installing t-tops in hardtop

[redhotrod]

Has anyone here installed a t-top roof in a hard top?
My '84 T has some good rust holes above both doors up by the roof/gutter, window thing and also down along side the windshield/driver door pillar. Can show pictures of what I am talking about if needed, just need to know how to.
I already have the windshield and the headliner out because the headliner was sagging and the windshield was cracked when I bought this PROJECT. Plus, I know how much of a b!tch it would have been to take the headliner out to fix without the windshield out.
If anyone has any tips on installing a new t-top roof, give me a post. My original plan was to cut out the rust holes and weld in new metal, but down in the windshield pillar looks like a tough fix. Plus, I'd like a t-top t-type. (try saying that 3x fast!)

 

[GN ERGY]

You should find a donor car and cut the roof off and install it on your car. The guy who painted my GN showed me some pics of a camaro that he put a T top roof in for someone. He went to the bone yard and got a T top roof off of another car. Where in NE. Ohio are you. The guy who painted my GN lives in Painesville.
Tarey D.

 

[Red Regal T]

2nd option....cut the roof off ......

Meant in the nicest way but................

...............................ARE YOU CRAZY ??????

 

[redhotrod]

I'm 3 towns east of painesville, called Geneva, You may have been cruising the Geneva on the Lake strip before showing off your ride there before, or just there getting a buzz on.
Yeah, everyone that rides with me says I'm crazy, but I just listen to the voices in my head
No, seriously, the roof looks like a pain in the ass to fix, so I figure the easiest way would be to replace the roof with the windshield pillars, Still sounds like a pain in the ass, but definetly easier and cleaner in the long run then mudding it up
I can email pics of problem

 

[GN ERGY]

I'm up in Eastlake during the week helping my brother work on my moms house. E mail me your phone # and I'll call you and give you my painters number.

Red Regal, hahahha no I'm not crazy. I saw pics of a car that this guy cut a T top roof off of another car and install on a customers car because he wanted t tops. You couldn't tell it didn;t come that way. It was the easiest way to do it. This painter does a lot of work on street rods, and you know how weird those guys can be.

I know the thought of cutting the roof off of my car?????
I'd rather cut the roof off of my house!!!
Tarey D.

 

[redhotrod]

Eastlake huh, what a town!
Most of my family is from there, my girlfriend works there, at Manny's on Vine st. I actually bought this car for her, but I like it to much to give it up.
I do all my painting and bodywork myself. My Uncle has his own business and I got a friend that hooks me up that works at Franks Auto Body in Madison. One of the best restorers around!
They do all kinds of classics up there. Usually whenever I get hung up on a problem, Those guys got the answer for me. I figured I'd throw a post in here seeing if anyone has done it yet to their cars.

 

[GN ERGY]

Frank totally redid my white suburban. I was going to have him redo my GN but he wouldn't have it done for 8 to 10 weeks. So I found this guy who works on street rods to paint my GN for me. I got to work with him on it, it took us 4 1/2 weeks.
Frank does good work. I'm going to have him touch my suburban from the winter.
Tarey D.

 

[redhotrod]

is it the monster big 'burben, that was down last winter. if so, man sweet truck!

 

[Grumpy]

cut the roof off!!!! not that hard to do. BUT (ya allways a BUT ) how if the rest of the body??? is it worth doin??? things to consider..

 

[Red Regal T]

R&R a roof is one thing. Going to a TTop roof is a bad idea. They are more rust waiting to happen.

 

[TurboBuickSix]

Originally posted by Red Regal T
R&R a roof is one thing. Going to a TTop roof is a bad idea. They are more rust waiting to happen.

Did you read his first post? Is it not clear to you yet that solid roof cars roof's rust JUST AS FAST AND AS BAD as a T-roof just in different areas. They mostly rot from the inside out,I live in the rust belt and have seen tons of rusty Regals!That little body line just above the door on the hardtops is right where they like to start,try building that back up with mud! The water just sits in that channel when wet and if you have even a pinhole it will drain in behind that area above the door and down the a-pillar,and then it's all downhill from there.They will both rot eventually so best defense is to get a real clean car and care for it properly,yes put it away when it rains if possible(acid rain).Alot of these problem areas were never coated with anything at all on the back sides and that is one of the reasons they get so bad so fast. Cut the roof off and put on another hard top or T-top,whatever YOU like.Either will rust though if not cared for properly.

 

[Red Regal T]

HEY DAVE........I CAN ACCEPT WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT SOLID ROOFS ..........BUT ONLY IF YOU LIVE SOMEPLACE LIKE BUFFALO. MOST SECTIONS OF THE COUNTRY DON'T HAVE THE EXTREME WINTER WEATHER THAT YOU PUT UP WITH. SO WHILE YOU ENLIGHTEN ME WITH THIS INFORMATION ABOUT RUSTY, SOLID ROOFS, THIS IS NOT THE CASE IN 90% OF THE COUNTRY. TAKE OFF THE BLINDERS.

 

[Renthorin]

Don't think I would try it. I have had several T-top G-bodies and even from the factory (Cars and Concepts) the workmanship is iffy at best.

I saw a GN this summer that had an after-market t-top setup and it just looked wrong. Nothing lined up.

If you plan to use the car for a daily driver (rain) I would bet it will leak.

If you really want a T-top car (and we all do, even closet t-top lovers like RRT) better to go get one that came from the pros (C&C).

 

[redhotrod]

The weather here sucks 9months out of the year, due to the fact I live in the lake effect area in Ohio, but summer is so much fun, you guys down there in Florida could not even comprehend how much winter sucks up here. With all our snow and ice starting usually around the end of October all the till usually mid April, salt is everywhere. Got to wait for a few good rainstorms to wash that crap away after the ice is done. So we have plenty of time to get our rides ready for the summer. Although I am not looking forward to chopping my baby apart.
The rest of the car is in decent shape. It sat for a couple years before I bought it. Some ol lady was the original owner (supposedly), then she sold it to some kid that had it for almost 200 miles before he threw a valve through the #5 piston. Lucky for me he already had an extra motor, trans, and upgrades ready to go in, but he had to sell it before he could do it because of a reason to move out of state.
The rocker on the driver side is all ate away, the driver door had a good bang on the edge that someone already tried bondoing, the windshield had a good crack, the headliner was sagging but the interior is super clean, 2 bad it has a bench seat and column shift (I'll pobably change that 2), the coil springs were shot that I got replacements from John D. and then the roof problem, I got a replacement rocker through Postons, and a windshield from the junkyard for $50
If the car didn't come with all the extras and have a posi unit, I probably would not have gotton it. But I always wanted a turbo regal since I started driving and saw a potential build up with all the extra parts.

 

[TurboBuickSix]

TR mythology 101

Originally posted by Red Regal T
HEY DAVE........I CAN ACCEPT WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT SOLID ROOFS ..........BUT ONLY IF YOU LIVE SOMEPLACE LIKE BUFFALO. MOST SECTIONS OF THE COUNTRY DON'T HAVE THE EXTREME WINTER WEATHER THAT YOU PUT UP WITH. SO WHILE YOU ENLIGHTEN ME WITH THIS INFORMATION ABOUT RUSTY, SOLID ROOFS, THIS IS NOT THE CASE IN 90% OF THE COUNTRY. TAKE OFF THE BLINDERS.

Hey John,If you were'nt so darn sharp you'd have seen that he is from the same area of the country as I basically am.. I have also seen cars come up hear from FLA that were pretty rusty in spots too like where salty sand can build up(inside your rocker panels,cowl area,etc),I suppose because of that salty air you have there,Forget it if your near any of those beaches.Does the sand that blows all over the place have a good content of salt in it? Most folks don't drive their nice cars in the salt here usually ,so they tend to stay nice and it also cuts down on the odometer tally.I think there are alot more areas with crappy winters than you think that use salt on the roads and absolutely more areas where rust is more common than you stated(especially this year huh).Metal corrosion is not a problem in 90% of the country? Is that right? How is it you came to this conclusion? There is alot of bare metal all throughout hidden recesses of these cars and all it takes is some humidity to start the cancer,if it happens in Buffalo sooner or later it will happen to you too wherever you are(yes there are exceptions).It's just a matter of time,because,RUST NEVER SLEEPS!! T-tops rule,and I have a really nice full head of hair to show off to the ladies,you know how they are pretty repulsed by those icky old bald dudes.

 

[GN ERGY]

That was my white burben at franks with 8 inches of lift and BFG mud terrains. Frank does real good work, he should have pics of my burben when I first brought it in there, ask to see them. What did frank say about changin roofs, just find a good t top monte or cutlass. When the weather gets good enough to take my GN out I'll meet you sometime and buy you a beer down on Geneva on the lake.
Tarey D.

 

[Red Regal T]

Re: TR mythology 101

.T-tops rule,and I have a really nice full head of hair to show off to the ladies,you know how they are pretty repulsed by those icky old bald dudes. [/B]

ICKY? GEES DAVE, YOU REALLY KNOW HOW TO HURT A GUY.

 

[redhotrod]

Tarey D.
Frank kinda thinks I'm nuts changing it from original. I was grinding and sandblasting away at it and it might, maybe might, not be so hard to weld the damage back together. Someone already tried mudding it up before , so I grinded it all out and blasted the pitting out of it. But man, the pillar is missing a big hunk out of it
Yeah, I saw your truck up there when they were working on it last winter. My buddy had a '79 similar to that. I'll email ya a picture.
That beer sure sounds good right about now. I'll have to get my other buddy that has a GN to tag along and we can have our own little GN poker run

 

[TurboBuickSix]

Re: Re: TR mythology 101

Originally posted by Red Regal T
ICKY? GEES DAVE, YOU REALLY KNOW HOW TO HURT A GUY.

With all that sun you've had down there I would think your skin would be thicker than that.Don't feel bad,they would think my gut was icky too.I heard them bikers were having a hard time with the local law down there during the Daytona bike week event.

 

[turbot2112]

i had t tops cut into a 79 t\a and let me tell you they looked bad ass but leaked and rattled like a bitch. i put another grand into them and they were good for 6 months. then leaked and rattled like a bitch again. that car didnt have half the power as most of these turbos have. ill never get t tops again.