800A Top Install/Renewal questions

[Arkie]

Appears that my 800A PO had the Top off for long periods of time. When I was taking it off (to find out why it leaked) I found that NONE of the Front Fasteners were installed, 2 were broken off in the nuts and the Front Mounting Surface is bent in several places, they had installed "Weather Stripping" from a hardware store (leaked badly in a little Rain), and Caulked the joint more than once. Along the sides all the Fasteners are there but again they had used hardware store "Weather Stripping" to seal the joint.

My plan is:
Sandblast the "Be-Jesus" out of the Top and Mounting surfaces , try to straighten them as much as possible.
Sandblast/Strip and repaint the entire Top
Get the 2 Broken fasteners out, little "Screw Loose" and an "EZ Out", chase the threads with a tap to clean them up.
And Re-install before Winter .... I still got a little time ....

Questions being ...
1. How straight do these mating surfaces need to be? (Window frame side is really good and straight, but the body side has some bad spots/Bends)
2. Will the new seals allow for slight bends in the mounting surfaces or should I just plan on "Doubling" the seals?
3. Should I add a Metal Doubler to the inside of the Top mounting surface to Stiffen it up?
4. Should I add similar Doublers to the inside of the Body Mounting areas?
5. Do you really need to "caulk" the Rain Gutters if you have a good Paint surface on them?

Like I said I need to get this straightened out before Winter, and have time to do it right, but am not sure of some things, well, I'm not sure of a lotta things, but we'll stick to the Scout right now .....
I did see where BCB Sprays the Top interior with a Lining to help deaden noise, and think I'll be doing this also.

Any pointers and/or opinions are appreciated!

[- SHOP]

Arkie,

The leaking top is something that I have battled for years with my 63' Scout 80. I did all sorts from replacing the weather stripping so caulking the drip rails or rain gutters. It would sprinkle outside while I enjoyed a nice monsoon inside the cab.

Just recently I had the top re-painted and had everything in the drip rails ground out and used a heavy duty paint to (hopefully) seal the top. And the results were... Better... But not great. I went from it pouring in the cab to a drip here and there. So I think that you are on the right track trying to cover all of your bases or in this case plug all your holes. And I really think that is the key just tackling it one drop at a time. I also used a roll on lining on the inside of my cab about ten years ago and that did help a lot.

[admin]

small dips should not be a problem, but how about posting some pictures so we can see what you are working with. That would help us see what is going on?