Glass Hatch Retrofit on Gen 1 Coupe

[Garry Bopp]

I arrived at Factory Five at 9:00 am on Wednesday and had a great visit and facility tour with Dave Smith. They had the hatch, mounting hardware and instruction sheet waiting for me. It took just a few minutes to remove the recently cracked original hatch. OK, next I had to read the instructions ... I really did that!
Painted the mounting hardware black and began assembly. Took roughly 5 hours but I work slow! The hatch fit the opening quite well. After attaching to the hinge assembly with help from Dan Golub and Dave C., we found the passenger side rode slightly high. Couldn't get it adjusted perfectly but I've been told that the body can be shimmed up to get a perfect fit. Sounds like a lot of work for just a little improvement so that may be a future project. I'm very happy with the new look!

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/4dcc6643e966c059c23cf6893d3afae6_zps11fdfe29.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/03866377bb2dc6d415ce66d356bb8a28_zpsb3e5fbe2.jpg

http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r102/theboppshop/96d2e57c5814aa2e17407d8fef6b4946_zps4dc2c716.jpg

[wallace18]

Is that what the gen 2 kit has?

[Garry Bopp]

wallace,

Yes, same glass hatch comes on the gen 2 kits.

Garry

[Tom Mauldin]

Looking good Garry! I love the new glass hatch!

[Russ Thompson]

Garry, seems to fit the same as mine.

The only problem I'm having is when closed the struts push the glass back and the rear edge of the hatch rubs on the body, I'm afraid to tighten it up at the hinge for fear of breaking the glass, did the factory give you any input on this when you installed yours?

Lokks good by the way! :-)

[Fluge]

Russ

I remember seeing a similar shift in my glass when I first installed it. I can't say for sure how I fixed it but it seems fine now.

Assuming there is enough room at the rear of the glass, have you tried positioning the glass further back with the glass closed? There should be enough play in the glass holes for you to shift it back slightly after loosening the bolts. I also put rubber O-rings on the shaft if the bolts so they don't rub the glass.

I have no idea why I am trying to tell you how to do things...but in the off chance that you may have missed something...:)

Marc

[Garry Bopp]

Russ,

I don't have any trouble with the rear of the hatch hitting the body. It's just raised slightly on the passenger side and also sits a little high in the front. We put an additional thin layer of weatherstrip along the top and the passenger side and the hatch seals nicely. Washed the coupe today and the new hatch seals better than the old one ... and it looks great!

Garry

[Russ Thompson]

Garry, doesn't hit when it's all adjusted but over a bit of time the srtuts pus it back when the hatch is closed, there is a lot of pressure with the hatch down.

Marc, I have little room on the back edge, when I get the gap I want it doesn't take much movement to cause the passenger side to start rubbing the body. I would like to know how much the glass can take so I can tighten the hinges more to keep it from creeping back.

[riptide motorsport]

Looks fantastic!

[Garry Bopp]

Thanks, everyone, I am really enjoying the new look!

Garry