Another Vinyl Roof Issue...

[Derision]

I just pulled the vinyl top off my '85 Grand Prix. The top looked awful; it was cracked and faded and peeling and I was expecting the absolute worst underneath (having experienced the second-to-absolute worst with an '78 Oldsmobile Delta-88 ). Lo and behold... not a spot of rust. The roof was actually painted underneath the vinyl. Making no mention of course of the glue and little bits of stuck foam and what have you... it actually doesn't look half bad, and I only spent like four hours pulling the thing off.

Okay, then... two questions.

#1 is leaking. I didn't take out any of the windows because... er... well, because I'm lazy, and because I really don't feel like dismantling my entire interior just to get at the quarter panel windows. Is this that much of an issue (I heard someone say here that you HAVE to remove the quarter windows)? I was contemplating getting some third-party weatherstripping and putting it around the edges. But in the meantime... do I have to worry about water getting in there, or in fact getting into the car? What is the benefit of removing these windows when I've already gotten the roof material out from around them?

The windows are sealed with some real gunk, as well. I've known this from day one because it occasionally... oozes... down the inside of the thing. Again... the inside of this car was never mucked with, so it's like this from the factory. I pulled out a fair deal of this goopy tar-like stuff when I yanked the vinyl out from around the windows. Should I throw some more sealer in there or around it, or just leave it like it is?

My second question involves the rear window, and the moulding around it (or the lack thereof, in this example). Since all that the GP had under the vinyl roof was a green plastic piece that was riveted around the window -- and since I brutally murdered that piece in the process of removing the roof -- I went to a salvage yard and searched around... and after five salvage yards, I found ONE Monte Carlo (and a bunch of turbo Buicks, but they all had vinyl tops), from which I managed to procure the rear window moulding. I couldn't get the clips, because some enterprising individual had already lifted them prior to my arrival. Is there any way of attaching the moulding around the rear window without using the clips that it's supposed to have? I was thinking of using some adhesive sealant around the rear window and just kind of... ehrm... gluing them in place with it, but that feels awfully chintzy to me and I wanted a professional opinion before I attempted it.

AJ

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Just what to do depends on how ghetto you want the car to be. The ideal way involves minor body work, replacement quarter windows and paint. If it's a beater, use the sealant. If not, you'll need the trim clips for the back window, the trunk to backlite panel and it's unique clips, small screws and a dril, etc. I did it the right way on mine because I intend for it to be a nice car if and when it is finished. If you want the trim piece, hit me up in a week or two as I am planning to sell G body parts. I have 4 huge junkyards to choose from and can get pretty much any body part within a week or two depending on the part. There were 20-30 G bodies at the one I went to today and it was not the biggest.

 

[Derision]

Just what to do depends on how ghetto you want the car to be.

That's the ideal way to put it, I think. Ideally,I would like the car to be as, er, un-ghetto as possible.

The ideal way involves minor body work, replacement quarter windows and paint. If it's a beater, use the sealant. If not, you'll need the trim clips for the back window, the trunk to backlite panel and it's unique clips, small screws and a dril, etc. I did it the right way on mine because I intend for it to be a nice car if and when it is finished.

I don't do beaters.

I did pull the proper moulding, as I mentioned, off a Monte Carlo. That includes all the chrome moulding around the rear window and the panel at the bottom of the window that extends under the edge of the trunk. That bottom piece has been sanded, primed, painted and installed and it looks lovely. The clips for that were actually the same as the panel I pulled out of the Pontiac, and it mounted without a hitch.

A paint job is in the car's future, without a doubt. I'm not entirely worried about that at the moment because... sure, right now, it doesn't look too nice. But then, with the cracked and ripped vinyl roof before, it also didn't look too fantastic, so... I've neither gained nor lost any ugliness. In fact, the roof doesn't even look that bad... sure, there's still some glue and whatnot left, but the paint is actually in better shape than the paint on the rest of the roof.

I digress. Mainly what I'm concerned with is the windows and the moulding around the back. I want to do this right. I don't believe in having a "beater", especially not a car like this.

If you want the trim piece, hit me up in a week or two as I am planning to sell G body parts. I have 4 huge junkyards to choose from and can get pretty much any body part within a week or two depending on the part. There were 20-30 G bodies at the one I went to today and it was not the biggest.

Where are you that you find these? There used to be a lot of G-Bodies floating around in junkyards around here a few years ago, but lately... it seems to have dried up. I searched all around today, found ONE Monte Carlo and a few turbo Regals but that's it. The guy I talked to said that they're starting to crush anything made before 1990 to make room for the newer cars, so the chances of finding these in any quantity is pretty slim. Only reason he even had the Monte was because it had just come in. The chances of finding an actual Grand Prix, though, are about even with that of spotting a live unicorn in Times Square.

That said... will the windows from a Monte fit in the GP? I checked it out while I was at the yard, and it seemed to me that the Monte's windows looked a little bit bigger, but that could have been an optical illusion. I didn't think to actually measure the thing.

AJ

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The quarter windows are unique to each G body and do not interchange. If you do a search, I gave a complete rundown of the proper way to do this for someone else on these boards. It's several paragraphs long, so it won't be easy to miss. Oh, and I live in the Tampa Bay area of central Florida. We have lots of rust free stuff around here that goes to the crusher every week. You just have to know where to look. Most cars this age in the North East have deteriorated due to road salt, a problem we don't have here. Our cars tend to rust out in odd places though, like the roof. Mine required 7 patches in the roof to get it right. I also had to patch the trunk weatherstripping lip and the doglegs on the quarters by the wheelwells, but none of the patches were that big. None of my car's bolts are rusted to the point of needing to be cut off and it has 240k miles. My 9 year old Nissan truck is also rust free and has 265k miles. I am trying to start a business of shipping rust free parts up north for a reasonable price soon, so hit me up if you need something and I will see if I can find it. I am quitting my job as of the end of this week and starting a new one with less hours, so after that I will be trying to get this going. All I have left ot do is figure out how to ship it and I'll be in business.

 

[Derision]

The quarter windows are unique to each G body and do not interchange. If you do a search, I gave a complete rundown of the proper way to do this for someone else on these boards. It's several paragraphs long, so it won't be easy to miss.

I found that earlier, thanks, it was a help. I got the clips and rear window moulding, but I think I'm not too big on the chrome, so I think I'm going to fabricate something custom. Not ghetto, as they say, just... unique. I'll post an update when I get it finished up.

Oh, and I live in the Tampa Bay area of central Florida. We have lots of rust free stuff around here that goes to the crusher every week. You just have to know where to look. Most cars this age in the North East have deteriorated due to road salt, a problem we don't have here. Our cars tend to rust out in odd places though, like the roof. Mine required 7 patches in the roof to get it right. I also had to patch the trunk weatherstripping lip and the doglegs on the quarters by the wheelwells, but none of the patches were that big. None of my car's bolts are rusted to the point of needing to be cut off and it has 240k miles. My 9 year old Nissan truck is also rust free and has 265k miles. I am trying to start a business of shipping rust free parts up north for a reasonable price soon, so hit me up if you need something and I will see if I can find it. I am quitting my job as of the end of this week and starting a new one with less hours, so after that I will be trying to get this going. All I have left ot do is figure out how to ship it and I'll be in business.

Beautiful! I'd be in the market for Grand Prix parts, because I've been wholly unsuccessful in finding, er... any. I'll figure out a list of what I can use, but if you come across any, rip some stuff off. Heheh.

AJH

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

Saw some last week, sure I'll see some next time too. G bodies and most 80's cars are not a big problem here. Some of the more interesting things I have seen in these yards in the last year: 1958 Edsel Ranger, 1971 Fiat 850 Spyder, 1969 Renault 10, 1977 Lancia Beta Stratos, 1947 Plymouth 4 door, 1956 Buick Century, Corvairs, a few Early Chevelles, 1962 Pontiac Tempest with rear transaxle, 1979 Checker Marathon, 1969 Datsun PL510 (3 of them, made me cry!), 1974 Porsche 914 with dual Weber downdraft carbs, etc.Let me know what you need and I'll see what's there. Unlike many in the domestic side of the hobby, I am also fluent in import as well. So, if you need something less mainstream, let me know and I'll keep an eye out for it too. ( I even saw a British 68 Ford Cortinia a while back!) Know any good shipping companies that are cheap on big items?