My T Top Conversion
 

Finally getting around to posting pics, I am not going to get in to a lot of detail, just posting pics and vids. If you have any questions just let me know, I will be more than glad to answer them for you :)

It took about 24 hours over 3 days to get everything functioning properly.

Special thanks to the following:
Stroked 383 for letting me do this conversion at his house and taking the pics
Gripenfelter for answering a lot of my questions and for his writeup
My friend Jason for letting me use his tools
Lotus289 over at Ls1 tech for all his help
Everyone who told me it couldnt be done :D

Here is a list of all the links I used for references:
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/appear...s-topless.html
http://s13.photobucket.com/albums/a2...%20Conversion/
http://www.dw-zone.com/t-tops/t-top.asp
http://gripenfelter.fortunecity.com/conversion.html



http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=...15&view=videos
Link to videos. I only ended up getting video of removing the roof and cutting through the frame. Hopefully this will motivate others that are hesitant about doing it to go through with it. The cutting was the easiest part!

Now for the pics!
Prepping the car
Attachment 35043
Attachment 35044

The first cut
Attachment 35045

Trying to pry up the roof
Attachment 35046

Better success using Lotus289's method :cool:
Attachment 35047

Roof GONE!
Attachment 35048

Cutting through the frame:
Attachment 35049

Pass side after cutting frame:
Attachment 35034
Attachment 35035

Making adjustments:
Attachment 35036

Test fitting weather stripping:
Attachment 35037

Getting closer!:
Attachment 35038

We used some kitchen sink caulk that Stroked 383 had laying around just as an extra precaution about leaks. We figured it couldnt hurt anything.
Attachment 35039
Attachment 35040
Attachment 35041
Attachment 35041

Prepping the car for fiberglass/bondo/paint
Attachment 35028

Notice the white face gauges (I still need to take and post pics of this install)
Attachment 35029

Attachment 35030

Fiberglass:
Attachment 35031
Attachment 35032
Attachment 35033

Well, those are all the pics I have so far. I still haven't completely finished the project, I need a new headliner and I still need to get everything cleaned up, the weather just hasnt been cooperating (I hate IL).

Cool Dude! :thumb:

Awesome job Derrick! :D

:cool:

why wouldnt you just sell the car and buy one with t tops? you know that they're going to leak

You're a glass half full kind of guy, huh? There have been lots of people who have done this, and have no leaks. Selling it and buying another, would be kind of silly just to get t-tops.

I've done it three times and had no issues with leaks. Really, this isn't a hard mod.

You sir, are more brave than I.

They dont leak (anymore) :lol:

My car only has 54K miles, thats why I didnt just sell it and buy another one. I tried to find someone to trade me straight up for a fbody with t tops in similar condition with no luck. I really wanted t tops, so I went ahead and did it. It cost me about $350 total.

Yeah, because we all know factory T-tops never leak.

Nice dude...there are like 24 hrs of a gap in photos w/ all of the metal work but it turned out well. Any new word on the headliner? Bring it over and we can re-do it pretty easily if you want.

You got that leak fixed now?

hmm, I never knew that underneath the fiberglass roof panel the t-top holes were still present. Has anyone ever thought of just peeling off the top piece and making a new fiberglass piece with two pieces of plexi or glass? or perhaps two very small electric moon roofs O_O

LOL. only in the car wash :D

T-tops were one thing i definately wanted on my car (along with it being a trans am, and black was my no 1 color choice) i don't think i would have bought a car w/o t-tops.

I put a bunch of that weatherstripping RTV all around the drains, making it waterproof. No leaks so far.

New headliner is going to cost $250+ unless I find a bargain. I guess I will just save up the money and hope I find one before then.

Had mine for years, never leaked once. I don't understand how anyone couldn't figure out how to fix most leaks from t-tops.

Wow i didnt relize they t-top formation is actually still intac under the roof panel. Doesnt actually look to hard to convert over to t-tops. My buddy picked up a bargain retardedly cheap and the only downside is its hardtop.

That's no downside if he's going to make a dragster out of it. :)

X2. I was lucky with my Trans Am, the factory T-Tops didn't leak in mine (not even in the carwash) but I know a lot of people whos tops did leak from the factory. That being said, the few that I know that have converted theirs haven't leaked at all. They took the extra time to fix up the trouble spots and the tops fit more snug than my factory job.

I think most people's t tops leak because they never take the time to properly adjust them. To get to the mounting brackets you have to remove the headliner which can be a PITA since they are very frail and break very easily. I really dont understand where they could possible leak from either, unless the glass was not touching the weather stripping all the way (assuming the weather stripping was in good condition).

Thats exactly what i was thinking when i saw that. It would look cool and keep structural integrity.

Great looking job so far Derrick! Man, you got some balls to take that saw to the car for the first cut! Dunno if I could do that..

Keep the pics coming!

Looks good Captain. Might want to tan those legs. Sometimes I wish my car didn't come with t-tops.

Exactly.

Good job dude!

I got a headliner from a junk yard for like $15 after I did my conversion. Then I just bought some fabric and re-covered it. I also only paid $20 for my t-tops (person spelled everything wrong in the ebay auction and I was the only one that saw them I guess. They were pissed).

The only junkyard near me that has one for t tops wants $100 for it, and I am not even sure what kind of condition its in. I put my hardtop one back in and cut out the holes for the t tops, but when I took it back out the wind caught it and snapped it in half :mad: I think it would have worked too.

for that kind of money you should just get one of the ABS plastic ones which are around $200 i think. i made the mistake of trying to recover mine a few years ago and i think it cost me around $160 and while it looks pretty good, its not perfect. my original board broke during the process and i had to get a new one. luckily i had enough material from year one to recover 2 boards, but the glue was pricey too. so $60 for the material, $40 for the used board and $60 in glue (the glue was $15 per can and it took 2 cans each time it was done) so total cost was ~ $160 not counting a 100 mile round trip down to miami to get the used board from trans am creations. hindsight is 20/20 but if i could go back and do it all over again i would have just gotten one of the ABS plastic ones covered in graphite.

you can see where it doesn't wrap around the corner perfecty on the back side of the headliner in the first pic and in the second pic you can see where the faboric didn't completely cover the board in one spot.

Attachment 34790

Attachment 34791

Yeah I am planning on buying a plastic one, but its really not bothering me right now. Hell, I might just leave the headliner out.

Got pissed at mine about 2 1/2 years ago and yanked it out.Still haven't put one back in yet.The old one was falling apart and I got tired of all the crap falling on my head.Don't really miss it to tell ya the truth.;):D

way to go! looks good as far as i can tell.

why not get a good used one? head liners dont really see alot of wear nless the person smoked or was huge as F**K hahahaha, just a conservative money option. i know how it feels to be on a budget. looks mint tho!!

thats not true. a southern car without tinted tops or shades will have a pretty faded headliner around the edges of it as well as the edges of the sunvisors where they aren't covered by the windshield frame. my original headliner in my car was peeling apart on the passenger side near that little plastic clip that holds it up in the middle.

Just for reference, you can pick up a brand new t-top headliner at the dealer for about $130 wholesale. I just did for a friend a few weeks ago and plan on getting one for myself here soon.

DOH!

had i known that a few years ago i would have just done that, lol. the material from year one was $60 by itself. so even without the new board and second purchase of glue i was going to be spending $90 anyway.

Re: My T Top Conversion
 

I bought the captains car and not one drop has cone through those tops.

Re: My T Top Conversion
 

How are they holding up DJ? I'm actually using this project as part of my portfolio for a job interview tomorrow ;)