Removable Hard Top has gap

[FRITZ68]

We just painted my 280SL and the top appears to sit a little higher than before painting.  We installed a new rubber gasket, so am thinking that it might settle in later.  Is there any adjustment to pull this down a little tighter?
Thanks,

Fritz

[49er]

No adjustment that I am aware of and it is sitting quite high. Was it difficult to secure the rear levers? I would check the rear seal to see if it is properly installed.

John

[w113dude]

Fritz,

There is no adjustment. Did you change the front top seal on the hardtop? if that is collapsed could cause the rear lift.

[Cees Klumper]

I would expect it to settle a bit in time. So long as you're sure it was installed properly (and it is a good quality seal), things should be ok?

[FRITZ68]

I am in hopes that it settles down when the weather warms up.  Thinking about the front seal, I recall that we bought a new front seal (above the windshield), but do not remember if there was one seal or two seals (one on the top and one on the body above the windshield).  If two seals, I had better buy the second one.  I bought all of the rubber parts from Millers and they were all in official Mercedes wrappers.  I will be checking my receipts from Millers later in the week to be sure.   Here is another picture of the area in question.

Fritz

[Cees Klumper]

There is no seal on top of the windshield fame, there's only the one fitted to the top. To me, the gap does not seem overly big. The old one just may have been very collapsed.

[66andBlue]

...  We installed a new rubber gasket, so am thinking that it might settle in later.  .....

Lets hope that it "doesn't settle in" because the top is not supposed to ride on the gasket/seal and compress it a lot!
The hard top weight rides only on the two latching pins on the windshield and the two pins on the B-pillar.
The seal should be installed in such a way that the concave side faces the outside and channels any water away from the cabin.
Next time you take the top down make sure you also have the little plug seal at the bottom of the hard top above the lid escutcheon as shown in the photo from the technical manual:

[FRITZ68]

Thanks for the detailed pictures.  I am going to access the manual and hope that I can find more information.

When you said, "The seal should be installed in such a way that the concave side faces the outside and channels the water away from the cabin", are you referring to the long u-shaped seal that goes under the rear part of the top?  I recall that this seal was so rotted that it was hard to determine much of anything and our body man had to dig it out in chunks.  He later installed the new gasket (from Miller's) while I was not present, so am not sure if the concave part of this long gasket was facing up or down if that is the case (anything is always possible). 

Either way the top looks to be sitting at least 1/2" higher in the back than before we reinstalled it after painting.  and the small round rubber seals shown arouind the pins in the two pictures may or may not be present. Are these seals on the hard top facing down?  As good as the pictures are, I cannot tell what is what until we remove the top again.  All of this is very important, as we cannot possibly have water getting into the cabin.   This is my wife's car and she plans to leave the hard top on permanently, so obviously we want to get it installed properly.

[66andBlue]

Provided the tab in front is still in place and not rusted away it is actually difficult to install the seal incorrectly. Now if the tab is gone then you have a puzzle. Anyway the first photo should explain the correct orientation.
Since the hard top can pivot at the B- pillar locking handle the rear can go up if the front comes down too low. In that case the door window would not roll up completely provided you did not make any door window adjustments. Have you checked that?
The only way you can raise the front is by adding shims under the locking screw on the hard top. They are shown here: http://www.sl113.org/forums/index.php?topic=17760.msg123375#msg123375.
Another possibility for the raised rear end is an incomplete down lock of the B-pillar handle. The left and right handles are not identical and the pin is not exactly perpendicular to the handle. Make sure these orientations are correct. See second photo.
Also, if the hex nut is not flush with the bushing through which the handle stem goes than the cone shaped assembly cannot be seated deep enough.
Finally, if the chrome cap over the B-Pillar is installed too high - I imagine that this is quite difficult to do - then the top would ride to high.
Hope this helps identifying your problem.
And yes, the plug shown in the previous photo faces down. It goes into the bottom of the hard top right next to the U-channel seal.