Vinyl Top Emergency!!!

[KerryPinkerton <pinkertonk@xxxxxxxxx>]

Mark, you don't have to get a kit but if you don't the
seams wont be flat heat sealed like you saw mine were.
 The fact that mine are a little flared was the
installation guys.  The 'kit' can't define the window
because it is a function of exactly where the top
vinyl is placed where the window openings become.

Kerry

--- Mark McDonald <tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I am thinking of having a vinyl top put on my '71
> and had a question.
> After talking to my local upholstery/auto top guy--
> who restores old
> Mopars-- he said he could buy a kit, or a pre-cut
> top for my Imperial.
> 
> My concern is the seams.  I like the way the
> original seams on the
> Chrysler & Imperial tops look, and I'm worried that
> a pre-cut top will
> not look right.
> 
> Kerry Pinkerton pointed out to me the area where the
> difference is most
> noticeable: the rear.  (Around the backlight)  When
> you stand directly
> behind the car and look at an original top, the
> seams are almost
> perfectly vertical and parallel to each other.
> 
> This is hard to describe in words.  What I mean is,
> the seam goes like
> this:
> 
>           I
>           I
>           I
> WINDOW
>           I
>           I
> 
> On an aftermarket "kit," they look like this:
> 
>           I
>           I
>           I
> WINDOW
>          I
>         I
> 
> This is a poor respresentation, but hopefully you
> get the idea.  The
> seams spread out toward the bottom.  They are
> straight if you lay the
> vinvyl on the ground, but when you wrap the straight
> edge over the
> curved roof, the line doesn't stay straight.
> 
> My question is, can you buy the vinyl in uncut
> sheets?  Has anyone done
> it that way?  Or do I HAVE to get a "kit?"
> 
> Thanks, Mark
> 
> 
>