I dont know if anyone has experienced this but i am drivin along and my T-top starts shaking than flys off, i stop and hope its still intact but all the glass is gone.I must have not latched it all the way . I put some clear plastic, duct tape and the t-top minus the glass or whats left of the t-top, ill try to post a pic soon .It will protect against the rain it for now it looks like but i am wondering if all the t-tops are interchangable or is my 85 iroc only compatible with 85 camaro ttops casuse i need one real bad and dont know if other years will fit.

There all the same, no matter what year

they may look the same, but the latching system is different on the newer thirdgens, the older ones use "J" hook type, where as the newer ones use pin style

I have 2 85 T/A's with T-Tops, one has a metal frame around the glass, the other does not.

yea ill take a trip to the junk yard and pick one up thanks

Judging from the few sets that I have, it seems like the locking t-tops had no metal trim and also have the entire perimeter darkened. The non-lockers have metal trim and only the outside edge darkened. Is this the case for yours too?

in any case, for compatibility you just want to look at your latching mechanism. It'll be either hooks, small pins or big pins. Also the big pins can have the plastic piece removed and there's a small pin underneath so they're somewhat interchangable too

What do you mean by "J" hook and pin type...I have an 82 and its jus two rods going into a hole on both sides...don't know about the "j" It happened to me...my brother didn't latch my t-top on right and on the freeway it just flew off...luckily it was late at night and no one was behind me and it landed off to the side. I just went to the yard and picked up one for $40.

There are also the "Cars and Concepts" t-tops that were put on some third-gens. So basically there are three different types.

my 84 non locking t-tops were like that (i still have them) and the 2 cars i have/had with locking t's dont (83 T/A-gone- my 87 Iroc and my 90 Formula)

85 Camaro t-tops would not fit properly on my 91 Bird. They had the same latching system, they just had a different contour to them...

That last post reminds me of something. The t-top I bought would not latch on...I had to adjust the brackets that they lock on to. Under the plastic trim pieces there are two metal brackets that have two screws that can be shifted up and down a little bit. The pin was hitting them so I had to slide them so the pin would clear and the top would latch. Just thought you should know so you don't freak out if the t-tops were to not latch on from the get go....you do have some adjustment to work with.

Hmm... I still have these tops stowed away in my basement somewhere. I'll have to dig them out and see if that's the case. Thanks man.

Those brackets are hard plastic, by the way; they will crack if you overtighten the screws. At least, that's how it is on my car.

i jsut came across 2 sets of 3rd gen t-tops in the junk yard yesterday, completely intact, they were both solid glass with a door hand type release handle on them, where ive seen others with a frame around them and plastic releast type handles.
the junkyard is MIDWESTERN AUTO PARTS in elgin,illinois, i know they do ship.

82 & 83 have the same t-tops then they changed it & the 84s on work.

I had a guy that bought a set of 84 ttops for his 83 camaro changed out the stuff thats on the car & they fit tighter & alot nicer then the org ones.

Nope mine certainly were metal not plastic...in fact one of the pins still hit slightly even after I adjusted it that I took a file and filed it a bit so it would clear better. I think the replacement t-top that I bought came from either an 85 or an 86.

I guess the 82-83 cars had a metal bracket there? I'd like to find something stronger than the plastic crap I have.

wow that happend to me like 4 months ago im driving i hear a wind noise il like wtf and then wooooooooooosh there goes the pass t-top and i start freezing since it was 12 degrees outside but i got lucky it happend at night going down the interstate i looked for it for 3 days adn finally found it all in one peice without a scratch on it and it left the car when i was doing 80 or better

The same thing happened to me last year on the way to a car show and it then started raining it did not last long and I made it home without it raining anymore.

I had my hood fly off about 2 months ago, i would have had one of my t-tops fly rather then my hood. ( i know its not what you were discussing but its similar, i dont mean to hi-jack your thread)

One day I unlatched my drivers side t-top, and then ym phone starts ringing. So I have a 15 minute conversation, and completely forget about the T-tops. I drive off, and I'm going 45 down a road, and suddenly my T-top flies off. Thing is though, I CAUGHT IT. It went off to the side, so I managed to get it with my left hand. Damn near almost swerved off the road though.

Yeah, that would suck if you saved the t-top and totalled the car.

yea i found a ttop on ebay but the auction wont end for a couple of days and it will take time to have it shipped and its supposed to rain here from sun to tues. Well then i decided i could borrow my friends ttop until mine gets here, hes got an 86 iroc and its in his garage and hes not puttin it on the road til may .his ttop fits great on my car so i have 2 ttops for now.

Yep. I lost my 82 T-top in a similar situation. I picked up a spare one from 82-83, but got a spare locking set from an 88 along with the latching hardware (pins) and yes, the 82-83 hooks go into a metal bracket, and the later year pins go into a plastic bracket.

Ditto on the metal trim around them. I'm not sure on the shading, but my 82-83 tops have the trim, and the 88 tops I found have no trim.

Both sets are locking

Does anyone know if the metal brackets have a different part number than the plastic ones?

I know you can put 85 86 87 Glass T tops onto the later 90-92s because the pin style is the same idea, but a smaller pin on the tops itself. The holes on the chassis from the 90-92 are bigger (they were lexan tops) so I dont think you could pull later 90-92 tops. At least this is my experience w/ the ex g/f's 92 and some 86 T tops...

take a trip to the bone yard and pray theres one like yours. Or check ebay?

Nate

I'm sure he has t-tops by now, this thread is from April. I'm asking if there is a part number for the metal bracket that the pin goes into.

My 1986 has plastic trim around the pin holders, but I've pulled the trim off and the pin holders themselves are metal and secured with two screws.

My car, btw, has locking T-tops with pins and no metal frame.

Are you positive they're metal? I'm 98% sure mine are plastic, and I have an 86 as well.

My '84 and '91 tops are totally interchangable.

I'll have a look when I work on the car tonight. I'm just waiting for it to cool down outside first.

Edit: Ok, now I looked. Yeah, sorry, they're plastic -- I just thought for some reason they were metal. Guess I should keep a close eye on them for cracks; I don't want mine flying off...