1982 Collector's Edition Rear Glass

[SRReality]

Before I take it apart and plunge in, does anyone have advice/pointers for adjusting the rear glass hardware so that the glass "hatchback" closes without a gap between the top of the glass and the backside of the "top"?? I have not yet removed the plastic interior panesl to see what the mounting brackets, etc. look like, or if they are bent/warped, etc.

[jcompton]

In my case, I took the two inside panels off and tried to adjust hinge mount forward to eliminate the gap on hatchback...the only problem was that the mount was already all the way forward. All of the hinges looked fine...no wear anywhere or bent hinge arms. by looking closer at the hinge ass'y, I turned the hinge mount around 180 degrees and was able to move the hinge point forward the needed amount. The hinge arm is close to the weather strip but not too much...works fine in every respect.

[Nut]

I have the CE Cars & Concepts Kit in my '81 and had a similar problem a couple years ago. If you use the hatch as much as I do it will eventually get very slightly misaligned. jcompton has the correct fix. I tried loosening the two screws on the glass itself but there is not enough tolerance to move the glass at all. That left adjusting at the hinge mounts. Also it is a two person job. I needed someone to hold the glass parallel to the body to keep it from moving too much once the hinges were loose. You want to make your adjustments in VERY small amounts. You can easily create a leak somewhere else. Remember, that big glass window has been seating on that seal for 20 years and has form set the seal. Be careful and take your time. But speaking of the rubber seal, is it in good shape in the area of concern?

Let us know how you make out.

............ Nut

[jcompton]

I took duct tape and put about 2 ft of it on the back glass and pushed the back glass toward the front of the car and stuck the other end of the tape on the body just ahead of the back glass. That held the glass forward while I removed the hinges and reworked them. Also my latch pins at bottom had turned in the glass so they misaligned the latches (just turned them in the glass till they lined up, then the length)