T-tops question?

[pro69]

Why do a lot of people shy away from them. Is it because of them leaking? Wouldn't be a concern with me because I'd never drive the car in the rain and it would be garage kept.
On the other hand I've heard that the A pillars can crack on t-top cars when the cars are running pretty fast from body flex. If this is true,at what ET and MPH does this start to happen?

 

[achalmersman]

They leak...they leaked when new....unless they have been indoor all their life they most likely will have rust. They are weaker and the faster you go the more evident it is. Oh, and they are heavier.

All that being said I have a t-top car that is rust free and enjoy it. I just like riding with the tops out lol.

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[BuickMike]

Let's see here. They can leak. The wind noise can be a problem too as they don't seal properly. Unless you find a low mileage garage queen, the pillars will be rotted out under all the trim. The worst part is that you will NEVER get the doors to close right, windows to roll up properly, or get that whole area to seal. Even the NOS T top seals are not the same as what came from the factory. This is coming from a guy who has had a T Top car since 1998. All that said, if you value seeing the sky through the glass or enjoy popping them off for a drive on a beautiful day, then you need to ask yourself if all that overrides the headache. Oh! It also turns the car into a greenhouse on a hot day.

 

[Dennis Kirban]

All the above is correct you can add T-Tops quicken the fade issues of the costly pallex seat material in a GN. I avoided most of them when I was buying them for resale unless they were extremely low miles and mint.

I find the post prior to mine amusing....Buick should have used that in the brochure to promote the T-Top option. Another issue I should point out is some dealers to increase profits....had roofs cut and aftermarket T-Tops installed.....basicially that is the kiss of death unless you got a tremendous amount of skill to attach a solid roof in its place.

denniskirban@yahoo.com

 

[stage1gn]

The best of both worlds ....... CF5 !!!!

 

[turbotroy]

Another best of both worlds- a t-top for cruising and a hardtop to go fast with.

 

[regan j]

Another problem at my age, with the t tops off, my bald head gets sunburned. All the negatives can be overcome quite easily. I like riding with the tops off!!!

 

[pro69]

Points all well taken, just helped me to confirm my decision to get a solid roof car. Thanks

 

[TURBOPOWERED68]

Nothing like going on a date on a summer night, music on, clear sky, wind blowing in the girls hair. Yeah i love my T-Top car and yes i hate my T-Top car when it rains.

 

[T What?]

I love my t tops. I don't use my car for anything except cruising around and occasionally racing.

 

[Undercover87T]

There are ways to minimize the headaches that come with the T-tops (replace all body bushings, seat and frame braces, replace all hardware in the doors, adjust top latches, tint the roof glass 5%, decent weather stripping, minimize car washes, store indoors). I have just minor wind noise with newer weather stripping and the doors close like new. T-top car wasn't my fist choice but the deal was one I couldn't pass up. Shame that a car could be otherwise perfect and half the market will turn their heads because of the roof.

 

[stage1gn]

Bought my 87 GN T-top in 1992 with 49k miles and when looking for one it had to be a T-top car, been garaged kept since , 1993 it already had 73k miles , currently has 82k . It was bone stock when I got it , and the T-tops always had a wind noise leak and had an occasional rattle/noise , but never really thought it was all that bad . Leaked water when you power washed it from the car wash .
1997 bought a stock 50k mile 1987 T hard top , now noticeably can really see the difference between the two , very tight the hard top was compared to the T-top . Sold it in 98 , kept the GN . With that said , since the car stays inside , it has stayed rust free , don't worry about water leaks as I won't drive it in the rain , don't care about rattles/squeaks/wind noise as most of the time being used the windows are down ( the A/C doesn't t work LOL , maybe this year ) .
So with that , I still prefer a T-top car wether it be to take them off ( don't do that much either ) , but enjoy while driving just to look out the roof . The car is mildly modified , runs low 12's , have run slicks on it going 1.65-1.66 60' times . Does'nt feel like I did any type of damage to it doing so . I did ad the missing body mounts/cushions and front frame braces though . Car has maybe 150 1/4 passes on it .
I would like to find who sells the T-top shades though to try them out .
Now in 2013 bought a time capsule 87 GN with T-tops with 1,400 original miles (tires/paint/etc) , and holy cow did that car ride way much tighter even being a T-top vs. my 83k mile T-top !!!!! Everything about this car was an unbelievably tight car , steering , windows , brakes , just wow !!!!! Still smelled new inside !!!!! Became garage art as you shouldn't be driving around this car , so off it went to a collector , whom said since he was buying a " collectable " GN , he wanted it with the most options it could have . The only things this car didn't have was fact alarm , light sentinel .
Lastly , don't think because you get a hardtop it won't crack , driven ( raced ) hard enough , the B pillars stands a chance to crack on you .

 

[Turbo6inKY]

The worst part is that you will NEVER get the doors to close right, windows to roll up properly, or get that whole area to seal. Even the NOS T top seals are not the same as what came from the factory.

I thought the same thing until I replaced my body bushings. It was like everything snapped into place when I did. The windows started sealing against the moulding and wind noise was dramatically reduced. The T-Tops still rattled a little, but I was able to take them apart and adjust them to where they stopped rattling.

They still leak if you spray a hose on them, though.

 

[BuickMike]

I thought the same thing until I replaced my body bushings. It was like everything snapped into place when I did. The windows started sealing against the moulding and wind noise was dramatically reduced. The T-Tops still rattled a little, but I was able to take them apart and adjust them to where they stopped rattling.

They still leak if you spray a hose on them, though.

Do you still have the factory seals? I did door pins and replaced the regulators / motors with A1 units years back and had everything damn near perfect. Then came the frame up restore and that's when I realized even NOS is not what the factory was. I have it pretty close and can wash it without leaking, however there is still wind noise. I agree the T Tops are awesome when off. I just look back and prefer hard top given the poor design of the frameless windows.

 

[blackazz]

Can't beat this in the kool summer nights

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk

 

[tonysmach]

I have T top GN. I have the shades which are really nice because they match the headliner. I have all the body braces and I run 10.7 in the quarter at 132 mph. No problems with B pillar. A little wind noise on passenger side. I really like that I have a 10 sec car and can cruise summer nights with the tops off. Also, T tops are perfect for driving in a parade.

 

[Turbo6inKY]

Do you still have the factory seals? I did door pins and replaced the regulators / motors with A1 units years back and had everything damn near perfect. Then came the frame up restore and that's when I realized even NOS is not what the factory was. I have it pretty close and can wash it without leaking, however there is still wind noise. I agree the T Tops are awesome when off. I just look back and prefer hard top given the poor design of the frameless windows.

Yup. OE seals still on the car. Door hinges haven't been rebuilt, either.

I never remove my T-Tops except for cleaning. Really, the T-top was a stupid idea. There's no good place to put them if you remove them. Sure, you can put them in the bags in the trunk, but they slide around. Above 50mph and the buffeting will burst an eardrum. They're horrible.

 

[TTA308]

What would have been nice is GM would have designed engineered and implemented something that was a pleasure instead of a PITA , and f- bodies are way worse since they are uni-body .... got life insurance ? lol

 

[achalmersman]

I disagree. Personally I think the t top design was better on f bodies and unibody structures are significantly stronger

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[TTA308]

I disagree. Personally I think the t top design was better on f bodies and unibody structures are significantly stronger

No trees were harmed in the sending of this message, however, a significant number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.

All righty then .. guess i need to take my SF connectors off...