72 GS in need of a new well. With a quick peek, it looks pretty intimidating. Hydraulic fluid is soaked in and I don't want to ruin a good top, so my thought is replace the well if it's easy or just line it with a heavy plastic till winter. Has anyone done it sucessfully? Thanks! Kevin.
Why not just clean it??? Get some Castrol Super Clean and a bunch of clean rags. Should clean up in 20-30 mins.
Thanks George, but you'd have to see it to believe it. So much fluid leaked the well material actually swelled as it absorbed it. It is contoured with wrinkles and just plain beyond saving. It must have happened a long time ago, as it is dry to the touch. Just the damage left behind. The well material is thick and soft, like the boot where the padding is , just not as thick.
Problem is, if I recall correctly, the well is attached with the same screws/staples as the top itself. From what little I know, some tops have a three-piece tacking strip (two sides and a back) and some a one-piece. I would think with a three-piece it would be possible to take out the takcing strip, remove/replace the well, re-stapling the top itself in the exact same place, and be OK. Not for the faint-of-heart, or if your top is perfectly tight and you would be heart broken if it got worse. With a one-piece tacking strip this may be possible, but certainly much more difficult.
i just took off a `70 conv. top yesterday. i wanted to save the well top was shot i needed to figure it all out never done that before, recently anyways. my well is stapled to a one piece bar that runs around over the rain gutter. my problem was i couldn't get the screws out of the rain gutter because i didn't want to break the plastic so i said to heck with the well it just wasn't worth it had a little cut in a corner anyways. but i learned a lot and told myself if i had to do it over this is what i would do you need to remove the outside quarter glass fuzzies this gives you access to the forward most screw on your pinch weld trim. you need to remove your pinch weld trim. pull the back seat. pull the interior panel that covers the hydraulic cyliders. unhook the hydraulic cylinders from the top. get some buddies and pull the whole top off the car just like if it was down take it and set it on some saw horses or something now carefully unstaple the top now take off the well re-staple the new well in then staple the top back on be careful that you take your time doing this to get everything line back up straight and tight and right. now get even more buddies one on each side of the top one in the car to guide the new well back in the trunk and one to help guide the bar that the well is stapled to back in it is a very tight fit (going out and in) slide the top in and set it on the bottom bolt on the bracket that the hydraulic pistons hook to it is notched out so you can do this because you unscrewed this bolt halfway and left it in the car so the top doesnt drop down and then hook every thing back up. off coarse this sounds complicated but it all depends how easy the pinch weld screws come off any other rusty screws if applicable, and the condition of the material that you staple the new well to and use the right staples i think you could do it in a day. the picture is of the hydrualic cylinder in the car i worked on you can see the three large rusty bolts the bottom one notice the notch that is the one you leave in so you can set the top back on it during the install
What was the name of that cleaner in the first reply, again???? Thanks , Todd, but that's a little out of my league. I'll leave that to the professionals. Can't stand the thought of spending money , doing something wrong and then paying the pros to fix my screw up!
