ThirdgenCam

Hey my step dad said that he owned like 4 cars wit t tops and he said they all leak...And told me not to get them...Um.. can you tell me if you have had this problem is it true??? :lala:

SMOKY21

MOST OF THE TIME IT IS. I HAVE AN 88' SC W/ T-TOPS AND THEY DONT LEAK. SO IM NOT SURE IF ITS CERTAIN YEARS OR IF ITS THE CERTAIN MODELS THAT DO IT.

IROCZTWENTYGR8

iTrader: (1)

Not all of them do, mine don't. The weatherstripping has to be good or they will. If it comes in over the window, that can be adjusted.

91blkta

mine dont leak and the car is a 91. but if you have t tops a small leak really dosent matter anyway. You can always replace the weather stripping if you need to. T tops rule!!!!

IROCZTWENTYGR8

iTrader: (1)

Yup.

Greg Kuhlmann

new weather stripping 23 bucks! T TOPS DONT LEAK!

Mark A Shields

Mine don't leak, not bad for an '86.

bradkeith

I'm with greg kuhlman on this one. T-tops are awesome, Even if they do leak you can get new weatherstripping for them pretty cheap.

Keith5

They leak, I'd rather have a real roof.

RICH92RS350

Tops on my 92 RS don't leak!
It has 219,000 Miles on it.
-Rich-

Thundering Z03

rain shower....nope........Monsoon....yep

Mac

140k and mine only leak underneath the wand from the car wash and thats if im spraying right onto the spot where it leaks

samdog1232000

I have a 84 Z28 and a 92 RS with T-Tops. My favorite by far is the 92 RS because it has T-TOPs. When you are cruising down the street at night it drives the women wild. If it leaks buy weather stripping it might cost a little but it is really worth it in the long run. Trust me!!!!!

BikertrashDude

T-Tops!!!!
get the T-tops, you will not regret it one bit. if it leaks then get new weather striping. I would never trade the T-tops away.
I say they are better than a sun/moonroof of any car. the only thing better would be a convertable, but those have disadvantages that the T-tops don't have.
unless you plan on going buck wild with the engine on the car and racing it then t-tops are way better then a solid roof (with T-tops and a very strong engine you always run the risk of warping the frame) take a look how many model cars have T-tops? not many, I'd say about five at the most, and some of those are only the older models.
later
biker

billsfirebird

iTrader: (1)

I used to own an awsome 91 Firebird T-top.

I LOVED the t-tops. If I had the choice I would get a t-top f-body again.

They didn't leak except for when I took it to a car wash and sprayed it from the side.

MAN I miss that car.

billsfirebird

iTrader: (1)

Here's another pic of my old car.

billsfirebird

iTrader: (1)

Now on the other hand, this Trans Am t-top car did leak!

I only miss the V8 with true dual set up on this car. Boy that puppy could growl! Other than that I didn't really like practicality of it. Not good as my daily driver.

I sold it and used the money to buy an engagement ring for my girlfriend (7/2001)

Keith5

Between me and my friends we have 4 t-top cars. They all leak. A lot of times it's in the same place, the rear seat behind the driver. Another place is the ttop to side window. You all keep saying that the weather stripping is like $24. Where is it that cheap? All of the prices I've ever seen are much higher than that.

CrazyHawaiian

my t-tops dont leak but the rust hole above the rear seats does lol

ebby53

Mine is an '86 T/A..No leaks..but I work at it.

redbird_400

My 89 just started leaking but fk it. I have a wet dry vac and for a little water on the seat its worth having t-tops.

Keith5

My car doesn't have a spec of rust on it.


Compare the interiors of ttop cars to hardtop cars in your area. Ttop cars are usually trashed inside because of the leaking, even slow leaks can mess up and interior just because of the dampness.

I forgot some other disadvantages to t-top cars.

They flex like a fish.

The doors are harder to shut on all of them than they are on ttop cars. I think it's the door wedge things that top cars have.

They rattle and squeak terribly. My Formula(89K miles), IROC(99K or 199K not sure) both have about 10 times the rattles as this 91 hardtop I just bought (220K)

Ttop cars are supposed to be heavier than hard top.

Ttop cars aren't as same in a roll over or probably even a frontal imact as a hardtop car is.

You have to worry about your ttops getting busted.

There are probably a lot more I'm missing, but these are the things I hate about t-top cars.

Keith5

A little water on the seat of my IROC made stuff grow on them. I'm not sure what it was, but it had hair.

redraif

Mine do not leak and I have original weather stripping.

I have been it rare for them not to leak. I was also told it could be due to the fact that the car is a V-6. The V-8 cars have more strain on the body. The torque of the V-8 can flex the body and can cause the leaks and even cracks in the roof line of T-top cars.

This is why sub frame connecters are important. They stop the body from flexing. They might even cure a leaky T-top, along with new weather stripping.

So T-tops are not bad. You just have to treat them right.

ThirdgenCam

My step dad said his did not leak till he started fish tailing and stuff then it kinda warped te frame and madeit not fite like it usta and i leaked...But i guess thats what you get for doing crazy stuff but im young and im going to do crazy stuff..I really want t-tops but im kinda scared of it leaken and messing up my inteiror i guess i could just no drive it in the rain lol...keep tarp over it or somthing i dont know maybe ill just get two cars one for winter nad rainy days and one for summer....but i dont have that kinda money right now...What should i do??

Keith5

Ask yourself if you want to put up with them leaking. If you are willing to then get you one with ttops. Just know what you may be in for. I used to have plastic in my backseat to catch the water drips. I started just covering the car with a tarp when it is supposed to rain. I have another car so this isn't a big problem for me.

AJ_92RS

I've had 4 cars so far that had t-tops.

In this order;

'81 Mustang - First car with t-tops which is what got me hooked to t-tops. Like someone said earlier, chics love 'em.

'90 Camaro RS - First Camaro with t-tops. Even more chics liked that car.

'94 Z28, LT1, 6-speed - Even more chics like that one

And now I have the '92 RS. I don't know how many chics dig this car 'cause I'm married. But I know my wife digs 'em and she's a little hottie.

Usually I spray the seals with silicone spray every time I change the oil. This helps keep them from dry-rotting, as well as keep them flexable.

In addition to that, once the first cold spell hits (aka winter) I give them one last spray of silicone, then use black tape to seal the tops of the joints. This keeps any water from even thinkin' about getting in there.

Now maybe I was lucky that none of these cars leaked when I got them, but just by doing the above mentioned, none of them ever began to leak.

AJ

HrdRockA4305

Mine only leaks in a carwash or if it rains for 6+ at a time. It just takes some know-how and they'll be fine. The car got new gaskets when it was repainted 2-3 years ago (before i had it) but it still had 2 pretty good leaks when i bought it. Now it has a very minor one that dribbles about 3-4 drops of water on me while its moving, and thats under the conditions I mentioned, and thats all. Its not hard to work with. And you'll love having them.

IROCZTWENTYGR8

iTrader: (1)

I do not see what people don't get. When They Start To Leak, FIX THEM!! As for flexing, so will cars without them, SFC's fix it in both cases. Theres not that much difference, 1 car has T-Tops and the other doesn't. Just take care of them like they should be and you'll have n/p's.

Keith5

It takes money to fix them. I'm not going to spend that much money for a little leak. I plan on changing them whenever I paint my car.

The hardtops I've ridden in are a lot different than the ttop cars.

redbird_400

thats called a hooker!! stay away from that!! :sillylol:

IROC212

iTrader: (1)

I love the T-tops on my car, Chicks like them, but unfortunately most of the ones here are into their Ricers. My T-tops didn't leak until I started messing with the plate mounted to the middle bar. Then they gradually started to leak. Of course I let it slide until I could get around to it, two years later (hey I was building a motor, and another car) I have rust now above the windshield.
Anyway the car doesn't flex with the Kenny Brown SFC's, and would have probably never leaked If I didn't mess with it.

RSFreak

The t-tops on my '85 Z28 leaked. The ones on my '91 RS leak really bad!!! I will never get another t-top car!

IROCZTWENTYGR8

iTrader: (1)

Change The Seals.

Adjust The Windows If Needed.

Sitting Bull

Yeah, but consider where you live! The Wet Coast ...

Mine only leak when I aim the wand at the spot where the two weather seal systems come together. That is at the front top of the doors.

IROCZTWENTYGR8

iTrader: (1)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Keith5
I plan on changing them whenever I paint my car.

Good.

The hardtops I've ridden in are a lot different than the ttop cars.

Yes, they don't have T-Tops and aren't as cool.

Snowdog 91 Formula

My T-Tops leaked really bad until I had new weatherstripping put in. No problems now!
Definitely go T-Tops! My wife's 89 bird doesn't have them and she wishes she did now!

HrdRockA4305

"It takes money to fix them. I'm not going to spend that much money for a little leak"

Tube of Permatex Black RTV - ~$3 or so at autozone
1/2 hour on a saturday afternoon - free
A little basic "find it and fix it" skill - free

Having T-Tops on the first 70 degree day of spring that don't leak when you take the car to the carwash before cruising that night: priceless.

Seriously, It does not take money to fix them. Mine had new seals put in when it was painted 2-3 years ago, and it leaked when i bought the car 1 year ago. Now it dosen't. Provided the seals are in ok shape, and even if they aren't, all it takes is a little troubleshooting skill, lined up windows/tops, and a little silicone. Not the gooey nasty stuff, get RTV gasket stuff. It dries like rubber and you don't even notice it once it dries. As soon as I get some more programs back on the computer (I just loaded WinXP pro and did a mobo/video card swap today) I'll take a digipic of the tops and what I did to make them stop leaking.

Damn Trans am

I have a '87 Trans-am with T-tops and they don't leak any water. Even when it is raining really hard.

RSFreak

Yeah, it has been raining here for weeks on end! It is getting very depressing.

redbird_400

Damn thats a bad *** pic. Wish it looked like that where I live. How many times have you toped out your car down that road?

Keith5

The RTV engine silicone? I'll have to try that. I've tried the caulk type silcone but not the engine type stuff.

I'm just not much of a sun person. I burn easy. Maybe that's why I wouldn't miss them as much.

Redarrow1

I love t-tops have had them on all my f-bodies regardless of generation. However, it is the leaks you don't see that cause the damage. The third gens begin to leak at the back of the tops near the hatch. The water gets in there and sets and it starts to rust out the car from the inside out. I had an 87 GTA that never leaked or so I thought. I pulled down my headlined when I started to restore the interior, the complete bar was rotted out. I was told later by a reputable body shop that it is fairly common with these cars. Good luck.

redraif

I guess I have been lucky. I still have original weatherstripping no leaks and I had the headliner down about 3 weeks ago and I don't have any rust either.

Spindr130

MIne leek. spent over a grand trying to stop them from leeking and now the car sits under a car cover when ever it rains. if i could i would remove the tops.
Shaun

heavy_chevy29

mine don't leak and its an 84

MikeDwhoROCZImports

iTrader: (1)

At dusk on any given summer night, cruising around by the beaches or just around some backroads near my house.....ALL these worries melt away.

Plus, my girlfriend go's CRAZY for them.

Keith5

My car flexes like crazy on backroads.

Snowdog 91 Formula

How many times? Well, maybe not down that road too often, but there are others! *Evil Grin*

383GTABoy

Hmm my T-Tops dont leak. Maybe its because she hasnt seen rain since I got her