71 Centurion Top question

[Shrav]

Hi again
My '71 came with a plexiglass rear window (ex-owner said the glass blew out one day while lowering it) and he made a plexiglass one to replace it. It too is all cracked. It looks like the top of it was hitting the rear of the compartment that it lowers into. Is there some adjustment that I can make to increase the space because I don't want to have a replacement one blow up too. I also notice that the passenger side does not touch the winshield unless I pull it down to lock it. It is very tight and it would be better if I could give the side rail another 1/4-1/2" . It also seems like it is straining a little too much to lock it (pull forward, not actually clamping into place). Are these 2 things related (the window and the slight shortness in the right side)? Are there any adjustments that I can tinker with? :Do No: TIA!

[Smartin]

I would highly recommend buying a folding top manual for the B Body cars..

They show up on ebay all the time. It has a red cover on it....made by Fisher

[carstuff44]

Probably wouldn't hurt to consider a new top (sounds like yours has shrunk) with the glass window. Then make sure whomever installs it really knows what they're doing. However, I had a new 73 Centurion convert, and literally from day one, the damned thing was hard to latch. Even after several trips to the dealer and "factory" personnel working on it, it didn't work right. I gave up and got rid of it after 2 years. GM scissor tops were not of their better ideas. I've had dozens of pre-71 full-size converts and their mechanisms never gave me any problems. Both scissor top cars I had were awful.

[damonwil]

Scissor tops are the Quasimodos of the Convertible trade. Every trimmer I spoke with said they were crap. Adam is right about the Fisher Body Manual. It took me weeks of reading it to just figure out how it worked. If the top of the glass is hitting the rear of the well then the rear window curtain is installed to high on the trim stick. Get someone, maybe on old trimmer who worked on these when they were current models, to adjust yours or install a new one. Even with today's better technology, no manufacturer attempts to do convertibles tops of this length anymore. They should be featured on A&E's Mechanical Marvels.