So, we had a beautiful day here with temps reaching 70, so I brought my weatherstripping in the house, and used our shower (haha!) to clean 40 years of crap off of them. I'm sure my wife would love to see this pic. (you bet I cleaned it up after I was done.
Then I let them lay out in the sun for a half hour and I started cleaning the glass. I am using the glass out of the top I just scored because it is a bit better than what was in the top I had.
The gaskets are the original equipment. I guess having multiple tops is paying off in experience.
From what I can tell there is 4 ways to get windows/weatherstripping out of a Blazer hardtop.
1. Hammer - Which I have done. But don't hate... the window was already busted.
2. Cut the weatherstripping - Which I have also done. But since the original weatherstripping is so much better than aftermarket, I wouldn't recommend this method.
3. Start at the corner, work the weatherstripping out by pushing it inwards and continue around the window until it comes out in one piece. This typically requires 2 people, a lot of patience, and a lot of time. It is the best method (one that I haven't done YET-but I have one window that needs to come out of my main top that I plan on using this method for)
4. Cut the top up - And, yes... I've done this too! But, also... dont hate, the top was one of the worst I've ever seen. Beat up bad (missing sections, pieces, and it had a big hole in it-not to mention, it had been in the weather so long, you could stick your finger through the brittle fiberglass) I got it for $40 and I figured the windows were worth that.
So, anyways... back to the windows. I started by spraying them with a cleaner/degreaser and letting them soak. Then I wiped the god awful grime off and wiped it dry.
Then I sprayed it with commercial glass cleaner and scraped the whole window with the cleanest razor blade I had in my garage.
After finishing the clean up, I wanted to get the weather stripping re-installed (even though these wont be going on for a while) I just figured they could protect the glass from breakage. So, after getting the first one laid out, I realized this was gonna be a bit tougher than taking them off.
I figured the corner with the widest angle would be the best one to do last, So after getting the other 3 fitted, here is what I was left with...
After wrestling with it for a bit, I decided I would try to have the weatherstripping come up from the bottom of the glass rather than trying to stretch it over the top of the glass. This worked much better, because when you are pulling it up from the bottom you can "hook" the lip of the channel and work it on.
I also found a scraper in my garage with a hooked end. It proved very valuable in getting the edge of the channel started over the glass.
SO... here they are, ready for install...
Only trouble is, my plan is to spray the top with Al's Liner, so until that is done, these will go in the loft in my garage until they are ready to be installed.
