Does anyone know of a good place to make a hard top z28 into a t-top? Will this hurt in some way the re-sale value of the car?

 

There are a couple people on here who have posted T-top conversions... and what I noticed when I wanted to get them installed was that professionals were not willing to do it.

Some of the pictures of what the guys did themselves was really impressive. If you are handy, perhaps you should try it yourself.

 

Where can I get a kit?

 

SpeedAutomotive.com

 

best mod i ever did
go to speedautomitoive.com

 

http://www.hawksthirdgenparts.com/

piece of cake.

 

I think I saw someone is selling a kit on the board also (it was in the for sale section yesterday). Heres a couple pics people posted on here of their conversion:

Dam* nevermind, the good link I had with step-by-step instructions is down, but here are some before/after pics of someones:

http://www.geek-racing.com/curt/T-top_conversion/

 

i too was thinking of converting mine to a t-tops or maybe even a targa top, and you said no shops would do this? if anyone has done this before please give out instructions or tips

 

here's mine.

http://community.webshots.com/user/domesticviolencex

 

#1 i couldnt find a shop to do this, but from what i hear its an 8hr job for the below average do it your selfer, i just had 2 kits that took for ever to sell now people wanna do this again lol, kid cash i think was the nickname has one for sale on the board right now as we speak go check it out in the for sale section

 

very nice violence, about how long did that take, and like what materials did you use, and do you think it would be possible to make a targa-t-tops, as in instead of using the glass, using the body pieces you trim off?

 

yep its possible, do a search for whistler, i believe he made his targa out of CF or somethin like that....check his car out its a work of art.

 

After looking at those websites, I still don't really understand how to do it step-by-step. Do you guys know of a good manual or website with good instructions? I don't want to ruin my car.

 

I really LOVE T-tops ( mine are factory so i cant say much about the conversion ), but I would only do it if you plan on keeping the car until it dies. A lot of the guys that have done it did amazing jobs, but most of them had fibreglass and bondo experience. Cutting into your car isnt usually a good idea unless you REALLY know what you are doing.

Im all for the conversions these guys did, but talk to some of them before you start. The websites dont really have exact step by steps...

just my .02

~Brian

 

i wouldn't consider the targa option. too much fabrication and my car wasn't built with being a convertible in mind. it was built with t-tops in mind which is why converting to t-tops is fairly straight forward.

i tarped up my car and covered the seats and dash. i put masking tape over the rain gutter area to keep the paint from chipping. i used a dremel and cut along the forward edge of the rain gutter.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68825915RfcMQW

when it's cut all the way through, you're going to need a pry bar or screw driver. the top is glued down along the edges, the center, and along the front. pry real slow and you may be able to salvage the top. i didn't care so i kinda tore mine up. when you get it off, it looks like this.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68826146eDMkJH

looking at the center bar, you can see the holes already drilled for the center bar piece. you can also see how the weatherstripping channel is already formed except on the edges.

this next part is probably the most critical. you need to cut the roof side braces. they are fairly heavy. i used a reciprocating saw on these. you will need to leave enough metal to form the weatherstripping channel. at this point, it's better to leave too much metal than not enough.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68827563joOpPD
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68826260XwtBSE
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68826465dYRgoG

when the side braces are gone, you can look inside them and see the t-top brackets.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68827785ISClqw
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68828062UmHtjn

the top portion of the side brace metal from which you just cut will be used for the weather channel. you'll need to remove the bottom portion though. there are some spotwelds holding this together so you're going to need to cut them out.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68831571Tzbyyv

this is where you're fabricating comes in. i drew what i needed to do based on a few pictures i printed out from others who had already done this.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68830749uuQbNd
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68831157MqlcUo

you need to use the top portion of the metal brace for the weather channel by folding it up. since it is kind of bent funny, you have to make a cut in it in order to get it to lay flat.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68828372YmpHDq

once that piece is flat, you will pop rivet it down to secure it.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68831829hJnpIG
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68832389ZNOmAx

after you pop rivet this piece down, you can fold it up. i used vise grips so i could get a good 90 degree bend on it. keep it in line with the weather channel that's already there. now you can trim up your fabricated channels do a test fit. put the t-top brackets on in the hole that's already there.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68831333IqEGPD
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68830188bkFQrL

now you can put on the weatherstripping and do a test fit with the t-top. you'll need to adjust the brackets to get them to line up with the t-top.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68832988QqLHyc
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68833067cyBtyR

i used a grinder and took some of the rough edges off of the metal channel i made. i also cleared some of the crap out of the back portion under what's left of my fiberglass roof. bend and grind on the channel until the t-top fits good. when you get to that point, it's time for some bondo work.

i had never even seen wet bondo before i did this. i mixed up small amounts of the bondo with the hardener and put it in the fabricated channel. you need to fill in all the gaps. there will be a small gap in the channel that you need to build up. you can take a piece of cardboard and hold it up against the channel while you apply the bondo. this will help keep it straight. i tried using an applicator, but it was easier to use my fingers to put it in the grooves.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68833530IpbMgf
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68833562GAcmRB
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68833614FhiWrf

when you get the bondo in good, you have to sand it down and make it even with the rest of the channel. sand it all down smooth. i got in a rush with mine at first, but i've since gone back and cleaned it up some more. when you get the sanding done, spray primer in the area to be painted. i bought some color match paint and just did the whole thing so it would match.

http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68833713mrEBJt
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...68833747QuxWBa

you can also clean up any rough edges on the back fiberglass roof portion that's still left.

i did a test fit and sprayed it with a water hose. i had a lot of leaks. the t-top gasket has to be screwed in at the corners and under this is where my leaks were coming from. i put some black gasket sealant under the area that's to be screwed and everyone of my leaks went away.

i kinda got anxious toward the end so i had to go back later and do some clean up work. it took me about a day and a half with plenty of tea breaks.

i'm happy with how it turned out.

http://www.mustangmods.com/data/434/000_0356.JPG