MAKE SURE YOU REMEMBER TO LATCH YOUR T-TOPS NEXT TIME YOU PUT THEM BACK ON

OK, so yesterday before work, I put my t-tops back on...drove home just fine, and drove to a neighbor's house just fine...but on my way home today, as I was rounding a curve (not going incredibly fast), WHOOSH! My glass t-top went flying off and shattered all over the road...

I'm very lucky it didn't somehow hit the car, nor any other cars or people (it was in a neighborhood). As mad as I was, I was laughing for about 5 minutes over it

Sure enough, when I got out of the car to inspect the latching mechanism, it was open...<_<

Anyone else have any similar stories?

 

how did you do that, didnt you realize the giant handle above you?

 

Yeah my buddies dads drove his car to work, put the t- tops on and forgot to latch them. Same thing happened. Sometimes t-tops are not easy to come by either.

 

happened to me. one night i was at my friends house. i dont remember what we were doin but he thought it would be kewl to take off my passenger side t top then put it back on. however he forgot to latch it. the sad part is he owns a thirdgen so its not like he doesnt kno how. anyway we go out for a ride and i start to hear alot of wind noise. before i know it the thing is gone. this happened when i first got my car so i still had lexan t tops and the thing survived without a scratch. it was pretty funny once i found out my t top was ok. ive since switched to glass tops and i make sure they are always latched.
matt

 

Not really...I tend to look straight ahead when I drive, not up...

I had parked my car at work at about 4PM yesterday and I was rushing for work. My tops were off so I put the passenger side on, latched it, then put the driver side on and apparently forgot to latch it. I did notice a little more wind noise than usual but it was 1AM so I never gave it any thought...(I was tired as hell)

I haven't had a hard time finding a t-top, it's just that they charge an arm and a leg...I'm picking up one tomorrow for $100. And to think I paid $150 for the set about 6 months ago,

 

Try to find a used one. or for the extra 50 buy a set of them so you have the extra just incase.

 

Pillsbry10 (name here) did the same thing... I had to laugh at least a little at him... (my old camaro w/the C&C tops always worked loose over the course of a 2-5mi drive... nearly lost one myself)
http://www.deadbird.org/swin/index.php?showtopic=97

 

the prices you guys are payen for t-glass is very expensive, i bought 2 extra sets for 20 bux a couple years ago, i figured just in case they get vandalized.

 

You can buy t-tops brand new for 150 bucks?

I need some glass ones badly

My lexan's look like total crap.

 

Well I'd certainly like to know where you got them so cheap, as I've tried junkyards, the local F-body shop, private sellers, and eBay...

Definitely go for the glass tops. I still had my old Lexan ones that came with the car but they look like total crap. The glass ones really change the look of the car

 

The 91 firebird I had were lexan. I loved them over the glass one's I've had. Slightly different, but I had an 81 t/a with glass ttops. HEAVY, so were the glass tops from my bro's 88 IROCZ.

 

you think that's bad? my father has lost THREE around the 1/8 mile marker on the track...all drivers side.

 

i have an extra set of t-tops.... if anyone needs one, or them, and is about to pay 100 dollars for a single one, pm me.... i'll deffinitly sell someone one for like 50 if there gonna have to pay 100 for one somewhere else.

 

i got my extra glass tops from a junk jard called "bucks" needless to say you can get parts very cheaply, and on sundays its all you can carry for 100 bux..lol ppl put seatbelts around there shoulders to hold up hoods, then they put motors and everything else on the hood, its really funny...but also very cheap.

 

The same thing happened to me, i was driving like 40mph the whole way home and once i decided to go like 60 the ttop started to shake and flew off it went into someones lawn but still shattered

...i did however find a replacement on ebay for only $15 plus like 30 to ship

while i was waiting for the ttop in the mail i borrowed my friends ttop from an 86 iroc cause his car was off the road in his garage lol

 

Wow, I wish I had a place like that around here. The local junkyard here is a ripoff, they asked $125! For a damn t-top! Even the usually-expensive F-body specialty shop in Charlotte was cheaper!

Anyway, here's a quick garage pic to show you why it's def. worth it to go to glass if you're stuck with Lexan...yes it adds weight and it's hot as Hell in the summer, but it's WORTH IT!

 

Yeah if i were you id go ahead and get the other one in glass as well because the glass ones look alot cleaner and that lexan one is deffinantly taking away from the look of your car.

 

i've heard of guys wetsanding those lexan ones to bring the shine back, might try that if your into weight reduction.

 

Yeah that would work too, but it would take loads of work to get the same shine that you would out of the glass ones...good luck whatever you do.

 

That sucks man, it almost happened to me once. I was sitting in front of my friends house waiting for him to come out and I was playing with my t-top latch (bored and fidgeting). And I forgot to relatch it, but I didn't notice until I went over a bump at about 45 and heard my t-top rattle above me. I held that thing in place with a death grip until I could safely come to a stop and latch it.

 

way back when i was doing the heater core in my old Formie and i had the driver side t-top latch out to hang a shop light on it. Needless to say I forgot about it. I will never forget that sound of rushing air and wondering where it was comming from and then my lexan top flying into the air a good 10-15 feet before falling to the ground and cracking into 3 pieces. I temporarily duct taped and epoxied it back together untill i was able to find another set of lexan on e-bay. It really pissed me off because the new ones I got wernt half as nice as the originals I had before the incident. They were kind of bubble shaped instead of flat and kinda made my car look like the bat mobile!

 

Did it the day I bought the car. After checking out the t-tops, I forgot to latch the passenger side, and it flew off once I hit like 70 on the freeway.