Do I "have" to put a vinyl top back on?

[Arrowhead 10]

I'd like to delete the vinyl top when I put the coupe back together. Will the original drip rail moulding and rear glass moulding still work ok?

[369coupes 14]

rear glass molding is the same , some say the drip rail molding is slightly wider on a vynil top car due to having the top material under it dont know for sure though

[rstbkt69 0]

I took the drip rail molding from a vinyl top car and installed it on my coupe. it is a little loose. I'm going to leave it on for now because the car is all in pieces and it keeps the molding in a safe place, but I will definately need to take it off before I drive it and tighten it up somehow. It is not loose enough to fall off but I can tap it with my fingers and it will rattle. Jim

[Pakrat 1,043]

You don't have to do anything you don't want to. I would make triple sure your roof is in good enough condition though to just paint it first. Most factory vinyl top cars do not have the best smoothest seams and leading underneath.

[bnickel 10,004]

You don't have to do anything you don't want to. I would make triple sure your roof is in good enough condition though to just paint it first. Most factory vinyl top cars do not have the best smoothest seams and leading underneath.

 

 

exactly correct, one of the reasons i decide to put teh vinyl top back on my car besides actually liking the look. as far the trim pieces being loose it's because they "stretched" in effect when they were installed over the vinyl but they are indeed the same. generally just lightly squeezing them back together will tighten them up or if they're really bad you could put a couple layers of duct tape or something over the edges of the drip rail to help tighten them back up.

 

you'll also need to weld up the holes in the roof from the side trim pieces, don't even think on bondoing over them. i did that when i was a kid and couldn't afford to have new top installed and also because i broke the trim pieces trying to remove them, didn't work very well.

[Arrowhead 10]

That's cool. I already welded up the holes, was just wondering about the trim. As far as the roof, it has plenty of dimples that need repairing anyway. It was rusted really bad too, but it clean up real good with naval jelley.

[bnickel 10,004]

another thing to pay close attention to is the drip rail area. non-vinyl top cars got seam sealer or lead in that area because of the seam created by the joining of the roof panel and the drip rail most people who have vinyl tops overlook this area when doing away with the top so write it down somewhere or do whatever you need to do to remember that area and don't forget it!!!!!! that goes for the top side as well as the bottom side af that whole are.