i drove a few hunred miles yesterday with the tops off. when i got to my destination, i put the tops on and went partying. when i got ready to leave i took the tops back off and i have a 8 in crack in my driver side top.

question #1. how could this had happened? it didnt look like anyone tried to break into the car.

question #2. could this be covered on insurance?

question #3. could i get the crack repaired in any way?

question #4. if it cannot be reparied, is there anything special that i need to look for in a used set of tops? are all 82-92 gm tops the same.

any help is appreciated.

 

I doubt that it would have cracked on its own. Only things I can think of that will crack glass like that are impact and extreme temperature changes.

You can try going through insurance I guess....it can't hurt right?

I don't think you can repair it either.

All t-tops are not the same. They have different types of latches on them and are made from different materials also. (Glass vs. Lexan)

Good luck

 

Answer 1. Who knows. Stranger things have happened.

Answer 2. Depends on your insurance company and policy (and deductable... why would you want to pay a big deductable for something like that?).

Answer 3. I highly doubt it (not sure on this one though). Maybe... duct tape?

Answer 4. Depends on the style of tops you have. There are different mechanisms. I believe all the tops are the same (except material), so if you get a top with a different latch, all you have to do is swap over the hardware from the cracked one (I think).

 

In 1984 or 1985 they changed from the hook type to the big pin type.

They come in two materials, lexan and glass. The lexan is lighter but it is prone to warping, scratching and in my opinion they break too easily. They are very fragile.

Glass is nice because it looks better while being heavier. The other advantage is that the glass ones are easy to find. I have only ever seen lexan T-Tops once.

You can swap the hardware from one T-Top to another. All thirdgen T-Tops are cut the same as long as they were factory originals and not the aftermarket kind done by alot of the dealers.

 

thanks guys, i have been looking at the tops on ebay. i have seen a couple for around $50 at starting bid. i quess ill just do that.

 

oh and i called the chevy place in town, and asked about new tops. haha they said that just one for the pass side listed for $900 and they discontinued the driver side?? wtf???

 

I think GM does that **** so that they don't have to keep any of that crap in stock so no one buys it. And if you are crazy enough to pay those retarded prices they make serious coin off of it.

There are alot of T-Tops at the junk yards in my area.

 

yeah, i thought about checking the junk yards around here too. it seems like i see a lot of these model (82-92) camaro or firebirds wrecked and what not. maybe they'll have something. most of the cars that i have seen like mine are in real bad shape. the one i have is one of the better ones as far as still in good condition that i have seen around here.

 

Do you have Plastic (acrylic) tops or Glass???

 

glass, or at least i am pretty sure. the tops say: lexamar??? if that means anything.

 

then you have the plastic tops...What really set me off to them being plastic is they cracked but did not break or explode. Tempered glass will usually not crack but shatter into those anoying littpe pieces of glass that you find years later in your car...

Leximar is the company that made the plastic (acrylic) tops, there coated with a hard coating to reduce scratching, but they have a tendancy to craze really bad and eventually crack...

BECAUSE they are acrylic, you can fix them (unlike if they were glass). BUT they might have a tendancy to crack again, because the glue job might not hold perfectly.

Your best bet might be to get a set of glass tops from a salvage yard... Around here I can usually get them for under $100... I got a set of Acrylic tops for dirt cheep, but they had the same problem of cracking, they were useless to anyone else...

I want to start making replacement "plexiglas" for the acrylic tops, I make aircraft windshields and windos now and its not a far stretch, I have some interest, unfortunately they would probably be more expensive than most people would like to pay.

I have a set to get started, but its a matter of getting to the project.

John

 

thanks for the info dude.
i will see if the local glass shop can do a temporary fix on them until i get a glass set.