Weatherstrip Retainers
 

Several years ago I replaced the weatherstripping on my roof panel. At the time I noticed that several of the holes for the screws holding on the retainers were stripped, so I removed the retainers and epoxied small pieces of wood fill into the stripped holes. Ever since, I have had real difficulty getting the rear deck to close when the top was stowed. This was helped a bit by replacing the aftermarket weatherstrips with OEM strips, but the situation still exists. If the top is not positioned exactly right, whithin a very small fraction of an inch or so, the decklid crossbucks will hit the roof panel firmly enough to prevent closure. Even when positioned properly it is so close a fit that I have two notches worn in the trailing edge of the roof from the crossbucks. Looking at my roof this evening I noticed that the centers of the weatherstrip retainers bow in toward the center of the car )( Is it possible that I reversed the strips when I reinstalled them? I know that there are left and right retainer strips but without removuing the rubber I can't tell if they are reversible. Any other suggestions for this problem?
Thanks,
Harvey

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Harvey