500sl hardtop problems

[Damian]

Hello everyone.

The other night I parked my 82 500 outside in the rain for the first time since I brought it, with the hard top on. The result was two very wet front seats ???

Upon further investigation of where the water was coming from, I found that the drips where coming from in between the interior hood lining and top rubber seals for both the left and right side windows. I first thought the rubbers rubbers on the hard top were no good, but this doesn't seem to be the problem as the water is coming from between the inside of the rubber and the interior panels with the grab rails.

Can anyone tell me is there supposed to be a rubber seal between the crome strip around the outside of the side windows and the roof skin itself. The water must be getting in behind this chrome gutter strip.

I feel the poeple who painted it may not have assembled it correctly! Either way it left me and my girl friend with two very wet behinds (imbarising to say the least).

If any one could shed some light onto this, and maybe how I would go about removing the crome work around the side windows I would much apprieciate it.

regards

Damian

[Damian]

I think I have already found the answer.

I was told that under the chrome channeling for the rubbers ontop of the side windows, and in between the gutter strips to the roof skin there should be a some sort of sealing compound. Aparently Mercedes used some sort of linseed based putty on the early models?
I will have to hunt aroun and find something available now that will do the job with out effecting the paint, I don't realy want to use silicon as if ever the roof needs painting again it could cause problems and is very difficult to remove properly.

any suggestions ?

cheers

(hopefully a much dryer) Damian

[Gilly]

In your first post you describe the car as ab 82, are you actually in possesion of a 92 R129 chassis?

Gilly

[Damian]

Sorry for the confusion Gilly, must have been a slip of the keys.

It's actually a 1982 107 500SL, which has it's hard top of with the attempt to remove the side window trims as we speek. Think I will replace the window rubbers also.

cheers

Damian