Vinyl Roof

[1978Regal]

I Know this this post will will tick off a lot of people on this board but here goes. When I was sixteen my first car was a 1978 Buick Regal Limited with T-tops and a vinyl roof. It was totaled out 4 years later by a drunk driver who ran in to my car from behind. I wanted to get a car just like it ever since but have not been able to find one. I have found a car similar but it does not have the vinyl roof. Can anyone give me some pointers as to how I can go about putting a vinyl roof on a hardtop car?

 

[cyrus_the_great]

it 's hard to have a good vinyl roof after all these years and i am thinking about removing vinyl from my gp

last year ... i did some fibercarbon job on it and again now it has some a few small holes on it

 

[565bbchevy]

I'll assume the replacement car you are looking at also has T-tops.
I personally do not like vinyl tops and in my case when I search for a car I would be looking for one without a vinyl, even more so on a t-top car.
Though a vinyl top wouldn't stop from buying the right car, since I have already gone through the process of removing one.
I know a lot of people on here love the half vinyls on their gbodys, but I would say most bought their cars with a vinyl that was installed at a company back in the 80's
and some people had their vinyl replaced which is far easier (since all the moldings etc. are already in place) than attempting to have a complete vinyl installed on a car that never came with one and I think you would have a hard time getting one installed 30+ years after the originals were installed and still look somewhat correct on a gbody.

 

[1978Regal]

I have already purchased the car that I will be attempting to put the vinyl roof on. I figure if this project is not feasible I can sell it and keep looking for a T-top car with the vinyl roof. I want it to be exactly like my old car with a few exceptions. Ditch the anemic 305 chevy and turbo 200 trans for a 330 hp crate engine and turbo 350 transmission. I have begun collecting parts that I know that I will need. I have the correct molding that goes across the top of the car behind the T-tops and down the sides and the molding that is at the bottom of the rear glass and the molding that attaches to the body between the trunk lid and the rear glass and goes around the sides below the vinyl roof. I haven't got all the plastic clips needed or the screw in studs to hold the clips in place. The problems with the top are just the start with this car. The car has a maroon exterior with red dash and carpet and white leather seats.The dash and carpet used to be red before the guy that had the car before me painted them black. I think he used Krylon. I plan to paint it black with powder blue interior. A tall order for sure

 

[Chopper]

Post some pics of the miss mash of colors. Personally I like the vinyl tops and before mine is restored, I will have to replace it as even though the top is original and actually in good shape, the factory did little in the form of rust protection under vinyl roofs. I live in the rust belt so for that reason alone I will have to strip it off but it will be a professionally installed replacement top. They don't charge a lot to do it. Last I checked it was less than $250 including material. The powder blue interior is fugly to me and the carpet is a b*tch to keep clean. I had a 78 Salon with that blue and it was depressing to drive because of it. But it is your ride and what works for you is all that counts. I would like a black interior but the tan I have is a good second choice for me. Good luck!

 

[1978Regal]

I will try to post some pics tomorrow. The guy that had the car before me wanted to make the car a T-type clone. He changed the wheels and painted the dash black before giving up and selling it to me. Keeping the carpet and upholstery clean won't be
a problem because it will be driven very little and garage kept.

 

[1978Regal]

Here are some pics of the car that I am planning to restore. As you can see the dash,carpet and seatbelts have been painted black. I might could reuse the dash but it has some warpage from sitting out in the sun and I probably would have a hard time stripping it anyway. I have a dash from a 1980 regal in good shape I can use but it is slightly different. The wood grain insert on the passenger side is much bigger. Everything else can probably be dyed with no problem. I think the bigger issue is putting on the vinyl top and making it look factory correct.

 

[Clone TIE Pilot]

To install a vinyl roof you will need a whole mess of trim studs installed and swap out the quarter windows with ones from a vinyl top car. It can be done but it will be a mess. May be better just to paint that part of the roof a different color to look like a fake vinyl roof. Also instead of a TH350 I suggest a TH2004R, overdrive rocks.

 

[Blake B]

sounds like alot of work for very little nostalgic reward (idk if you can even put a price on it?) but as per the reasons stated above (maintenance, rust, little to no aftermarket options, lack of trim) that car is beautiful. i wouldn't touch it with vinyl. the rest of your plans look/sound awesome.

 

[SmooveG]

Don't be afraid of putting a top on, I'm sure you wont be driving enought to rust it out.
If you need the trim peices I have them It's your car