So I have the money, my truck is sold and I am wanting to buy a 3rd gen. I really want a manual with t-tops. I found an iroc which is just that but I also found another that is a hard top with an auto. The t top is 3000 and an 88 iroc with a rebuilt 305(its ok I have a 350 4 bolt main sometime to be a 383 stroker!!). The other is also an 88 iroc but is way closer to where I live but for 4000. I don't know the exact condition of the first because it is so far away. I don't want to compromise and regret it. What do you guys think? Thanks Scott

 

Well just to let you know, i also wanted a T top car. I found a hardtop car and bought it. Dont get me wrong i love my car but i still wish i would have waited 4 a t top car.

 

I own a ttop and a hardtop. Had my hardtop for about 10 years now and the ttop for about 7 now. I hate ttops. They can leak, rattle, let too much sun in, fly off if you forget to bolt them down, the glass can burn your hands when you try to take them off on a super hot day. I like how smooth a hardtop looks.

 

I have owned two t-top cars and one hard top car, I prefer the t-tops hands down. Of course you have the issues of leaks but they can be fixed, t-top all the way for me.

 

I think I just have to go for it...I just LOVE how they look.

 

" T " tops have their issues . sunny day , nice weather , nice rt. seat company , tops off , what issues ??? i love my sometime leaking t tops . good luck .

 

I know they have their problems but I still love the look.

 

its all a matter of what you want, they can be trouble, even when new there was some issues with them leaking.......they are fun i will say that, when i was looking for my third gen, i didnt care, i wanted an all original, single owner, matching vin, V8, camaro, so a year of looking, seeing alot of POS's i found this on, a hardtop..... i will say this, if it was just like it is but had a t i would of got it, just be aware you may have some leaks, and may have to do some work to them. i would say go for the car that is in the best shape, you dont want to get a POS and have trouble with it just because it has t-tops , or a hardtop (whatever you choose), remember, spend ALOT of time looking at the car, look at the underside, if its pretty clean more than likely it was well taken care of, but also check the parts underneith, open the doors a few times, look at the paint real good, check for bondo with a magnet, check out all the lights (tag and side markers) if they all work, then more than likely the owner checked things like that alot (and other things like fluid levels) thats just a few things i have leaned to look for, hope some of it helps you on your search for a good car, t top or not

hey tom, we need to bring some nice right seat company AKA seat covers to the next meet

 

after having t-tops in my 89 formula 350 i dont think i could drive another 3rd gen w/o them..they leak u can fix em..theres nothing like cruising with the tops off on a beautiful day...although the leak did burn up my 3000 watt amp..i got pissed

 

My T-tops leaked, but the car is 22 years old. Sure they squeak a little, but I still love them.

 

I love my t-tops, I wouldn't buy a Camaro without them. My tops didn't start leaking until a few months ago, and I replaced the weatherstripping and have no more leaks. Whenever my tops start leaking, I just put some 303 Aerospace protectant on the seals and no more squeaks. I do agree that the glass t-tops let in a little too much light for my taste (Lexan tops are darker) so I'm going to either get them tinted or maybe even try it myself.

 

Hardtop, i think they look much cleaner. T-tops only look good on black cars and it looks like a big butt crack dont the top of your car. plus hardtops save weight!!!

 

What a choice, I say you have to see both cars to get your final answer. Only you can chose, we just can give are own experinces & oppinions.
Oppinions are like a$$hole$, everyone has one & they all stink....lol

 

over and over . good luck with your decision .

 

I've also had both.But some of the cons of ttops for me.1) it has to be in the 80's to take them of so chances are your going to have sun beating down you.2) there not worth it on short trips if you like to lock everything.3) haveing to pull over because a storm has come out of no where, which has happened to me a couple of times.4) if you want a big system you have to work around the strap hooks if you want to use the stock locations.
But for me there's nothing like crusing around with the tops off on hot clear summer night with the stars above.But to bad we don't get to many off them nights here in upstate NY

 

For me, it depends on what I want the car for.
If I were building a car to race, I would go hardtop and if I was building it for the street then I go T-Top.

I have had and still own both, but I do prefer the T-Top for cruising around, plus the extra headroom.

But, if you cannot find a T-Top for this summer that you want, you can always take the buy and sell approach. Buy a hard top this summer, look for a decent deal, clean it up some, keep it up in good shape, then sell in when you find the car you want.

If you do it right, you might actually make some money in the process.

 

i just bought a t-top car, and i wouldn't go any other way. as for letting too much light in, ha ha, thats what they are for. if you really want t-tops, get them, they are amazing in summer. however you can add more power to the hard tops, they have more strength. so which ever you prefer, but i would go t-tops all the way man.

 

one other thing SFC are a must for ttops or hardtop but more so for ttops IMO

 

So the hard top sold anyways plus I really want the T. I went to buy one with t tops but clutch went out on test drive. He is getting fixed and I still might buy but now for 100 less!! It just sucks he live 5 hours away.

 

dang clutch went out on a test drive, should throw some red flags. btw what part of the country you from anyways.??? Some of the cars your looking at seem alittle pricey depending on where you live and the cars shape too. but five hours to drive a ttop for sale seems silly.

 

midwest and there are no cars out here that are cheap.

 

just went through ebay and there isn't many camaros listed. A couple of nice ones though $15,000+ and a few out in your part (midwest). Dang maybe i'll sell mine if the market is like this hmmmmmm.

 

Ya plus around here there aren't many big cities that close. What happened to the nice cheap camaros everyone was buying???

 

Correction, everyone was "claiming" there were nice cheap camaros.

In Mr. Rogers Neighborhood there are a ton of cheap 3rd Gens. in perfect condition, sadly enough very few people live anywhere near him and he does not list on Ebay.

In the real world, cars cost what people are selling them for, if we all refused to sell our 3rd gens, even the piles of crap for no less than $3000.00, then $2900 for a piece of junk would be a great deal.
Maybe we can learn something from the oil industry, screw the people, and make record profits. I know, pretty sad.

Spring and summer are terrible times to buy these types of cars BTW, your best deals will be found in fall or winter.

 

i just bought my car, a week ago. it is in perfect condition, the bottom is as clean as the top. not even surface rust. it was 20 miles away from me and i bought it for 2800. the only thing. he didn't have i posted for sale, he knew i was interested and decided to sell it to me. so the cars are out there, you just have to find the right one. i looked at 10 cars before finding mine, and my uncle looked at 30 cars before finding his Z28. so it just takes time. o and you are right, buy the car in fall or winter, not spring or summer. just like motorcycles. they are cheaper in fall, no one wants to store them for the winter, and if you have the space, why not. like i said, the cars are out there.

 

doesn't matter what season we're in. when i'm looking to buy prices are sky high and when i tried to sell my camaro it seemed like it was a buyers market. but I just figured it was g0d pointing a finger at me and letting out a slow evil hahahaha.

 

i know what you mean about trying to find deal in the midwest. i drove 3hrs to get my camaro. i didnt have a trailer either, and my girlfriend wanted to visit family that was out of the way on the route home. so 5hrs driving a car i had just bought, on more of an impulse. wasnt my brightest idea

i say more of an impulse because in hindsight i didnt look over the car very well at all. it had an oil leak, and the brakes werent the best.

 

about the t tops, they are GREAT except they can be stupid anoying ciz they squeek ALOT (lexan anyways...) i spent a year looking for my can .looked at a bunch of cars, found out, you get what you pay for, you want a nice car, you gotta pay up

 

I'd get the T-Tops

 

I used to have a hard top and it was nice now i just bought a t/top and I'm still working on it it was $300 but i got a lot of work to do. I say go with your instincts but check the car very well before you buy it. GOOD LUCK

 

My old car was a t-top car, and like said above, too much sun, LEAKY, noisy, etc. I have a hardtop now, and there are days when I miss my t's, but then I think about how dry I am when it rains. I love my hardtop.

 

One other thing get lexan if you can those glass ones can be a little heavy for some people. like when my wife takes a side off I'm like watch the paint,watch the paint,watch the paint,watch the paint, exhale.

 

I have an 87 IROC with T-Tops. I FLIPPIN LOVE MY T-TOPS! Theres nothing like cruising on a clear night with some music.....KICKS ***!

 

Well I ended up buying a 94 z28. It is red, t tops, and a 6 speed. It has lots of miles but the body is solid. She needs new front struts(passenger side is bad) and their is a little misfire sometime. I think it is the optispark distributor. I got it real cheap though.

 

o yea that the fun part!

 

I owned a hardtop t/a for 10 years. trying to decide wether or not to paint it, i spent the paint money on a t-top gta. looking back now, i wish i never would have bought the hardtop...t-tops are so much more fun. and i haven't noticed any more squeks or rattles and my tops don't leak, even with the oe weatherstrips from 89. get the t-top car!