My newly acquired 1974 Eldorado convertible project car

[MaR]

Next up are the pads. They cover up the frame on the sides and protect the top from wear when the top is up. The lower canvas part is stapled to the 3rd bow and the middle foam and upper fabric extend back to the 4th bow and are glued directly to the curtain.







For now, they just drape off the 3rd bow.

[MaR]

The actual top itself was quite dirty from sitting around and from the fire. It had soot on the underside and was just dingy on the outside.






A bit of test cleaning showed that it would come clean with a little bit of work.





I laid the whole thing out and scrubbed it with a stiff brush. It came about 80% clean which is good enough to install it. The rest will come off easily when it's on the car.





On the sides, there was quite a bit of soot. It all came off easily.






The rear sides where the top meets the rear quarter windows is glued to the frame. I think they used all the glue they had because it was 1/4" thick in places.




A brass brush and a plastic scraper did a great job of getting it off.




The other side was not quite as bad.

[MaR]

To put the top itself on the rear frame, you start with the zipper over the rear glass. This centers the top on the frame.




Next you run the guide cables though the 3rd bow frame and attach them to their posts. There are access holes in the bow frame to help guide the spring though the frame.








And finally, you hook the cable though the guide ring at the top of the 3rd bow frame.

[MaR]

Next I aligned the rear of the top with marks I made on the curtain at the rear tack strip.



And then I stapled it around the sides. You can see some rust staining and overspray from the car it came off of on the top material.



It all came off with a magic eraser dipped in lacquer thinner.



The other side was the same.




With the rear attached, I aligned the staple tab to the middle of the 3rd bow and stapled it on.





And with that, that is as far as I can go with the rear frame off of the car.

[MaR]

With everything attached to the rear frame that is possible, it was time to moved the rear frame back to the car.





The arms have to be about 1/3 folded back to access the upper bolts.




With the arms half folded, next this is to put the gutter spring wire in it's slots on both sides.





With the spring wire in the upper rear frame pivot bolts can go back in.





The next parts to go in are the rear glass lifters. They are very important at this step because if you try an put the top up all the way without them, the rear glass can get caught on the rear cabin wall and break the glass.





They clip onto pivots on the body near the actuator mounts and then up on the bottom corners of the rear glass. The springs attach to mounts on the floor of the trunk but they have to be disconnected while I'm still reattaching the roof fabric.

[MaR]

With the rear glass lifters in, I can pull the top material, pads, and guide wires forward over the 2nd bow. Like the other staple strips, the center is marked to line up with the center of the 2nd bow.





I then stapled the strip across the 2nd bow.





The cables that run up though the 3rd bow frame have ears that mount to the outside ends of the 2nd bow. These ears help guide the 2nd bow into place as the top frame folds up and down. Without it, the 2nd bow can flop around and damage the staple strip on the top.




The ends of the cables have brackets that mount to the outside of the front bow. As the top opens, the top bow pulls the cables forward, this aligns the 2nd bow with the front bow and they also pull the 3rd bow forward. This also pull the 4th bow up which pushes the rear glass up. Without the cables, none of the rear top frame will work.






Now with the cables attached, here is how close the top is to wrapping over the front bow.

[MaR]

The next thing to do was to put the last two bolts into the frame. They attach the ends of the rear tack strip bow to the main frame. This allow the rear tack strip bow to pivot upwards and seal the top against the body around the rear body opening when the top is up. There is where the bolt goes. You can just barley see it from inside the car.




With some assistance from my wife, we were able to get the bolts in both sides. I had to push the bow down while she worked the bolt in.






Next up was to attach the pads to the front bow. I had to retract the top about half way back to get enough slack in the pads to be able to attach them. They are attached to the front bow with three screws each.





After that, the ends of the front bow are wrapped in fabric tape to prevent the edges of the metal cutting through the top over time.




And finally before I stretch the top forward, I reattached the rear glass lift springs in the trunk so everything would have the correct tension.

[MaR]

There are a few layers on the front edge. The first one is the top itself. It has a center mark that lines up with a hole in the center of the bow.





The ends are stapled down and then the front flap is folded over and stapled.




Next is the front welt. It's a big piece of trim with a foam core that protect the front edge of the top and helps cover the staples. It was still a bit dirty so I cleaned it up first.





It has two layers and the staples go into the inside layer. It's mounted directly over the staples on the tops front edge. There is a center alignment mark like all the other parts had.






Here it is with the outer lip folded back over.




The last piece is the actual weatherstripping for the front bow. The one that was on the car was still in great shape so I just cleaned it up and snapped it back on.

[MaR]

With everything stapled in, the entire frame bolted together, and all the springs installed, I was able to close the top and see how it fits.







The fit looks good and there are just a few little things left to do. After it's stretches for a few days I will glue the sides in where the rear quarter window weather stripping mounts. There are also a handful of some small things that have to go back together on the inside.

[MaR]

 I glued the rear opening flaps on and installed the rear quarter window weatherstripping. I also noticed that I had one of the cables run incorrectly so I fixed that.







This is the first time that I have been able to completely close the interior up since I have owned the car.





I also experimented with some different techniques to clean the top. Lacquer thinner works the best but it's messy and can damage other parts of the car. Castrol Super clean is not as fast, but I think it will work almost as well.

[MaR]

And that gets us current with the project.

[35-709]

Incredible work and a fine education for us.

[James Landi]

Mitchell,

Does your car have a name?   When you stand back, before you shut the lights off, does it say, "Good night?"  Restoring your car, as you have been doing with such precision and attention to detail must have some kind of mysterious anthropomorphizing effect on this beloved machine!   Do tell.    Thanks for sharing all you've done thus far.   James

[hornetball]

I know where the Green Machine is going if it ever needs a top!

[MaR]

I know where the Green Machine is going if it ever needs a top!

This top is an aftermarket top made by Electron Top. All of my research says that they make the best fitting top for the '71-'76 Eldorado and can say that with all of the markings that they provided on the top parts, it's almost a foolproof installation.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

G'day Michael,

Firstly, wonderful, informative pictures.

I agree with that Electron make a really good top, as I found that when I replaced the top on a '71.

When working on these cars, and any car for that matter, I am always in awe of the parts that the designers, engineers and fabricators work that was performed to create these masterpieces, and that everything works so seamlessly together, putting up with years of abuse.

Your lovely pictures brought back many memories and reminded me that I will be doing the same thing in years to come.

If only the makers had put a bit more thought into rust-proofing, it would have made our lives a lot easier.

Bruce.

[chrisntam]

Impressive work, thanks for taking us along on your restoration.

[denhuff]

Hi,
i am working for the last 4 years on my eldorado 1975. finished the engine, bodywork, and paint. and now i am starting with the interior.  love to see the details of repairs you make, and like me, i am working on these details also. wished i knew the trick you did with the trunk motor before, i had the same problem with the wire and i fixed it by disasemble the motor , but it took me quit some time before i got get it together again. your trick with the brushes and the cut washer is golden
i am now working at the interior , covering it with leather, and in the spring its time for the top

i like how you show how to take appart the top. this is the first time i see it on the internet with this detail. now i know you can take it in 2 steps. thanks.  i have the workplace manual for this top, and i did it 8years ago, but your way is much easier

Thanks for all your input

[MaR]

Hi,
i am working for the last 4 years on my eldorado 1975. finished the engine, bodywork, and paint. and now i am starting with the interior.  love to see the details of repairs you make, and like me, i am working on these details also. wished i knew the trick you did with the trunk motor before, i had the same problem with the wire and i fixed it by disasemble the motor , but it took me quit some time before i got get it together again. your trick with the brushes and the cut washer is golden
i am now working at the interior , covering it with leather, and in the spring its time for the top

i like how you show how to take appart the top. this is the first time i see it on the internet with this detail. now i know you can take it in 2 steps. thanks.  i have the workplace manual for this top, and i did it 8years ago, but your way is much easier

Thanks for all your input

I did so much research on replacing the top. Virtually everyone said it was super hard and that it should not be attempted without much explanation on why. Replacing my top with a used one was not my ideal choice but I figured that it would be a great learning experience without having much money tied up if it all went south. In the end, I did not find the top replacement very hard, just time consuming as there are quite a few steps and pieces involved in the process. I'm thinking that I may make a different post in the Technical section specifically for replacing the top for people searching for top specific info.

[DeVille68]

Hello,
fantastic work! The first time and without wrinkles. Very well done

Best regards,
Nicolas