I have an issue with my t tops and need some advice. My 1992 Camaro came with two sets of tops, the original lexan set and a set of glass t tops the previous owner purchased. I took the crappy lexan ones of and put on the glass ones. Now the tops leak at an unacceptable rate. The seals are in great shape. I tightened the tops all the way, and am left without any other ideas. Suggestions anyone?

 

anyone got any ideas? I hate having wet seats

 

did it leak at all with the lexan set one?

 

the lexan lieaked minimally, however it wasnt tightened down completely

 

water can actually leak from the top itself and not the seal. where the glass meets the frame that houses the t-top lock is where the water can get in. i would say get a hose on the car and get in it and see exactly where its leaking and go from there.

 

I have the same issue with my 86 IROC T-Top. but mine leaks in the middle of the front and the middle of the back. You might have a tiny or large crack in the weather stripping. plus after all these years, the rain that collects between the weather strip and the body sits there, thus slowly rusting away the metal. My sggestion is if your going to get a new paint job in the future, buy the weather stripping first, then tear off the old one, check and inspect, then take it to a body shop to repair any rust if any, then paint it with an extra coat of clear around the t top area, then install the brand new weather strip. Good luck man. dont be ashamed, it happens to all us t-top owners.

 

I have a similar problem with my 86 iroc. It leaks in the rear a little, only after a hard rain. I tried taking the hose to it, and didn't get any action. I think it is leaking between the center bar and the weather strip. I'm gonna seal this area and see. My weather strip appears to be good. How is yours? Are there any cracks or decay?

 

When you swapped in the glass set, did you also swap in the female acceptors in the car side? The Lexan tops have larger pins, and thus larger holes for the pins (what I'm calling the acceptors). The glass tops have smaller pins, and thus need smaller holes to hold them in tight. So you'd need the mounts (acceptors) from a car with glass tops.

 

Honostly, I havent checked to see if there are any cracks yet. I do know that the middle bar, on the inside of the weather stripping is rusted because I left my Camaro in Colorado for 1 year at an outdoor storage. I completely forgot about the snow and rain. See snow always melts at the bottom layer so at that water collected and began to eat away at my precious iron. So I got a plan, never wet the top when washing and when it rains, Im going to get a sarge clear shower curtain and cover the top so that area stays dry. The method to hold it down is open the doors, let the curtain hang, roll up the windows and close the doors. the pressure of the windows agianst the body should be enough if it happens to be windy. Until the new paint job and new weather stripping, itll have to do.

 

Both style tops use the same body mounts. The larger plastic pins are spring loaded and retract into the top when latched leaving only the small inner metal pin actually latched into the body.

A rusted center section can definitely cause leaks but that wouldn't explain why they leak more with the glass tops than they did before.

You may want to try adjusting the mounts on the body. The tops may not be closing on the weatherstrip tight enough and that's why water is getting in. You can loosen the mounts and drop them down a little bit.