Gotta say, I like the hard noggin better than the soft one!
Hard Noggin Head Liner
I had the hard top on a rolling
dolly for months and finally got to the head liner. I followed the guidance of the boys on the
YouTube Alpine Channel, very helpful.
When they tell you to keep your hands clean, listen to them.
Each headliner bow is color coded,
but Alphie’s only had a small chip of paint left on a couple of them. I used some colored electrical tape to be
sure I had the right bow in the right place.
Front – blue
Second – green
Third – red
Rear – yellow
In case you were wondering.
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| Yeah, they tell me the wrinkles will go away somewhat on their own. If not, I'll have to figure something out. |
As the Alpine Channel boys suggested,
I collected (and ordered) a pile of metal clips so that I wouldn’t need glue. The boys said they used very
little glue, I didn't use any, so I hope Alphie’s head liner doesn’t sag, fall down or come lose.
Installing the head liner is tedious
but not very difficult. Take your time
and wash your hands.
You’ll note in the pics that Alphie’s
head liner is loose in several places, but the boys tell me to put a small space
heater on the floor board and heat the interior up a bit and when it cools, the
wrinkles will tighten. I haven't done it
yet, but I’ll let you know ow it turns out.
Installed the Rear Glass
All hard tops really need a rear
window – the Alpine Channel boys cover the install in their head liner video by the
way. No magic here, just don’t get in a
hurry and follow their instructions.
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| Not a great pic, but it shows the buffed out stainless trim, well, half of it anyway. |
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| Rear glass with shiny trim! |
Windscreen Trim
While I was on the Alpine Channel, I
re-watched the video about installing the windscreen/shield and found that I needed
to have installed the lower stainless trim beneath the body-to-windscreen frame weather
stripping when I sintalled the frame, oops!
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| When I installed the windscreen, I didn't realize the lower trim had to go under the body-to-windscreen frame weather stripping |
This meant I had to loosen the bolts
holding the frame to the body to free some space to shove the trim under the weather
stripping. It was a pain, and I abused
the weather stripping a bit, but I got away with it. The trim is in and the windscreen is bolted
back down.
Windscreen Wipers
I installed the windshield (for us Yanks)
wipers when I finished the trim. I
collected the wipers and wiper arms from Alphie and the Organ Donor, bought a
used set from eBay but didn’t have a complete, matching set – at least not a set
I was willing to slap on Alphie’s face.
So, I ordered a new set from Sunbeam Specialties: they aren’t OEM, but
they are damn close.
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| Boo Ya! |
Refitted the Hard Noggin
You may think “refitting the hard
noggin” is just a matter of putting it on the car, but nothing is ever that simple. With my wife’s help, we gently lowered the
hard top on Alphie, being sure to line the pointy doohickies at the rear with
the holes in the boot hinges.
At this point, I found that the
pointy doohickies almost, but not quite, lined up with the hinges. So, I had to undo the “boot (or trunk)
curtain” at the back of the boot to loosen the bolts that hold the boot lid hinges to the body. A few gentle taps with a rubber mallet aligned
the hinges to the pointy doohickies, and the hard top dropped into place. Not a difficult job, just a fiddly and anxious one.
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| The hard noggin pointy doohickies fit into the holes in the boot hinges. |
Mounted the Door Mirror
This one was a nerve wracker because
I had to drill holes in Alphie’s really quite awesome paint! First, blue masking tape over the paint where the mirror
will go. (Actually, first look at tons
of Alpine Series IV pics on the interwebs to see where most people place their mirrors.)
Second, mark a dot through the screw
holes in the mirror bracket. Next,
measure very precisely the distance from the side light glass frame and center
punch the exact spot where the holes will go.
I noticed that the marker dots didn’t line up parallel to the window
frame and got worried the mirror bracket would be crooked, hence the measuring
from the window frame to both holes.
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| Now, Alphie can see what's seeking up from behind! |
Next, measure the distance between
the holes and compare the measurement to the mirror bracket. Measure a ton, drill once!
I drilled a small pilot hole, checked the measurements again. Bumped up to a slightly bigger drill bit, then a third bit for drilled the final diameter.
I touched up the bare metal with a spot of paint – no rust leaking from under the mirror mount! Two #8 oval head Phillips screws with nylon lock
nuts, all stainless steel, of course.
If you're were wondering why I haven't installed the door cards yet, now you know.
Sorted!
Next: More tuning, plugging leaks and going on the first drive!
