GRS from Kzoo

With the great help from this board, I've just changed the top cables on my '98 with 55,000 miles, and the installation job went very smoothly. I did notice that all of the screws which held the cables in place on the transmissions were very loose, but I could not see any damage from that and the new cables went in nicely. Still a few more steps (like timing with the bubble level) to go but I'd like a little input on something I noticed that I have not seen on the past postings. First a little background. My problem started a couple of weeks ago when trying to put the top back up, and noticing in the mirror that the right side was higher than the left. I stopped it immediately and reversed, but could not get it all the way back down. The first thing I noticed was that the adjusting screw on the leading edge of the clamshell, passenger side, was very loose, but adjusting and tightening it had no effect. I disconnected the rods from the V levers to close the top (at least the car was in my garage), but the clamshell will still not close so it is probably "tweaked". I'll take care of that (with the two-man in-car bending technique) once I get some opinions on the V Levers in my car. As I was re-installing the V lever on the driver's side, I noted that the upper ball joint on it appeared to be further from its large plastic bushing than the V lever on the right. It looks like the left lever is actually bent inboard about a half inch from the bushing. I've tried to attach a comparison image. (I'm not sure I am doing this properly). 1) Has anybody seen this before? 2) Should I go ahead and place an order for the improved levers and rods from Paragon? 3) If I do get them, is it safe to presume that adjustment of the ball ends could be accomplished by matching the old parts? Again, thanks for the help thus far. This site is a tremendous help! GRS