For Some reason, Alot of things havent been going my way. But I am Glad I didnt Put the Headliner In just yet..


I wanted to test Out the ( Used, Non Leaking) T-top seals I bought off Of this Kid thats parting out a camaro. I took these seals off, and they Looked Pretty good. I doused them in Leather Cleaner lol before I put them On my car, and they were even More flexable and soft. The Install went Great....

The next day It was Raining. I left My car half way out of the car port so the hatch was exposed.....Next Day,



I wasnt thrilled at all...I was exagerating alittle when I Invited you Guys to go Fishin with me, But C'mon.. Who Wants to see this after Investing soo Much time into their Third Gen...It gets Better...

More Dampness Over by the Left and right Rear speaker and water all over the back Seat...WTF?.. Im starting to get worried, if I let this water sit you know what will happen.. RUST, MOLD, The boobonic plague, YOU NAME IT, and it'l be there.. So, You know what I did ..



Ohhh Yehhh I did.. Im not taking any more chances


Look at that Crap...



back to the Drawing Board... MOLD, All Over the Place!..On the Seams, on the carpet padding, Surface Rust AGAIN! On the Floor Boards ( Not bad at all But Still there.) Time to Bring her out to the street and break out the Garden Hose, because Im Finding these leaks tonight!..

Aside The Mess Of Wires and such, you see the black Mold On the Seams...

Leak Number One.. This is what caused the still Lake In My trunk area.. It seems that the Seal Between the glass and hatch piece itself has failed.. ( i got this hatch off a 86 Camaro)

Leak Number TWO.. This Was My Fault totally.. When I Put the New hatch On I neglected to Put the other Bolt On and apply a gasket or sealer.. Other then Visually Seeing it Leak out of these Bolts this too needs Fixing

Leak Number THREE, I didnt take any Pictures of, But its the Windshield.. I have to get the reciept to the glass company and get that TOOL bag that Installed my windshield have have Him Come BAck and Do the Job Right. The water Comes In from the Holes Where you bolt the Sunvisors in..

Leak Number FOUR.. the passenger T-Top itself Leaks, I see that there is a seal In the t top itself, It Is Ripped.. To Top Body Seals are Good tho!...

And Last But Certainly NOT LEAST, Leak Number FIVE
This is the best One Yet, because We thought We repaired this One When we originally Took the interior Out, But I Guess Not... My Firewall was Rotted Under the Fan motor Housing, a/c condensor.. it was Rotted to the Point where you can see the engine ( provided you were at a Certain angle..)We replaced the Missing metal with replacement Sheet metal and I Put a NICE HEAVY Layer of Seam sealer on both sides...STILL LEAKS...

Im In a Bit Of a Bind, I got alot Of work I got to do Now, plus i work 2 full time jobs and only have the week nights to work on it.... So I have a few questions, maybe You guys can give me some good answers

- I want to UNDERCOAT the Entire Interior of the car ( For sound reduction, and Better Insulation, Can I Do this??)

- I need new carpet Padding Now, where could I Buy?, or should I use something else??

- What Should I do about the Firewall? Should I weld New metal pieces In there this time around??.. My BIGGEST BURDON IS THAT FIREWALL, Everything Else i know what the best course of action should be...Thanks for reading, all suggestions are needed lol... thanks

 

the windsheild leak where it's coming in the visor bolts holes could still be the t-tops. I'm wondering how you could possibly install USED t-top seals????? I just removed mine and there is no way in hell they were coming out and being anything remotely worth saving.

For the firewall, you should weld in a patch panel and then seam seal it. I have that same hole in mine.

 

Yes you can. A lot of folks on here have used POR15 with good results as well as sound deadener sheets of various brands.

Try 1aauto, classic industries, year one, the paddock....all the usual suspects

whenever replacing sheet metal, always weld it in.

For your hatch leaks, remove the deck lid from the glass, use craploads of silicone, make sure it runs a bead from end to end above the bolt holes that go through the glass, and below em.

 

Jay, I did In Fact buy these T top seals USED with a set Of Used In Near Mint Condition glass T Tops. These Seals Came off a 1989 Camaro Rs -or z28.. It took me about 1 hour and 20 mins to get them off of the camaro.. The Most Difficult part was getting behind the seals to remove the Phillips head screws on the passenger and Driver side Door jambs.. As long as You have a Ton of patience You can save Your self a few hundred.. You just have to make sure they actually dont Leak before you go ahead and do this... The easy part was the part the glass top sits on, you have to Gently Rock them out and clean Up your old t bar ( that black middle Piece) Because the Donor cars t bar piece is going to get totally destroyed ( In some cases there isnt alot of adhesive On those t bar center pieces, But I wouldnt use them anyway, Just Clean Up your existing One so you know that its a KNOWN GOOD piece and you wont be Dealing with any troubles in the end)...


I think the Prices for some of the things that companies sell for Our cars are just too damn Expensive, and Individuals that have what you need used or new are selling for top dollar...Business is Business but its all Bull$hit in the end, and If I can Fix it, modify it or restore it to the way it was or even better they aint gettin my dollar.....


This was the Donor car I picked at.. Ever since I started My restoration ive taken pictured of every donor car ive ever picked off Of and every receipt for every part i had to get..



Its a shame, This was a Nice Camaro my friend is parting out..




Lot of RUST And Rot, But this is how it looked when I took it Out

OH BTW - It is the windshield leaking, I spayed water ONLY on the windshield and No where Near the t top edge or by the seal.. I purpously did that just to reinforce the fact that the window guy screwed up on the seal ( it will flop up if you hit it hard with the hose...omg... haha

 

Hey IROCmonkey,

Thanks for the Info.. I work On the weekends doing Security Out In Riverhead and My Weekend consists Of reading How to's, learning more about our cars and getting the best Deals On parts. I have Delt with all of the parts carriers you mentioned In the past and The paddock has been the best, INCLUDING Hawks Third Generation. I got My t top shades from paddock and My Fuel Injectors and other things from Bruce at hawks Third Gen.. Sometimes even if the Price is alittle higher at hawks I will still want to do business with them, they have a nice selection of new and used stuff, and a while Back I did Buy some things thru Bruce I beleave he is the owner.. And a good business man too..

The back window, Should I use Silicon or WINDOW WELD? i got a tube of the window weld?

as for the Firewall, Ill talk to My father when I see Him next week about getting some good metal..any particular type of thickness of metal?

again

 

when I fixed my leaking hatch, I just used black silicone sealant, and its held up for at least 5 years now. the bolts that hold it to the glass do all the hard work, it just needs to be sealed.

ideally i would cut a patch panel out of a donor for the firewall. sorry but I don't know what gauge metal would be best. someone else might chime in on that

 

yes, that would be a good Idea, however I dont want to go thru all the trouble of removing the dash on that camaro just to find the same problem.. with that firewall.. if anything I Guess I would Just go to Home Depot Or lowes and get sheet metal equal in thickness and durability to the firewall..i really dont want to take that dash out again... but i will because this is a problem that obviously needs to be fixed, unless i want to make a aquairium out of the car,.. Eh I like seeing my fish in My fish tank, Ill take the dash out and fix it AGAIN....

 

Hey more power to ya if you got them out with out destroying them. You must have gotten lucky and they weren't glued in well. Like I said, there was no way mine would come out and be useable. I already have GM replacements ... the old ones leaked bad. I have a lot of little rust holes to fix too

You could fiberglass the firewall, but really welding is the best plan.

 

i'm in the same boat as you with the pond in the back of my car....i am actually considering getting some gold fish to keep me company when i drive around...i replaced all my seals with brand new ones...but i didnt know 100% what i was doing so theres a leak on the passenger side, right in the corner of where the t-top seal itself meets up with the seal coming off the body of the car in the back part....i have tried all the tricks and hints on this site and nothing is working, in fact its getting worse, i have a new carpet in my basement that im waiting to install, but i cant until i get this leaky top situated....anyone have any ideas? i'm about 2 seconds from ripping all these seals out and getting new ones.

 

No no no.. dont rip them out.. Answer some questions for me first hehh,

1) Did you glue the hell out of these seals when you put them in?

2) Did you replace the T- TOP seals Or Just the Body seals, there are rubber Seals In the Glass T top itself.. If you didnt Hawks third Generation sells them for both sides..

* If you did, this is what the problem could very well be, at the edge of the seal it ( Im not talking about the Body seal) may not be snug against the mating surface, I know this because Mine is leaking From that same spot aswell and thats the Problem.. Do all Procedures to make it right and let the silicon cure then test With the garden hose..

* There may be 2 more possiblitys on why this is happening.. If you remove the passenger side door panel There is a 10mm bolt, and there is felt on it, you can adjust this to how far the window or how close the window presses up against the seal... Mine was too far away on the Drives side, Letting wind and Water in... too close could do it to, you have to get it just right, Test with hose...

* Finally the last thing, there is a part Inbetween the Rail going down for the window and the strip that the glass t top itself lays ON, you have to screw in a Piece to the t top, did you do that?..

- If all this still dont work, try Readjusting the Black Plastic retainers that the t tops Lock into, I never delt with replacement seals, but they may be slightly different from the O.E.M's... thats something I will Find out shortly... let me know the Outcome...

 

Oh yeH,


Do youself a favor and Check this out , there are 4 Bolts that hold your glass Hatch to the Body, there is a Plastic Piece behind your Dome Light, or overhead console, I dont Know what you have. But the plastic Piece is the color of your Interior and It has 4 screws I think.. if you take that down you will be able to access those bolts.. When you do a water test On your t tops Check for leaks In those bolts too... I made a mistake of Not Putting 2 bolts back in and I had a bad gasket On one.. Also I have talked to a few people already who didnt Know where the hell the water was comming from on their speaker panels and the back seats being wet.. those Bolts have gaskets and if they are old and cracked, or Even fail During the hose test replace them with gasket meterial a nice thick one ( equal to the existing one) and some silicon too.. Ill even go alittle Out there and Put teflon tape around the threads, I WILL NOT HAVE MY INTERIOR DESTROYED, and Im sure you feel the same way...About yours that is lol

By the way, I wouldnt Buy the gold fish just yet, if you scroll Up Youwill see conversation about How to Fix that, I think, ill look..

yeah its there, But hers How to fix it for good.. This I have done before But Used something else, then the window was shattered By my mecanic and I got another one off a 80's camaro... 'That obviously leaks lol...

* WARNING - This Sucker is Heavy, Dont be Fooled, When My Girlfriend Un bolted and removed the Hatch shock lifts I felt the weight of this thing..

- this is How to Do it without taking It Off the car.. thats Unnessesary, and alittle Dangerous to your glass.. -

-7 STEPS TO KEEP Oceanography in the classroom and Not In your Trunk space-

1) I had One of those markers that used car salesmen write stuff On the windshield of there inventory like ( $11,500.00 Are you stupid enough to Buy it), anyway its good for marking where the metal hatch lid sits On the glass, Your gonna want to do this because if you dont, and when you put it back on and bolt it down it wont Latch on to the Lock or it will be Crooked, or it will be soo far out it will look Like a Poor A$$ Rear end Collision repair.. So mark it off ( And CHeck to see if the lid is Already Flush with the Body to begin with) Run a bord across the back of your car so when you put it down, it has something to rest On and wont Lock back into the hatch pull down..


2) Now thats done Remove the plastic Cover that will reveal the 10mm ? 11MM ? Bolts.. there are a few phillips + head screws to remove then take your flat head and pop it off... Loosen those Bolts that are holding the glass and metal lip together. leave One Bolt threaded In a few turns, theres gonna be a Bracket that attaches the shocks to the lid.. take your marker and Just Put a ^ arrow so u dont try to put it in backwards ( I dont Know if you could ) there are Plastic retainers Make sure you Note where they come Out of and Put them back According... The Fun part is comming..

3) this is where your gonna need a Buddy, Or In My case MOREEN... ( Hey, Atleast shes really Interested In working on cars and getting her hands dirty, Just not all the time) lol...Take the bolts Out of the sides of the lid that retain the Shocks for the hatch, one at a time, I think they are 7mm Not sure.. Once released you and your buddy Lower it down onto the bord * Note, while doing this its suggested you dont say things Like " Dont Fart" or make weird faces or you risk loosing one side and it Crashing down...( A Personal experiance that almost cost me a Hatch)...LMAO - weeks later It got shattered By my Mechanic :O

4)So Now that its down, Begin to take the Lid off the glass..( Not soo easy is it?) haaha if it came off with ease the seal was dead and More played out then the Doo wop bands of the 50's... If its giving Trouble dont be afraid to Pry it up then down and get in there with a Knife it will Come Looose Just dont gorrilla it

5) Once you get it off, its not that hard to Clean Off.. Scrape it off the window with a razor blade or whatever you have to do the Job and clean the glass surface. The remans On the Lid should Come off In just one shot and should leave a fairly Clean surface... Just remmeber to take Not On where Sealant was layed..

6) Once Cleaned Up You can use the Following, Silicon or window weld.. I Used Window weld But I read that IROCMonkey used alot of silicon 5 years ago and its been straight eversince... GO with the silicon, its less expensive, I payed almost $25 for My window weld.....

7) mate the surfaces, put everything back together In reverse order.. Let Fully Dry..

Any Questions Or Probs Let me know...

 

well all the seals, on the body and the tops, are new OEM from hawks....i did glue the crap out of them with the yellow weather strip adhesive from 3M....but that stuff didnt really stick too well and i could actaully tear it right off lol the new black stuff from 3M works a lot better, but tomorrow me and my dad are probably going to start by taking off and re-seating the seal on the t-top itself....i know that its not sitting up against the other seal correctly, i took out all the trim, held a garden hose on it and i could see the leak, but no matter what i did to try to cure it, it kept leaking worse

 

Try it everything Out... I Hope it works out for you..I cant wait to get Home and Tare My Dashbord Out tomorrow Evening.. Then Get My Dad to weld new metal In place of the Rotting hole I have In My firewall...man that Really pisses me off.. I thought I Fixed it...I may have OverLooked a spot, Because theres no way that seal I made Could fail....