My attempts to re-bond the glass window to the top have had little success. It's just barely enough to keep 99% of the water out but isn't a very elegant solution.

Plan was to buy a new top, once we get the check from selling our Explorer.
Had the thought today or maybe sewing in a vinyl window. I did some top repair on the vinyl window on my Midget, but it's a fair weather car & doesn't see rain.

Other than the very tedious task of sewing it in & sealing it, any reason to not give it a go? Other than the window, my top is in great shape.

Figure a yard or 2 of marine grade 40 gauge vinyl & a really long run of sail thread & apply a sealant while stitching it in. Under $100 & could have a weatherproof solution, rather than $1300 [Robbins] to $2k [OEM].

Biggest unknown would be how it behaves when folding the top, since it'll be much more flexible than the glass.

 

Committed to attempting this.
Ordered some 40ga vinyl, which seems to be the common thickness from what I've found on other forums for cars with OE vinyl windows, and some waxed sailthread [used similar on fixing a window/top tear on my Midget].
We'll see if it comes in & I have time to tackle it before I head out of town on 10/16 for the US F1 GP in Austin.

Will lose the defroster, but shouldn't be a big deal. This is a predominantly 'temp' fix to get the car waterproofed again without having to replace the whole top. Once

 

Started on it today. Removing the glass was surprisingly easy. Cleaned up the Lexel sealant I'd used to attempt to reseal the glass.
Strip of the strongest Gorilla Tape & set the vinyl window in.
took about 4 hours to stitch the top edge of the window, a lot of climbing in & out.

Its not quite as tight as I'd like it to be, but for a solo DIY, it'snot bad.

Sides & bottom should be easier as it should be doable from the outside.

Pushing a heavy gauge needle through 2 layers of top fabric and the vinyl is a lot of work to do over & over.

Hoping I can make some progress on it tomorrow & that I don't have a ton of pinhole leaks, but I can chase the inside with a sealant if that's the case.

 

 

Didn't get to work on it yesterday, but luckily, the Gorilla Tape is holding it in place well. No issues at 75mph on the highway this morning.
Only have about 80% of the top border stitched in so far. Need to work on it bit by bit over the next few days.

How it started, when I brough the car home, disregard the old glue, that was from the attempts to re-bond the glass to the fabric.



Temporarily, some black Gorilla Duct Tape was keeping it from leaking [heavily] in the rain. Just had a small drip at the top corners. Ugly, but it's worked for the time being.


The glass was shockingly easy to remove. Took a bit of time to clean up the fabric seam where it's attached.



Vinyl window has a bit of a wave to it, hard to get it really tight solo. Hoping I can pull it a bit tighter as I get to stitching in the bottom & sides.


The vinyl I ordered came with enough that I could re-do this 2 more times [hopefully not].
Worst case, I'm out $50 & 6 hours [so far] on it. Better than the $2k & 10 hrs a new top was going to be [DIY]

 

Also, more appropriate for my little 75 Midget, but my shirt was fitting for the day

 

Short rainstorm today, a few small drips on the bottom. Still have the trunk floor & drain plug removed, so it should just drain out.
Once I get it sewn all around, will probably run a bead of sealant along the edge on the outside where the vinyl & fabric meet.

 

Got the bottom edge of the window sewn up. Bonus, it's pulling some of the slack out of the vinyl.
Planning to run a bead of sealant once I get the sides done.

 

Bit more rain at the office today, just a small drip from the bottom left corner [which hasn't been sewn yet].

Just light rain so far, but looks like the Gorilla Tape is working well at sealing the vinyl to the fabric.

Once I get it fully sewn, I'll take the hose to it & see if a heavier soaking shows any water intrusion.
Visibility from inside is better today with a bit more tension on the vinyl from sewing the bottom in & closing the seams from the folded over fabric around the edge.

 

Finally buttoned this up completely. Haven't had the time & the weather wasn't cooperative when I did.
The tape was starting to fail at the top right, and Saturday was a free day [though hot]

Finished stitching in the parts I hadn't completed. Also pulled some of the wave out of the vinyl, which was a bonus


Noticed the seam at the top left had failed as well [guessing this was just bonded]
Applied another strip of the gorilla tape, and double stitched it back together


Sprayed it down pretty heavily & no leaks.
Did notice that the side support at the body line, on the driver's side, has failed. Project for another day.