I have posted this question on several boards looking for a variety of opinions and experiences.
I know you can cut t-tops into your hardtop car but is it possible to turn your t-top car back into a hardtop? Has anyone done this?
Is metal just welded in place of the glass or does a whole hardtop roof have to be installed inplace of the whole t-top roof? What would one expect to pay to have a body shop do this and are there any problems that you forsee or have encountered? Thanks for your help.

 

I think I have heard around 1000-1500 bucks. Are you planning on doing this to your Camaro, if so, thats a rare car to have T-s and the 350

I would recommend removing everything from the windshield to the top of your doors to the back glass to do it right.


John

 

Thanks for your input. I am actually looking to do this on either an f-body or a g-body. I will not be doing it on my 91 Z28 for two reasons, 1) it is already hardtop and 2) I just sold it this past sunday. Does anyone else have any experiences with this type of ocnversion. Thanks in advance.

 

Spendy to do. T-top cars are usually more desirable than hardtops, so I think it would be better to sell the t-top car and buy a hardtop if that is what you want.

 

I know this might sound like a silly question, but... WHY would you buy a T-top car for the purpose of converting it to a hard top?

John

 

I am looking at buying a TTA. Since only 39 of them were hardtops from the factory my best bet at locating one is to buy a t-top one and change it over. once in a while you come across a hardtop one but they are usually quite costly. It would be much cheaper to switch the t-top car over but I want to know if it is feasible and if the car's rigidity will be ruined by having the roof taken off and a new one welded in.

 

It is very feasable, and to tell you the truth, If done properly, you would end up with a stronger car than if you bought a hard top version to start with. From talking to some GM guys, and bodyshop guys that have worked on both hard-tops and T-top cars, the T-top cars have stouter sheetmetal on the underside for extra strength. The pieces LOOK the same, but in fact there thicker. By taking a perfectly good T-top car and cutting off the top and then welding a hard top onto the car you would end up with a stroner than normal hard top.

Keep in mind that the tops on our cars were welded together from the factory. Actually they used lead, find the area where it was leaded in, and cut along that line on both cars, then attach the new top...

Good luck...

Seems to me that it would be cheeper to convert a hard top car over to the GN Engine than cutting the top off an existing TTA...

Its your fun...

John

 

Why not just remove all of the T-Top accessories, and weld the piece of sheet metal in place of them? That would be the easiest, cheapest, and by far, the safest thing to do. You wouldnt acually be cutting into the factory frame just adding to it. You would also be adding some more rigidity to the frame as well. I personally would not want the entire roof cut off, then put back on.

 

So you want to butcher one of the rarest thirdgens ever produced? Is there a specific reason that you want a hard top TTA so bad, or do you just not care for t-tops?

 

I would not really call it butchering a TTA. I am looking at modifying one to my specifications much the same way people modify their TPI and 6-cyl cars. I do not like T-tops. I have owned/ ridden in just about every thirdgen combination of motors/t-tops/hardtops etc and I am 100% positive I do not want a T-top car. The hardtop thridgens I have owned/ridden in are vastly superior in my opinion that is why I want one. You just end up paying the premium for the hardtop's rarity if you buy one of the factory TTA hardtops so that is why I was wondering if it would be cheaper or easier to just convert one. If it looks like this is going to be a huge project I will just pay the extra money for a hardtop one. I have not actually bought a TTA yet I am still shopping so this is just so I can make plans and make the right purchase. Thanks for your help.

 

I would NOT just weld on sheetmetal over the T-tops, do this and you will not have door seals, it would look tacky...

get the whole top and install it, do it right...

John

 

I'd call that butchering a TTA. T-tops are about the only thing that make Thirdgens special.

 

AmorgetRS- Thanks for letting me know what you think. Unfortunately the question was not "Am I butchering a TTA?" it was "Is it possible to convert from t-top to hardtop." I would think that as a moderator you would try to keep your sarcastic and opinionated replies to a minimum. I am not a butcher, I have gone to great lengths to keep all of my thirdgens in great running condition. I am actually looking to strengthen a TTA structurally not enter it into a demolition derby.

 

Well, I posted a question similar to yours a long time back. I'm not sure why everyone doesn't understand that a hardtop's chassis rigidity is superior to a t-top, even with SFCs (on both frames). I ended up searching for half a year before finding a hardtop '91 GTA wth 57,500 miles on it. Right now, I also own a '91 T/A with t-tops, there is no comparison, hardtops rule.

In fact, I will be putting putting in a hardtop for my '01 WS6 T/A. And, no, you couldn't order one from the factory without t-tops in 2001/2.

Later, Dave '01 WS6 T/A, '91 GTA, '91 T/A

 

dnovotny-
I don't know about the 2001&2001 Firebirds but I went to numerous Chevy dealers who told me you could only get t-top or convertible Z28s and SS camaros. But then I found one who said you could order a hardtop Z28 or SS in 2002. As a matter of fact he said we have 2 in stock. There they were. One was a 2001 Z28SS red hardtop and the other was a 2002 Z28 white hardtop. I don't know if the same may prove to be true for the firebirds or not. Good luck. Thanks for the support on the hardtop being better than the t-top as you sound like you have ridden in both and appreciate the hardtop's more solid nature.

 

I have owned both a hard top and now my t-top 87 ta, the hard top is a bit more rigid, but nothing compares to cruising the strip with the tops poped. unless I was building a competition race car or a dragster I consider it a huge waste of cash to do the conversion for a stree/strip car. if it is being built for racing it may be better just to swap in a gn motor into a hardtop.

 

I had contemplated just swapping the GN motor into a hardtop but I would want to know exactly what is needed before I start so I could budget and see if it was worth it. Does anyone know of a website that details the necessary parts and steps to do this. Also does it have to be a TPI car you start with so that the rest of the drivetrain is a better starting point than like a 6-cyl or TBI car? Thanks.
BTW I am looking to do some racing that is why I do not want the tops.

 

go to the motor swap board, I think the parts for the swap will run like $1500 or so they say. I'd use a tpi car just for the trans and suspension over the v6

 

I know this belongs in an engine section, but the 700R4 trans on chevy cars is incompatible with the 3800 engine, you will need the 200R4

 

they sell adapter plates for them now

 

from what I understand, I remember someone trying to tell me that the 200R4 had less internal frictions that absorbed HP, and you would get more resulting HP from the 200R than from the 700R

Then I hear that the 700R4 & 200R4 are identical except for the casings.

I dunno, that one is for the Trans guys...

John

 

This may help. Lon
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cg...tem=1805131186