Can someone please advise if the glass t-tops for a 89 IROC fit a 92 RS. My RS came w/ t-tops but they are not glass.

 

Theoretically they should fit with some adjustment... however GM changed the ttop weatherstripping a couple times between 89-92 so you may have to switch over your weatherstripping tot he new ttops.

 

Did GM ever offer glass T's during 91?

 

My 91 Firebird has original glass t-tops.

 

are t-tops from a 91' firebird the same as a 91' camaro

 

The t-tops should be the same and are interchangable as long as the wtherstip is the same (as mentioned before) and the T-tops are not an aftermarket conversion... Firebird & Camaro are the same.

John

 

I bought a set of glass tops to replace my plexiglass. The car I got them off was originally equipped with the t tops and my car was as well. I got them home and they would not fit. Be careful

 

is it possable to order them new from GM or some other seller? Is it possable to just buy the glass by itself or can you only get it as a set. I want to replace my foggy nasty looking plexy pieces with glass. Plus the fact that my car was just vandalized makes me think what would happen if the T's were broken would I be able to just have the glass replaced or would I have to hunt for a replacement unit.

 

The dealer wanted $700 a piece, $1400 for the set.

 

Keep in mind, if you have good insurance, they might replace them. This would fall under my insurance under the glass, and they will replace windshields with cracks & such, I do not know why they would not pay for hazy/cracked T-tops. A) Its glass, b) what do you pay them for anyway??? Might be worth a shot. you can't lose anything.

Keep in mind, if your car is worth only $1500 (to the ins company) and it cost $1600 to replace the tops, and you demand new perfect tops, then they might just total your car. There was a guy that had an early 80's Riviera with the spoke hubcaps. The hubcaps were stolen he demanded new replacements, at the time they were worth about $500 each, the Ins company totaled the car.

As for the T-tops not fitting, (typically) the easy way to tell the difference between a factory T-top car & aftermarket T-tops is the following. When looking at a T-top car notice the width of the metal between the Windshield & the T-top, if it is the same width as between the windshield and the door window, then that is like factory. IF the metal between the windshield and T-top is WIDER than between the windshield and door then that is a sure fire way to tell if they are an aftermarket job.

John

 

i got a set off ebay for $100 bucks buti have seen them go for less, i needed them right away so i had to pay a little more

btw- hearing a swish sound while driving 60 is not a good thing
(i keep my new ones locked with the key now to be safe)

 

The locking mechinisim and the trim on my t's are in mint condition just the plastic is the part that is ugly looking. I wanted to know if I would beable to replace them with glass? All I would want to do is remove the trim from my exsisting unit and install it on a new piece of glass. Or if the glass can not be purchased by itself or is not available for the 91' model how about a new lexan piece are those available?

 

you could get a good set off ebay for anywhere from 40 to 60 bucks. The only reason I went so high was that i had to have them right away cuase i couldn't drive around with plastic and duck tape on my car forever (dont get me started)

you might be able to change the actual lock (key) over to the new ones, but im not sure. That way you wouldn't have another key on your keychain.

 

I bought a pair of glass t-tops off eBay that were from an '86 Camaro. I put them on my '92 Formula and they fit just fine. ALL the 3rd gen locking pin-style t-tops are interchangable between Firebirds and Camaros...lexan and glass, as long as they are/were factory installed. Rekeying the lock to fit your door key is EASY. I did it with my t-tops AND the locking storage cover Just carefully take everything apart, and put the right tumblers in the locks. Of course, if you don't have any tumblers (most people don't) take the lock to a locksmith...he'll charge anywhere from $5 to $20 a lock, so shop around. By the way, I drive with my lexan tops and only use the mirrored glass tops for car shows.

ScreaminChicken

 

look guys what I'm saying is all I want to do is replace the glass piece not the whole unit. Is this possable? I hope you guys can understand what I'm saying now.

 

NO, as far as I know it is not currently available.

personally I picked up a pair of cracked plastic tops from a junkyard and paid like $20 bucks for the pair. I work for a place that makes Aircraft windshields and am planning on making replacement plastic for them someday. I would offer the standard dark gray, I was thinking of also light green (like car side windows) and some other colors. maybe even solid black.

IF you get a set of glass tops from a junk yard, it is possible to transfer the locks one to the other. But I don't know if that is your problem.

The glass is not available by itself, as far as I know, I have never seen or heard of doing such a thing...

John

 

I have seen just the glass part of a set of t-tops available on eBay (or maybe thirdgen.org classifieds) before. For some reason the person was just selling the glass - none of the trim locking stuff at all. However, okfoz is right I think...you can't get just the glass or lexan from the dealer or aftermarket. Since I did see just the glass available from that person, I would have to assume that you could buy a set of glass tops with perfect glass or lexan and trashed trim/locking stuff fairly cheaply, then transfer your trim stuff to that glass/lexan. I don't have any clue as to how to get the trim off without trashing it or how to securely attach it again either though. That COULD be cheaper than buying tops with perfect glass and trim stuff, but I don't know how to do it. I hope this helps you. I would suggest finding a perfect set of t-tops somewhere...I got my perfect set of glass tops for $120 off eBay. Watch out for shipping though...it can be a bitch! I spent all of an hour pulling and rekeying the locks and I was done. Although you could just transfer your locks (no rekeying)...I rekeyed them because I use both sets of t-tops.

ScreaminChicken

 

Well I went ahead and took a chance and purchased the glass t-tops from an 89 IROC to replace my worn out non-glass t-tops for my 92 RS. I guess I got lucky because they fit like a glove, did not have to change the weather stripping. They actually fit better than the originals. It makes the car look a lot nicer.

 

I have a set of glass T-tops of a '88 Forumula if anyone needs them. CKTA@webtv.net.

 

Check out www.sunroofdoctor.com.
They have a table that describes the various ttops that came on 3rd gen camaros and firebirds.

 

i know this is off topic, but i got to drive with me tees off today since weather permited, man i missed that thank g@d that its finally started to heat up

 

Is it possible to have a key made for T-Tops? My T-Tops weren't original to the car so the ignition key doesn't match up with them.. ;(

 

Sauron91,

Ofcourse you can have keys made for your t-tops. Any locksmith can do it. BUT, it's your door key that fits the t-tops, not the ignition key! Like I said in my earlier post, they'll probably charge anywhere from $10 to $20 per lock to rekey them for you.

ScreaminChicken

 

It might be a dumb question but why don't people that have the plexi t-tops just polish them insted of buying new ones? Eastwood carries a product for high polishing plastic like tail lights. I don't see how it wouldn't work on t-tops.

 

wait, they made t-tops that weren't glass?!?!? mine are glass!!!

 

Well, if you want mirrored t-tops you have to get the glass ones. Mine came with lexan tops...nice even dark tint on both sides. The glass ones are mirrored on the bottom and tinted on top, but there's a dark 'ring' around the edge. Personally, I prefer the more even tint of my lexan tops, but I bought a perfect set of glass tops to display at car shows (they lean on my back seats w/ mirror side out). The mirrored finish is more showy Anyway, I've never tried to polish my lexan tops...they don't look that bad anyway though.

ScreaminChicken

 

Screamin, I just bought the car and the keys don't match the T-Tops..I'm guessing it came with plexi and a prev.owner replaced with glass or the originals were stolen and replaced with unmatching T-tops and didn't bother to get the key..either way I need to get it rekeyed ;>

 

Sauron91,

That's cool. But in your post you said "the ignition key doesn't match up with them", and I said that it's the door key that should match up. I realize you probably tried both (or maybe just said ignition instead of door). Just wanted to make it clear as to which key to use, becuase there might be someone that doesn't know... If you take the locks out of the t-tops and take them completely apart, the locksmith will probably charge less too Probably only $5 a lock that way. Good luck.

ScreaminChicken

 

Yeah..I meant to type 'door,' I realized my typo but I'm too lazy to edit..thanks for correcting and answering me in any case; >

 

no its NOT a dumb question, but usually misunderstood.

If your PLASTIC tops were scratched, yes polishing would work ok. Unfortunately after about 5 or so years from alot of sun exposure, fumes from your vinyl inter pieces, fumes of many kinds actually attack the plastic, so you get little cracks called crazing.

The crazing is usually just below the surface, and if you tried to polish it out, you would distort them. I have heard about people with airplanes that took A D/A sander to their windows and tried to sand the crazing out, with no luck, to get more than a few thousandths of sanding, is nearly impossible.

I work with Aircraft windshields all day long, so thats how I know.

On a side, but similar note: Its funny, next time you take a flight on a Jet, where they pressurize the cabin, take a look at the windows, usually there is a hole in the middle, just at the bottom. The windows are in 3 layers, outside layer, inside layer and a layer in the middle, the middle window I think is the one with the hole (been a while, since I have been on a jet, and I work with small airplanes). I bet that just from the little hole in the center layer you will find crazing on one of the other windows, there usually is.

Hope that helps

John

 

Just a word of warning. Make sure you clarify with your insurance agent whether or not t-tops are covered under "glass coverage." I had a incident in which mine were damaged in a storm, and although initially told they were covered under my full glass portion of the policy, the company said they were not. They refused to pay for them to be replaced, until my father threatened to cancel our family's 15 or so policies we had with the company unless they did so immediately. And also, make sure you DEMAND to receive GM replacements of the same type as the original. My original ones were glass, and were replaced with lexan. I was fine with this, however, b/c I prefer the lexan t-tops anyway...

MILT