I heard somewhere ( cant remeber where ) that the F-bods with T-Tops and a V-8, the motor will eventully twist the frame on these cars, because there is not enough metal in the tops to take alot of hp. Is this true or a myth? Thanks

-Buck

 

Its definitly a myth. However if you do some performance mods more power would have the ability to twist the car since it is a sub frame car, then again with even more power you can twist up a hard top car. Either way sfc's are a good idea for peace of mind and one of the best handling mods you can do.

 

verts and t's have heavier supports in the frame to prevent this form happening, coupes dont have the bigger suuports cause the added strength of the roof is sufficient

 

Hey doug what is sfc's? Im a dummy sometimes.

-Buck

 

sub frame connectors

 

Thanks!!!

 

I've got T-tops in my car. It's an original 5.7L TPI car and the body was straight when I bought it. The first thing I did before going racing was install SFC. After a year I put in a 6 point cage. The body was still straight and never showed signs of roof cracks. I did have some big wrinkles in the floor where the LCA were pushing up and that was after putting in the 6 point bar. There's a big wrinkle on the passenger side of the driveshaft tunnel.

This winter the car got a full 10 point cage so any worry about the body twisting is finally gone. I can still take my T-tops out with the cage installed but I can't race with them out.

 

Actually it's not a myth. The t-tops are significantly less sturdy than the hard tops. It will over time start to show signs. Tops will start to leak, cracks were the hood meets the A-pillar. It would be over a significant amount of time though. My 84' is starting to show signs. The majority of it isn't from the power of your engine though. It is from turns onto an incline, where one front tire starts going up before the other 3. T-tops and convertables were never given anything extra in the form of structural support because no one at GM ever addressed the issue until the 89's came out.

 

I can vouch for that. My cars body is straight overall. but there is one sure sign of age and stress. The drivers side t-top, where it meets the a-pillar is right up against one another, where as on the pass side, there is about a 1/4- 1/3" gap. And my t-tops leaked horribly since I got the car. I have since slowed that a ton, but I still get the occasional dribble now and then. I really nee toget my SFC's on. Can you install them with an aftermarket catback? or will it need to be welded in before the exhaust? I have heard people say it interferes with some exhaust systems

Will

 

No cage/bar in my car but definitely show signs of twisting. No paint cracking or anything like that. The passenger rear floor has a buckle in it though. When I was still running all the stock stuff, I was doing 1.6x short times and that did it. Put SFC's on when I started modding the car and nothing further has happened, thankfully.