What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

vinyl tops

ryoken

ryoken

Puppy Fabricator
 Premium
GMOTM Winner
Joined
Jun 13, 2003
Posts
35,573
Reaction score
13,560
Location
Jersey Shore
ok.. I've thought about posting this topic on quite a few occasions...



but here it is.. thought's on vinyl tops?

I always had OUTSTANDING performance/quality with vinyl tops..

all my my early 70's Cuda's, Challengers, Dusters, and even cheby malibu's had outstanding vinyl tops.. granted they where probably only 10 to 15 yr's old at the time, but nonetheless, perfect condition..

and actually, I really prefer the look that they gave a hardtop vehicle. of the day. kinda broke things up... I like hardtops for the sail lines, etc., as opposed to ragtops. but I also liked, how a black vinyl top broke up a paint job.. my 71 Cuda, 72 Duster,, 71 Cahllenger and a few others all had perfect vinyl tops.. all where black, except my Duster had a white one..

your opinions on them?


I'm gonna hunt down some pics now...
 
They have their place on older cars but I think the manufacturers trend died for a reason. I would think a vinyl covered hard top would look... well, not good. :barf:
 
I don't know.. the pic I posted a 1/2 hr ago would suggest otherwise imo..


Cuda1_zps41560174.jpg



that black top breaks that car up perfectly and looks killer imo... better than the roof painted would imo
 
They eat the tops off of otherwise decent cars. I passed on a Cutlass and Skylark last year because the tops around the rear glass and and even the roof of the Cutlass were swiss cheese.

Now, they look ok, but I worked with a guy who had a better idea. If you HAVE to have one, why not get a thin choosing of the spray in bed liner done on it? Quality stuff they can color and that actually seals instead of trapping moisture.
 
ryoken said:
I don't know.. the pic I posted a 1/2 hr ago would suggest otherwise imo..


Cuda1_zps41560174.jpg



that black top breaks that car up perfectly and looks killer imo... better than the roof painted would imo
Click to expand...


I dunno. For one, that car is bada$$ even with a red top. A flat black (paint) top would look similar without all the other concerns. If I saw a black painted one sitting next to a vinyl-topped one, I don't think I'd award any extra cool points to the vinyl top. I don't hate em though.
 
My '69 GTO had a perfect vinyl roof,but I have seen many cars that had extensive rot under them around the rear glass and sail panels up here...
The roof itself never seemed to rust under the vinyl though..maybe the contact cement was a good rust preventative?..

I liked the looks of a vinyl roof,but didn't like the rust potential..the bedliner idea is a good one..The roof of a van would be a good place for Rhino Liner,I had to paint mine 3 times in ten years,then I used mobile home aluminum roof coating instead..thats taken 10 years to let the rust come thru again..looks like kaa-kaa though...
 
eh, I don't buy that for a second.. no bedliner-y spray is gonna replicate that.... maybe 30, 40 yr's down the road there have been issues with a real vinyl top, but I wouldn't necessitate that to the overall condition of a car...


I've seen resto shops do vinyl tops plenty of times on clean roofs... ..bedlining the roof just seems like a ghey hoax-y look to it. which honestly, I would think would look pretty ghey.. an armor-alled herculined roof isn't gonna replicate a clean 70's muscle car vinyl top..


I was kinda more looking for what people thought of that breaking up of the body color on factory original cars...... obviously painted roofs are cool, but I like the lokof a vinyl top..
 
see, that's the point of this..


first it's just not a look from 50' away, flat black would look the same.. not even close when your armoralling that pebblegrain vinyl up close...

but yeah, it is the break up of the color..

eh, guess you need to be a hotrodder of that gen and owned vinyl top hotrods to appreciate it, if you don't get that, you never will..
 
ryoken said:
eh, guess you need to be a hotrodder of that gen and owned vinyl top hotrods to appreciate it, if you don't get that, you never will..
Click to expand...

No, I've been there and can appreciate it but I just think it would look awkward on a truck.
 
who said a thing about trucks? :dunno: never implied such a thing, was talking muscle cars..

hadn't even contemplated a truck.. but yeah, my initial thought would be that might look a little odd on a truck...
 
I like the look. I agree, it'd be real hard to have truck bed liner or anything else mimic the look up close or even 10 feet away. If I had an awesome showroom to keep a nice car in, or even a half decent garage that was a bit more weather proof, I don't think I'd worry too much about the rust potential.

Why not take it to the next level though, and go full blast with some custom leather? :D
 
I just want to emphasize this isn't a post about how a vinyl top would affect longevity, but more on how a perfect one looks as opposed to a painted roff...
 
Has to be a car with big haunches. The right window line, which honestly alot of Ma Mopars cars in the late 60s early 70s. I love chargers with vinyl. So yah I do like it
 
I guess I always hated convertibles because they look ugly with the roof up. A vinyl top always made me think it was a hard top posing as a convertible. Oh, and they rust underneath the vinyl tops around here.

Martin
 
They look good on the old Muscle Cars. The rust factor is why mine came off my 69 Chevelle and I reprinted under where It sat. Like was said. If it sat in a garage when not in use it would Last A hell of a lot longer without the rust issue. Other than that I always liked the look.
 
My thoughts on how they look are directly tied to the fact that they rot tops off cars. I prefer a car without them, because I know under that top is a bubbling rust fest and it makes me cringe to think about that.

All the old G-Body cars I've had a chance to get over the years that there was a pool of water in because the only thing holding the back glass in was the trim hanging on snags of the vinyl has given me a distinct dislike of them.

I much prefer a clean, body color top or a painted two tone like the 50s cars.
 
I like them. I think it depends on the car though. They look great on a more highly optioned car, but might not fit so well on a no option base model.
 
good posts guys....

this was definitely about how it looked, not rot.... but I can certainly see how, and have seen what it can do.. my buds olds for one...

that said, I always had perfect tops on all the mopars I had back in the day, challenger, cuda even my dusters white one, where all perfect.. armor all and go... granted, the cars where only about 15 yr's old at the time too...

and Martin, I'm never really a fan of any muscle cars in convertible... I like hardtop roof/sail lines too much... :doah: :haha:
 
Put me in the "like" column as well. Give me a 67 Chevelle light blue with a black vinyl top. Awesome lines and color combo IMO.

Bedliner is NO substitute for the real deal.

It's been proven over the years that any car on the assembly line that was slated for a vinyl top did not get fully painted on the roof which left the metal "less protected" and that caused rust. Not necessarily a fault of the top itself, just the mfg saving some coin during the assembly process.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom