Why I hate vinyl roofs (Or, is it too late to get my tetanus shot?)

[STLRegal]

I hate vinyl roofs. Damn things probably sent just as many g bodies to the scrap yard as fender and frame rot. And the only car that they ever looked wortha damn on was the cutlass.

 

[motorheadmike]

Damn that is horrible.

The Monte we are using as a basis for the MCSS rebuild was a vinyl top car, but thankfully the kid who I bought it from had already stripped it off so I could see it was clean - evidently the car was garage kept for all but a year of its life before I bought it. Then I left it outside for a few more - LOL.

I would not normally enter into a relationship with vinyl top car.

 

[oldsofb]

I didn’t take your warning disclaimer serious enough. That WAS scary. I think I pooped a little.

At least now we'll get to see the best roof replacement pictorial around

Hutch

 

[Injectedcutty]

Ouch!!!! I thought the rot on my cutlass was bad when i pulled the vinyl, but that's real bad! My car was a factory hardtop that somebody had the genius idea to have the dealer install the top! Luckily, if anybody can repair that to like new condition, it's you Donovan!

I'm looking forward to the repair work at hand, as I'm sure others are as well.

 

[DROLDS84]

That car would be a no go for me if I saw the bubbling at the bottom of the roof.I have been doing bodywork and painting for 30 years and wouldn't even consider fixing that.Not that it can't be done but the time wouldn't be worth the reward.Maybe if it was a low production high dollar restoration.

 

[O. D. Showtime]

That is pretty nasty Donovan...but with your skills it will be looking good as new in short order. I'll be watching for the updates.

 

[malibujustin]

That's kinda rough. But fixable. And from your "juggernaut" thread you will have no problems fixing her up. Never quite liked the vinyl tops. My roof is terrible with no vinyl at all. Never had one. Rotted under a tree before I got it and someone used household expanding foam for repairs. Looking foward to your build.

 

[TURNA]

 

[ItsnotaGN]

I once had a fairly low mile (70K) grandma fresh 71 Skylark. Perfect interior, albeit green, perfect running 350 and the lumpiest vinyl top you ever saw. The rear window blew out at about 70 on the Long Island Expressway. There was literally nothing left to hold it in. Damn you to hell, vinyl top inventor.

 

[Rktpwrd]

Damn that is horrible.

I would not normally enter into a relationship with vinyl top car.

Thanks Mike.
Normally I wouldn't either, unless I could be positive there was no rust underneath. However, beggars can't be choosers I guess.
Like I said earlier, the price was right. The car was well optioned with some rare features like the factory AstroRoof, and fibre optic indicators, but the biggest thing to me was to save another G from the crusher.
I honestly believe I was its last chance at survival.

I didn’t take your warning disclaimer serious enough. That WAS scary. I think I pooped a little.

A least now we'll get to see the best roof replacement pictorial around

Hutch

Thanks for the props Hutch. You know my style too well!
Well documented repair posts are almost certain to follow on Olds Cool's thread!

Ouch!!!! I thought the rot on my cutlass was bad when i pulled the vinyl, but that's real bad! My car was a factory hardtop that somebody had the genius idea to have the dealer install the top! Luckily, if anybody can repair that to like new condition, it's you Donovan!

I'm looking forward to the repair work at hand, as I'm sure others are as well.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Scott. To the inexperienced, it may look insurmountable, and/or unrepairable, but I ain't scared.
Been there, done that, got the hat, the t-shirt, AND the coffee mug!

It's only my time and labor, and a bit in materials. Worth it IMO to save a G from the crusher.

Besides, the rest of the car is pretty much lined out, my friends all comment on how it hauls a$$ and that it's one hell of a sleeper!
😉

That car would be a no go for me if I saw the bubbling at the bottom of the roof.I have been doing bodywork and painting for 30 years and wouldn't even consider fixing that.Not that it can't be done but the time wouldn't be worth the reward.Maybe if it was a low production high dollar restoration.

Wow. That's a disappointing and defeatist attitude.

No offence, but that is just the sort of attitude I've been fighting all my life. The more people tell me "it's not worth it", "it can't be done", or "why spend your time and money on THAT", it makes me want to prove them all wrong all that much more.

I too have been doing paint and bodywork for many years, professionally, as a hobby, and as extra cash on the side. This is not beyond repair, nor should it be immediately discounted, simply because it requires a bit of hard work to fix.

It's partially this mentality that's making our cars more and more scarce. So I guess I should thank you for helping make my cars all the more rare.

That is pretty nasty Donovan...but with your skills it will be looking good as new in short order. I'll be watching for the updates.

Thanks Kevin. Appreciate the encouragement sir!

That's kinda rough. But fixable. And from your "juggernaut" thread you will have no problems fixing her up. Never quite liked the vinyl tops. My roof is terrible with no vinyl at all. Never had one. Rotted under a tree before I got it and someone used household expanding foam for repairs. Looking foward to your build.

Thank you Justin.
I've been following along with your struggles with the roof on yours as well. It looks like you're off to a good start with the replacement roof tho, stay with it!

As nasty as it looks in the pics, I still don't believe I'll need to replace the whole roof. Not just yet at least, we'll see if there's any structural damage once the headliner has been dropped.
Other than that, the hardest and most time consuming part will be cutting out the back window, and getting it out in one piece. The welding, grinding, and fabrication is nothing to me. Neither is the paint and bodywork.

I plan to cut out the damaged areas, fabricate and weld in the new, epoxy prime the repaired areas, and continue to drive and enjoy the car for the rest of the season if possible.
We'll see how that goes...!!

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Donovan