[WANTED] Nylon guide for 1965 Dodge Dart convertible

[azaustin]

I’m looking for the two nylon guides for the convertible top frame on my 1965 Dart convertible. There is one guide on each side. It looks like they prevent the top frame from moving inboard as it goes up. I looked at Classic, Legendary, and a couple of top suppliers but couldn’t find any. They did have them for some Chevys but they won’t work on my car. The one in the picture is broken. The one for the other side is missing. Thanks.

 

[Dana67Dart]

If you are willing to loan me yours I can reverse engineer it and make some out of an ok plastic. Depending on usage it will last for a a few years. I'm looking into having some parts made with some more long loved plastics but they cost more.

Pm me if your interested.

 

[Dana67Dart]

I did some digging

Repos are available..

@Jim Kueneman had a design available.

From posts the aftermarket one is not a good design. Not sure what the issue is/was with it.

 

[azaustin]

Thanks. Is this one from Layson’s? I saw one late last night on their website, but wasn’t sure it was correct since it looks a little different - the top isn’t rounded like the original I have. The mounting with rivets is the same. I will check out the link to Kuerneman. Also, I appreciate your offer to make one. I have considered buying some Delrin and trying to make one on my mill. Were you going to try to scan and print one?

 

[azaustin]

Just figured out where the part you posted came from. Thanks.

 

[Dana67Dart]

Classic Ind

I played around with just photos from the web and came up with this.

A LOT of assumptions on my part!

Like the curved back? photos look like its curved but is it?

If you're comfortable sending me your part with the metal attached I can make up a part identical to the OEM. I can also make minor modifications if the OEM is less than functional.

L

 

[Dana67Dart]

Is this one from Layson’s?

The one on Layson's website is really bad looking from a manufacturing standpoint. maybe its just a bad photo but...

on classics website its not much better

 

[azaustin]

I will take a picture of the part super-glued together along side a scale. Also a picture of the mount it sits on. Nice work. We’ve come a long way since the days of orthographic projection. The part is actually flat with a bevel to guide the top frame. It isn’t much, but doesn’t need to be.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

Mine were on Shapeways before it went out of business. I think I have some at home that I had made by another place but they don’t have a Marketplace to order direct. Problem is I’m away from home for a few weeks.

 

[azaustin]

No problem. I’m working on it with Dana67Dart. Thanks.

 

[Jim Kueneman]

I did some digging

Repos are available..


View attachment 1716368883

@Jim Kueneman had a design available.

From posts the aftermarket one is not a good design. Not sure what the issue is/was with it.

The plastic they use is soft and deforms under the tension loosing the ability to latch.

 

[azaustin]

Wow! I’m impressed! Arthur C. Clarke said “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” This is getting pretty close to magic. Your part looks much nicer than the one shown on Layson’s or Classic Industries. They show pop rivets with their parts. I’d be ok with that if it was a nice stainless rivet.

I took some more photos this morning. I used my calipers and a steel scale to measure the distance between the rivet holes. It’s not perfect because the a holes are not exactly on the same plane. But it is close. I sent some pictures of the bracket for reference. I got a little less than 21mm (20.57mm or.810) on my calipers between the holes, and my steel showed pretty close to that. You can also see the length of the long end of the bracket referenced to the scale. The short end is pretty close to 7/8”.

Let me know if you need anything else.