Purple 92 SS

Ok guys, as you know by now ive just recently purchased an 89 vert. Its an RS black on black on black, but behind the raised part of the tonneau, where it is painted and where the top actually sits down, there is some sort of residue of plastic something or another there. It looks real bad, and what not, whats it for, do I need it? can it be replaced? what purpose did / does it serve? etc..

thanks
-steve

Speedgraphic

As you drive down the road the top moves, shifts, vibrates as it sits on top of the tonneau cover. There is a plastic rub strip just behind the black plastic trim of the tonneau cover. It's purpose is to serve as a buffer between your paint and the top. It is more resistant to wear than the bare paint would be.

If it looks bad you can remove and replace. You can buy the film from your GM Dealer, or you can probably find another substitute. If memory serves me correctly 3m had a product that would work fine for this.

There was a long thread about this on the Convertible board a while back. Do a search and you should be able to find it.

Speedy

Purple 92 SS

Thanks speedy!!

Unfortunately that plastic is now the least of my worries.. someone knifed my top this past weekend.. so now im hosed.

thanks!
-steve

Speedgraphic

"Unfortunately that plastic is now the least of my worries.. someone knifed my top this past weekend.. so now im hosed."

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Steve,
I'm dang sorry to hear that. I wish there were some way to find who did it and punish them good!

Just courious, What did you insurance company say about it?

I'd bet they were after your Radio(cd, dvd, whatever)...

That's the reason I did not go overboard with the replacement in my vert.

I've heard that it's best to have a removable faceplate and just leave the doors unlocked...

Of course, I never drive my vert anywhere that I feel like I have to worry about this.

With a bit of luck you insurance company can take care of most of this expense and just maybe you can get the ole rub strip included in the fix...

Good Luck!

Speedy

Purple 92 SS

ok heres the kickers,

Car was parked at my house in my driveway. they stole the MP3/CD player out of the dash, and yes, it was a removeable faceplate that my dumb *** didnt remove. they aslo stole the MP3 Player out of my truck, which yes, it was too a removable faceplate, that my dumb *** didnt remove. Sooo.. theres two radios.

Yea, Shoulda just left it unlocked, but ***, in my own front yard?!?! never had a problem with it before.

As for the car, I had just gotten it... and only put liability on it cause it wasnt driven that much.. so neither homeowners, nor car coverage will cover ANY of it.

So ive lost around say 2200.00 worth of stuff, being the 2 radios and the top.

lucky me.
-steve

Speedgraphic

I just noticed where you live.

Yeah, Lexington SC (at least as I remember it) is not the kind of place I would feel that uneasy about leaving the faceplate on my radio... I lived in Columbia for about a year in the late 80's. I used to stomp around there and lake Murray quite a bit.

I live in a relativly quiet community outside Albany GA. I almost never even think about removing faceplates. Sure, in a rough neighborhood, but certainly not at home or at work...

Don't get discouraged. The Vert is worth it!

I believe what I would do if I were in your shoes at this point and starting over would be to get a fairly good but not fancy radio and an Ipod with the short range FM transmitter...

Interior parts damaged in the theft can be had easily on Ebay. For a very good source go to www.perrypam.com They specialize in used and NOS Thirdgen parts. They are always as described, well packaged, and shipped fast.

Good Luck!

Speedy

scanman717

Man that sucks... Had my 'vert keyed once outside of work.. I feel for ya... But believe me, rebuilding bigger and better is worth it!!!

As for the plastic seal on the tonneau cover, one possible thing you could use to replace an old worn one with would be a "cold mount" laminate from a print shop.. I used to work at a Sir Speedy in PA years ago and we had a cold press laminator, basically a HUGE roll of vinyl super sticky on one side (used for laminating posters). You could probably buy a hunk of that to use for a replacement, of course you would have to cut it, but it is an alternative.....

Purple 92 SS

thanks for the encouraging words fellas..

yea, I dont knwo why i got hit, but such as it is theres nothing I can do about it.

Also, yesterday I moved my truck, and in order to do so I had to re-unlock it. Well, I noticed that they took the screwdriver to the key lock cylinder too, and now ive got door body damage, cause the cylinder is all loose and what not.. so yay me. more money to fork out.

The top on the vert was really about the only damage they did, i guess luckily, they knew how to pry the radio out and didnt damage the center console luckily. The funny part is that all the tools needed to remove the radio properly were in the center console that they went through.. the torx screwdriver, the 9/32nd nut driver, and even a nice flathead screwdriver. They didnt even use any of it so oh well. At least the dash wsnt screwed up.

The top is the primary concern now.. I used black duct tape yesterday to seal it off, from the inside and out.. so hopefully that will last until i figure out what I want to do. I was thinking about putting the top on myself, and saving some duckies.. cause a grand is a bit much to drop out of my wallett at anytime..

So off to the searches I go on putting a top on...

steve

scanman717

You can replace the top yourself... Put the money into a good quality top. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time. Took me and my dad a whole day to make sure it was right. Take your time and you will be glad you did it!!

BlueZee28

iTrader: (30)

when i got the tonneu cover painted this year i didn't bother putting a new strip back on. haven't had any bad wearing problems with it. everyonce in a while you just gotta give it a good buffing. nothin' too harsh i think it looks 10x better without it actually

Speedgraphic

BlueZee28 Wrote:
(snip)
"you just gotta give it a good buffing. nothin' too harsh"

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How long, do you suppose, will it take you to buff completely through the clearcoat, paint, and into primer?

Speedy

Speedy Mike

ouch! sorry to hear that! Invest in a good car alarm with a 2way remote, maybe $400 installed or $200 do-it-yourself. That way if your within 1000 feet of the car, the remote goes off and you kick some a$$!!! Maybe not saved the top (assuming they went for the top before the doors), but you would have saved the cd players. I was warned of that before hand, because my dad have a 68 firebird conv and his top was cut.

Purple 92 SS

yea, the only reason i even put the radio in is cause i drive all over SC for work in it, and need something (mp3's) to listen to when radio stations are out of range.

an alarm would help, but it wouldnt be the total resolution.. in honesty,, the total resolution costs about 10 grand, and would include a garage and new driveway to it in back of my yard.


-steve

Raymon

I have a white '89 IROC vert. I also removed my plastic film and have no plans of replacing it I can clean and buff paint way better than the worn plastic.
I also agree that it looks way better without the 'seal'.

yankeecarman

iTrader: (9)

I really feel for you too. Its hard to believe that it would happen in a place like Lexington or Columbia. I lived in Columbia for 14 years and it was one of the best periods of my life. South Carolina is truly a beautiful place to live. Anyway, hope you get your problems fixed soon.