I've been looking around here, and have noticed that a lot of guys convert their hard top cars to t-tops.
my question, is why? with as many as these cars that were produced, why not just start with a ttop car?
When i bought my car, i specifically looked for a hard top because i didnt want to live with the rattling, leaking, and extra body flex that comes with the removable top. O
f course, thats because im planning on making the car a road racer eventually.. but really, wouldnt this just eventually drive up the price of hard tops? and mess up the production numbers when people buy a car and try to figure out what it came with down the road?

 

Some people put a lot of work into other areas of their cars and don't want to have to start all over again for the T-tops. Yes, they could have started with a T-top car in the first place, but maybe they didn't feel like they really wanted them at that point.

 

give me tops.
this sucks that the new camaro does not have that option.

 

i hated mine when it was a hard top. thats why it met its fate with Dr. saw zaw. You wont have leaks or rattles if you keep the tops properly adjusted. Its just all about how you maintain your car. maitence just isnt changine the oil, rotating the tires or giving it a tune up. Its making sure that every screw is tight and every bolt or nut is tight. I pulled out every screw and bolt that helf my dash on/ together and used red lock tite to make sure nothing moved anymore. Just like i did the t tops mounts when i adjusted them. Hell i found a little bit of rust on my floor board and proceded to remove the entire interrior of the car and now the entire interrior of the car stripped the paint and now all the interrior surfaces that are metal have a nice thick coating of por15. I plan on using por15 on the entire underside of the car when i swap my rear end out. I will be stripping all of the undercoating of corse.

My point is with the right preperation and adjustments and maintence you will not have leaks or rattles. It is also a good idea to wipe the weather stripping down with a silicone lube once a week or every other week. It replaces the oils in the rubber and keeps them fresh.

 

That's the precise reason I'm doing the conversion to mine. I'm quite attached to my car, and I don't EVER plan to get rid of it. I don't care about resale value or rarity. This car is for MY enjoyment, and that's all I really care about...

 

alright, i understand that i guess... i tend to only look at cars as performance machines.. t-tops= body flex, not good for any motor sport.

 

sfc's = no flex and sfc's with 10 point cage =rock solid

 

some areas its almost impossible to find f-bodys for a reasonable price. so if you see something decent, even though its not quite what you wanted, you deal with it.

 

i cant imagine ttops being enjoyable in a car with a cage... but ive seen worse.. guy drivin the streets in a caged convertible with the top down...


i guess you guys have thoroughly answered my questions, i just wanted to know why it was so hard to find my hard top.. i joined here, and realized its because everyone is turning them into ttops!

 

Exactly...

I also agree here. I bought my Camaro as an automatic hardtop. I wanted a manual t-top, but I couldn't pass up such a good deal at the time. Back in 1998 (when I was only 17), I found a black Camaro Z28 (that's one thing I wouldn't settle for anything different- it had to be BLACK), and it was only $8900. Back in '98, this car blue-booked for $12900. So here's this flawless car (my dad & I checked it out), for $4000 below blue book value. Apparently, the guy was just selling it for what he still owed on it.

In 2001, after getting tired of the automatic transmission, I decided to convert it to a 6-speed manual. I'll NEVER switch back. In 2005, I bought all the "hardware" to complete a t-top conversion. The only reason why I haven't done it yet is, I'm currently saving up for a 6-point rollbar, new interior carpet, and some lighter-weight spray-on sound deadener/insulation. I figured I'd do it all at once, so I only have to rip the interior apart once, instead of 2 or 3 times...

 

Well, that's why I wouldn't get any more than a 6-point or 8-point rollBAR (rather than a rollCAGE). If you have t-tops, you'd be compromising the enjoyability of them with anything more, as you're puttin support bars alongside where your t-tops go. You could no longer enjoy that "pseudo convertible" feeling you get when driving with the tops off. Besides, with SFC's, I think you'd be PLENTY solid with a 6-point or even 8-point rollbar...

 

Because all hard tops are actually T-Tops with sheet metal over the frame, I think you have the wrong idea if you believe the coupe is significantly more rigid. Wanting to dedicate the car to racing makes sense that you want the modest support from the sheet metal over the inserts but I think the question of a rigidity difference doesn't matter to the rest who just want a sports car for street use. I have owned 1 coupe and two t-top versions and found no difference in driving the cars.

 

3rd and 4th gen cars lose zero measurable structural stiffness by going to t-tops, with them in or out of the car. Zero.

One of the GM engineers tested it. Dan Burk told me.

All T-tops do, performance-wise, is add 12 pounds to the car.

/thread

 

with a stock car?


what about with 600rwtq?

 

What's wrong with that when it can run in the 8's.....



The 4th Gen coupes have two more structural elements than the T-tops, with the addition of the stamped steel beams that connect the windshield corners to the rear rood hoop. Saying that these beams provide no structural benefit defies all logic. Is the end result acceptable without those beams.... I think so. But don't write them off as non-existant.