T-TOP Repair

[C-RAID]

Greetings to everyone. I was hoping I could get some feed back on what some people may have gone through or hear about repairing rust in the T-top frame assembly. I have found the complete kits on line, such on G-Bodys.com, but the metal underneath the trim plates has to be repaired. Has anyone been through this situation? Was the roof replaced, or was somebody able to find someone to repair what is there? Any help would be appreciated to steer me in the correct direction that I should take.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Blown&Injected]

Well I was going to say G-Body Parts but...
sounds like you have some more work to do that just some new sheet metal.

Might need to talk to a fabricator

 

[sixequalseight]

I too had rust in the roof section of my t-top car. The body shop that repaired it made up a series of patch panels and welded them in. It took a while, but once they cost the rust cleaned up, the rest of it was *almost* easy.

 

[Grumpy]

call GBody parts and get the roof guts itself and have it welded in

 

[C-RAID]

I will call G-body parts and speak with them. Thanks Grumpy.
Just curious sixequalseight, what did the bodyshop charge for the repair, so I know what I am looking spend if I go that route?

Thanks for the input so far.

 

[Turbo1dr]

 

[rag231]

t top to hard top

How much did something like that cost and who can do it for me, I am in NC also. Thanks

 

[C-RAID]

The conversion to a hardtop looks beautiful. I would would really like to keep the T-top option since that is one of the reasons that I purchased it. Unless I am left no other alternative.

Thank you for the pics.

 

[sixequalseight]

I will call G-body parts and speak with them. Thanks Grumpy.
Just curious sixequalseight, what did the bodyshop charge for the repair, so I know what I am looking spend if I go that route?

Thanks for the input so far.

I honestly don't remember what it cost me...it was a long time ago...either late '91 or early '92. Thank God it didn't look as bad as the pics above!

 

[UNDER-PRESSURE]

This member has a complete rust free T-top roof at a good price & not far from you. http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/parts-sale/211736-fs-rust-free-floors-rockers-truck-lid.html

 

[onefastcar]

Depending on the amount of damage you can fix wether ya want a t-top setup or not is up to you take it to a body shop and they will estimate it for ya. If i get a chance i'm helping a sherrif out repairing his gn and i'll take pics were right at that area and he has 3 holes that i will weld in some metal, definitely not as bad as the pic above now mine thats a different story it was about as bad as the pic and i cut all that out, but i'm rambling i'll try to post pics tommorow

 

[Turbo1dr]

I took the GN you see pictured above to a body shop and asked for a quote. It was $4500. I done it myself MUCH, MUCH cheaper. Now I can see why they charge that much because it's something I wouldn't want to do again.

Fortunately, the floor boards were not rotted out.

Actually, it was a sad day when I chopped the top off that car because my sister died that exact same night. I actually e-mailed her these same pictures but she never saw them.

 

[C-RAID]

I am sorry to hear about your sister. God Bless. I have a somebody who is good with fabricating and welding coming by the house to see what he can do. So far he doesn't see it being an issue. My roof is not as bad as yours, just has a few spots here and there, but didn't want to spend the money on the kit for the new trim and weatherstripping if isn' t right underneath. I appreciate everyone's time and input to this matter and will keep all posted.

Thank you again.

 

[Bweavy]

If you gut the interior & the roof most shops will splice the roof on for about $1200.
The parts we sell like the retainers & the top plates are normally rusted on any t-top car that saw daily driving duties. The trick is to strip it down & see how much you really need to replace. Alot of times you can patch small holes in with glass or metal. When you get into a situation that is extreme then replace the roof. Before we came out with tat kit we were selling about 5 hard top roofs a year. Now we sell about 2-3.

 

[C-RAID]

Thank you for the information. It isn't that bad, the roof can definetly be saved, has a couple of holes where the water was standing. Doesn't look like it was able to spread through the entire roof section. Just curious what is the tat kit? I have seen the stainless-steel kit that you carry, with the weatherstripping retainers and the weatherstripping. I will definetly be buying that kit once the metal is repaired. To clarify that kit comes with everything need for the rest of the install, including the weatherstripping adhesive and the double sided foam that fits under the trim pieces. If it doesn't I will make sure to pick these up. Thank you for the input, everybody is being very helpful in making this situation easier to handle. Thank you everyone.

 

[Evans Ward]

C-RAID- can you post a pic or two of the rust damage to the affected area so we can see to better help you?

 

[C-RAID]

Yes I will. Something I should of thought of from the beginning. Thank you. Pics will be posted as soon as possible. Possibly tomorrow.

 

[C-RAID]

This may seem like a stupid question, but I am having a tough time uploading the pics because they are too big. Resizing them is ruins the pics. Any ideas on this?

Thank you in advance.

 

[gsgns4me]

This may seem like a stupid question, but I am having a tough time uploading the pics because they are too big. Resizing them is ruins the pics. Any ideas on this?

Thank you in advance.

Register with Photobucket, upload your photos there. Then enter the URL for the picture(s) under the "Insert Image" button. The URL will be inserted between

brackets. This way, you don't have to resize and you don't use up bandwidth to this site.

 

[C-RAID]

Thanks for the help with the photobucket idea gsgns4me. Here is some pics for you guys to take a look at. Let me know what you all think. Thanks for the help again.