I bought a T-Roof '86 Monte Carlo SS, and I don't see myself ever really removing the roof panels. I wish I had gotten a solid roof hard top car instead for the additional rigidity, less complexity and less chance of rust. Anyone else feel the same way? Is there a noticeable difference in rigidity and wind noise?
T Roof vs hard top cars
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Sad to say I found myself feeling the same way after about 2 months after purchasing my 88 Monte Carlo SS. While I do enjoy the car when the panels are off, (as close to a convertible I will ever get) the wind noise, rattles, squeaks, leaks and feeling like a bug under a magnifying glass when the tops are on the car just make me wish I had purchased a hard top. Hindsight is always 20/20 and with the car having just over 52k original miles on it, I'll enjoy it while I am the current caretaker. I have the hard top 79 Monte Carlo if I don't want to bake in the sun.😉
I've had a few T-top Gbody's when I was younger and I thought they were cool back then and I still do but now all of my vehicles have power sunroofs and I am used to having the convenience of pressing a button versus removing panels and trying to store them in the trunk without breaking one or leaving them at home and hoping no surprise storms pop up.
I have heard people complain about both T-Tops and power sunroofs leaking but I have never had any issues with my power sunroofs, my Monte has an ASC dealer installed inbuilt sunroof and the one in my Regal is a "Spoiler" style that I installed 5 years ago.
For me I like having the extra airflow while driving and the option to look at the sky.
I have definitely seen the issues caused firsthand with T-tops and rusting panels and A pillars but I feel this is usually caused by lack of maintaining the actual T-top seals.
I have heard people complain about both T-Tops and power sunroofs leaking but I have never had any issues with my power sunroofs, my Monte has an ASC dealer installed inbuilt sunroof and the one in my Regal is a "Spoiler" style that I installed 5 years ago.
For me I like having the extra airflow while driving and the option to look at the sky.
I have definitely seen the issues caused firsthand with T-tops and rusting panels and A pillars but I feel this is usually caused by lack of maintaining the actual T-top seals.
I've never had a T-Top Gbody but my 82 Camaro was a t-roof car and it was awful. Even with new seals it would leak and caused rust issues when I had sold it. My Regal is a hard top model and I wouldn't even consider anything else. I've generally avoided cars with a sunroof as well until recently with my 2017 Jetta GLI.
My T roof Monte just seems to have a lot of excess wind noise. I am sure the window seals need to be replaced, but I can't help but think the floor rust in left front corner and right front corner was because of the T roof. I just prefer the look of the hard top more, and with these cars being 40 years old, I feel more simple is better. I am contemplating selling my T roof Monte and looking for a hard top Monte SS or regular clean hard top regal to LS swap.
Bunch of weiners. 🙂
But I get it. If you actually lived back then in the 70s/80s, and ordered a new car, you would WANT some sort of roof option since convertibles weren't an option. Cars with T-tops weren't old enough back then to show the results of 20+ years of water intrusion, and no internet to have a collective b*tch session about leaky tops. Things really exploded in 1978 with the A-bodies pushing the factory option and then again in 1982 with the new F-bodies getting into the T-top world. Would I buy them today? Very unlikely. I don't mind the solid roofs, in fact, we went solid roof with the 2002 Camaros because of "lessons learned" from others. Got the sunroof in the 2010 Camaro but I knew it would always be parked in the garage. Same with the convertible ZL1. Cars back in the day may or may not have been parked indoors. Outdoor cars really had to deal with sun and weather events all the time. For some, it was their only means of transportation. Just another new car.
I ordered the T-tops on my 85 442 because I wanted them, and cost was not going to stop me. I got everything on the option list besides the block heater (in Charleston, South Carolina? No need since it would be parked in winter anyway) and fiber-optic lamp monitors (thought they looked wrong halfway back on the fenders). Think about it. Nearly 17K in 1984 was a lot of change to drop on a car, especially when you haven't actually seen one in person (around $52K today inflation adjusted).
Now, considering the cost was roughly about 8 or 9 percent of the base price for that option alone ($850 for mine), that was a big committment for wanting a roof option back then. Considering today's car prices, you'd likely be looking at around $2,500-4,000 easy for just the T-top option today at that rate. They still were about 75 bucks cheaper than electric sunroofs at the time, so that savings almost paid for the G80 limited slip...
The car's been washed a million times, been rained on a few times, but usually stored indoors. There's currently no visble rust/crust around the t-tops, but I've never lifted a panel underneath to look yet. T-tops never leaked, but you know how that goes. I do fear a bit what may be lurking underneath but I'm thinking it may not be too bad. Finger's crossed. There's no rust on the rest of the car, so I'm hopeful.
But I get it. If you actually lived back then in the 70s/80s, and ordered a new car, you would WANT some sort of roof option since convertibles weren't an option. Cars with T-tops weren't old enough back then to show the results of 20+ years of water intrusion, and no internet to have a collective b*tch session about leaky tops. Things really exploded in 1978 with the A-bodies pushing the factory option and then again in 1982 with the new F-bodies getting into the T-top world. Would I buy them today? Very unlikely. I don't mind the solid roofs, in fact, we went solid roof with the 2002 Camaros because of "lessons learned" from others. Got the sunroof in the 2010 Camaro but I knew it would always be parked in the garage. Same with the convertible ZL1. Cars back in the day may or may not have been parked indoors. Outdoor cars really had to deal with sun and weather events all the time. For some, it was their only means of transportation. Just another new car.
I ordered the T-tops on my 85 442 because I wanted them, and cost was not going to stop me. I got everything on the option list besides the block heater (in Charleston, South Carolina? No need since it would be parked in winter anyway) and fiber-optic lamp monitors (thought they looked wrong halfway back on the fenders). Think about it. Nearly 17K in 1984 was a lot of change to drop on a car, especially when you haven't actually seen one in person (around $52K today inflation adjusted).
Now, considering the cost was roughly about 8 or 9 percent of the base price for that option alone ($850 for mine), that was a big committment for wanting a roof option back then. Considering today's car prices, you'd likely be looking at around $2,500-4,000 easy for just the T-top option today at that rate. They still were about 75 bucks cheaper than electric sunroofs at the time, so that savings almost paid for the G80 limited slip...
The car's been washed a million times, been rained on a few times, but usually stored indoors. There's currently no visble rust/crust around the t-tops, but I've never lifted a panel underneath to look yet. T-tops never leaked, but you know how that goes. I do fear a bit what may be lurking underneath but I'm thinking it may not be too bad. Finger's crossed. There's no rust on the rest of the car, so I'm hopeful.
I picked up a relatively clean-ish '86 Monte Carlo SS with T-roofs back in October and its come a ways from where it was then, in part thanks to this forum's help. However the car isn't where I want it to be, and is going to require a decent amount of investment in terms of money and time to get it to where I want. Needs to be faster and better shifting with a 4L80e behind the 5.3 LS that is in it, cams with supporting mods, long tubes, full exhaust, tubular suspension with coilovers, etc.
Long story short, I am feeling half way about committing time and money to a car that I am unsure of; the t-tops bother me as I prefer the look of the hard top and I feel the t-tops are adding to the excessive wind noise, and two corners of the front floor was rotted through and were repaired rather crudely which I will need to address if I keep the car. Also I feel the car suffers from extra flex from the t-roof. There is some other smaller minor rust areas that I can fix.
However finding another Monte or Regal with hard top and little to no rust within my budget here in the north east, that could be hiding potential issues may be difficult.
My car as it sits now:
Long story short, I am feeling half way about committing time and money to a car that I am unsure of; the t-tops bother me as I prefer the look of the hard top and I feel the t-tops are adding to the excessive wind noise, and two corners of the front floor was rotted through and were repaired rather crudely which I will need to address if I keep the car. Also I feel the car suffers from extra flex from the t-roof. There is some other smaller minor rust areas that I can fix.
However finding another Monte or Regal with hard top and little to no rust within my budget here in the north east, that could be hiding potential issues may be difficult.
My car as it sits now:
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