible care, adjustments, and tips

1998 - 2004 Corvette How-To: Convertible care, adjustments, and tips

Submitted by C4C5Specialist
01-05-2007

Hello fellow members,

I would first like to thank EHS and Charlie for the assistance for this month’s article.

There have been a lot of questions regarding convertible top care, adjustments, and issues on wear. This article is giving a basis for what you, as owners, can do to help keep your top, and your car, at its best, and avoid needing the top replaced.

So with that, lets get started.

The first issue we will deal with it contact of the top fabric on the rear deck lid.



This is how you do your first adjustment.

This shows your rear #5 bow adjustment, which will change the actual tension to the rear deck lid, or tonneau. You will need a 13mm and a
15mm for this adjustment. Turn in the adjustment to pull the bow away from the lid, turn out to extend the bow towards the tonneau. A gap of 2 millimeters is what you are looking for.

As a sidebar, there is a revised weatherstrip with a stuffer, that can be installed, from the 02 model year, to insure that the bow does NOT contact. 02-08-111-01 gives you the part number as 10319827.



This is the close up for the adjustment on the #5 bow. Just remember, count the turns on the first side, and do the EXACT same thing on the
other side. If you do not, you could bend the #5 bow. The 13 is your jamb nut, and the 15 is the actual adjustment.

Next is your wear point on the B pillar glass location. This pic is your actual look at the B pillar, when the door is closed, and the glass is
ok, and not hitting the top.



Just remember, that this adjustment will affect your tension on the latches on the windshield frame, and it should be known that you will have to put more effort on the top to latch it. This is due to the fact that you are changing the geometry of the top, and it is ok that it be this way. The tension will be lessened as time goes on.

This is the first part.

This pic is what you will see when the door clearance is ok, not hitting, and you are closing the door. Do not expect alot of clearance, you are only looking for enough to get the door glass past, without contact, that is all.



Now, to adjust the top away from the glass, with out a lot of effort, put your top down, and then reference the pic below.



Now, the arrow is pointing to the 3 bolts, that are on each side that hold the top frame to the vehicle. I asked Ed to highlight these, because these 6 bolts are all that retain the top into the frame of the vehicle.

Directly below the arrow, is a 13mm adjustment screw, which is your adjustment. Just remember, it also has a 13mm jamb nut below it. Once
again, what you do for one side, do for the other. If, after both of these adjustments, you do NOT obtain the clearance that you require, you will have to remove the plastic trim panels behind the seat belt pivot, and loosen those 6 bolts to move the whole assembly. However, I have only had to do this once, so the chance that the simple adjustment will do you just fine, and you will not have to go this in depth.

Now, some of you have water entering in between the mating points of the weather strips. The pic below shows the screw in between the 2 rails.
Just turn it in or out, to either give more room in the joint, or to remove a space.



The last picture is the lubricant that is used for all Corvette weather strips.



While it is expensive, at about $45, one tube will last the life of the vehicle, if used correctly. This lubricant will assist in squeak noises, and itching type noises, that weatherstrips sometimes have when dry.

Follow the instructions on the bottle, and it will serve you well.

For cleaning the tops, and protecting them, RAGGTOPP convertible top cleaner, is authorized by GM for use on all convertible tops. This is sold at the NCM, www.corvettemuseum.com, and is only $20 a bottle. Once again, follow the instructions, and it will even clean up the Oak tops, making them almost new.

I hope this helps, and BIG THANKS to EHS and REDSHIFT for all the help with the photos.

Allthebest, c4c5