i currently have a 92 with hideous plastic t tops, and am wondering if i can replace them with glass ones. should i try that or should i try to restore them somehow?

 

YES

 

i got the glass ones, and they fit just fine! they look great! im currently testing them out and if they work out ok, i plan on selling my plastic ones. all they need is a good buff job, i just didn't have the equipment to do it so i bought the new ones.

 

Hi,
Did you have to do anything to get them to fit? What were the glass ones from? I have an 89 Formula 350 with plastic. I bought a set of glass from the junk yard and the pins did not line up right. Tks.

 

unfortunately, i don't know what year my glass tops came from. all i know is they have the skinnier pins and mine had the fat ones. i learned that it doesn't really matter in my situation, the pins will still fit without making a big difference. they lined up with my holes just fine and are a good fit.

 

Tks. I wonder which mine are. Back to the yard!!

 

New style t-tops like the 89 are the small pins

You really should do the water test and see if you need to adjust the receivers

 

What year did they switch over to plastic tops? I have a 90, and it has glass tops, with factory tint. I was wondering if plastic would be better for squeaking and such?

 

I need to replace the seals for the t-tops anyway so I know my car fails the water test. I have to be careful not to hit the roof much whenever I wash the car. I did not know you could adjust the receivers. I will look when its a little warmer. Thanks.
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I don't know when they switched over but if you have glass, I would keep them. The plastic are lighter but they bubble up after a while. They are also easy to scratch and its a pain to buff them. My 89 only has 59K miles and has been inside the garage its whole life but when you look at the roof with the tops on its not flat. Both t-tops are puffed up and go down in the center. The glass are a much cleaner look.

 

i agree

 

Here's the deal: 82-84 uses hooks, 85-89 use small pins, and 90-92 use big pins. I have no proof for this info, this is just what I've noticed from my experience. I seems that the hook tops are all glass, and then you can get both big and small pin in glass or lexan. I finally found some glass big pin tops and they'll be here tomorrow, so I hope they fit without adjustment.

 

Good to know thanks. Any idea if the pins are interchangeable? I have a pretty good looking set of glass that don't fit now. I was wondering if I could switch the pins from my plastic to the glass ones.

 

from what ive heard, it is possible to switch the pins.

 

It's possible to switch the pins, but the question is why? Pretty much all tops that are pin type for our cars are interchangeable (I run a set from a 92 on my 87). But, you will have to remove the latch anyways to switch over your locks (provided you have some, that is). If you managed to get a later set, you will HAVE to save your old weatherstripping, or buy new, since you WILL tear the old ones off to get the retainer screws out. And, to top it off, the later style tops won't work properly with the old strip, as the older style bolts on and the new is held with adhesive..

 

All pins are interchangeable

The big pin is simply a small pin with a plastic sleeve over it

90% of the weatherstripping does not need to be replaced if it fails the water test

Remove the A pillar and B pillar trim and you will see the receivers
Adjust accordingly

T-TOPS ARE NOT ONE ADJUSTMENT FITS ALL

If you swap t-tops you need to readjust them

What?

The only stripping youd damage accessing the screws is on the t-bar
Thankfully you wont need to access these EVER unless you are replacing said bar or swapping the stripping

The t-top mechanics are all bolted in
If you strip it completely down to the glass then you will find adhesive but its just simple windshield black goo

 

Hi everyone, just getting back into my 3rd gen after a couple years off.
(92rs) The tops have been a huge frustration on my part, I have the lexan that are cracked and look very bad. A couple years ago I got a set of glass that fit good until I realized they are not the same same size(front to back). Not sure what to do, I have been wanting to paint the car but with bad looking tops I keep loosing interest. Any ideas?

 

either get some new glass ones like i did, or just buff the lexan tops. i heard buffing will work pretty good on the lexan tops, but it will probably be hard to get the big scratches or cracks out. i recommend just getting new ones

 

Sounds like you got a set of C&C t-tops

They wont fit a factory T-top car but have a nice resale so you can buy a proper set

 

You can make them look a lot better, I posted some before and after pictures back in 2002 when I did mine, and told how I did it, it's time to do it again now but they still look much better than they did before, I'd like to get some glass ones, I wonder if they seal better to give a less windy ride?...

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/auto...tml?highlight=

 

[quote=DartByU;3686679] I wonder if they seal better to give a less windy ride?...quote]

i dont feel any wind through mine, but you can hear it at high speeds

 

[QUOTE=RS305;3686747]Yes that's what I meant, mine don't leak but I can here a good bit of wind noise I think because the Lexan tops are kind of flimsy, glass should be quite a bit stiffer, so maybe seal the noise better?

 

my glass ones are the ones where i can hear the wind

BTW: after sanding everything down, is there any other way to buff (without a machine)? This is for my lexan tops that need restoration and some tail lights that im buying

 

You're going to need a rotary to make lexan t-tops look anywhere near decent. I sanded the crap out of mine and took my Porter Cable DA to them and it shined them up a little but didn't take away all the sanding scratches. Now I have glass tops and they look great and won't warp.

 

You can do it with LOTS of elbow grease. But the buffer I used was a cheap orbital I bought for like $25.

 

thx ill look into buying one before i start my project