I was just curious if anybody here has turned there t top car into a hardtop by welding a new roof panel in?

 

Waste of time...


Ed

 

And a t-top car

 

yeah i wouldnt know why you would want to do that ???

 

I always wanted a hardtop TTA but they are super hard to come by, I was just curious if it could be done that all.

 

I asked the same question on this board last year and got the same responses about 'Why would you do that?'. I asked for the same reason as you since the hardtop TTAs are hard to come by and expensive when you do. Some of the responses I received were good and I guess the job can be done. It sounded like a lot of work was required to do it right. I too thought you could just weld some metal in where the roof is now but no one else thought it was a good idea and said you would cut the whole roof off at the base of the windshield to do it right. I don't understand why the metal cannot be welded into the spot where the glass is now but again I am no auto body professional. Keep us posted on what you do.

 

I think for a quality job you need to replace the entire top. If just adding panels in, there would have to be alot of body filler added to get a smooth top. I think the large flat area really shows off imperfections, and add the fact that welding thin metal there will have to be some distortion. I have been looking for a hardtop TTA but the only I have found so far is almost 30K. I guess I'll just do without.

 

I have actually thought about this as well. I hate my t-tops. They leak badly and around here the weather is only nice enough to take the tops off for a few weeks each year. I also think the hardtop cars have a 'cleaner' appearance.

 

yeah....don't let these idiots change your mind. i have t-tops too and i also hate them. they leak, they're heavier, and they weaken the chassis. these guys all probably don't have t-tops. i think a GOOD body shop can do the job....even to the point where only you would know the car was a t-topper! these guys do miracles......it'll just cost you! anything is possible.......you've seen these fabrication shows on tv!!!....christ, they can make the Bat Mobile!!

 

HATE T-tops..

Man, I woud kill to have my car turned INTO a t-top car.........

Go to a respectable body shop, they will be more help then us, i've never seen or heard of it being done before

It's theoretical to just weld in some metal, smooth the edges and make everything seem stock, but again, it will be costly to do so....

 

I have t-tops and they are great. no leaks but, mine are a factory job not a pre dealer sent out one.

no problems for me and I have had my car for a very very long time.

as far more weight it is just barely more. and it won't slow you down

any one who buys a car with t-tops and hates them wtf? why buy the car then

I guess you will say I liked them untill I had it but it still makes me think???? why keep the car then??? seems simple but I guess it you not me

 

I agree on the t-tops suck thing. Mainly because i am 6' 7" tall, and when i drive a car with t tops it feels like i am sitting about the windshield. I start feeling like fred flintstone and ****.

 

Umm, maybe because I love the rest of the car? The t-tops are a minor issue.

 

Get rid of the car and get one without T tops? No problem, just find me a hardtop TTA for less then 12 grand and I'll buy it in a second.

 

idiots?? your the one that bought a t-top car and you dont like it so you are pissed at the world because someone tells you that itll be a very expensive job to make into a hard top and better yet you could just sell your car and find one with out t-tops..duh...and they are heavier ? and weaken the chassis ? and if they leak why dont you take your lazy azz out and change the seals or are you just an idiot?? .lol.....he asked in his first post I was just curious if anybody here has turned there t top car into a hardtop by welding a new roof panel in? and he got quite a few answers before you come on here spewing **** like that calling everyone else idiots .........lol

 

General -- why are you beating up on wdigitog? Reading through other fabrication forums shows that YOU are the one typically insulting others and flaming people for projects that YOU don't agree with. Don't throw stones if you live in a glass house...

 

Its gonna cost you at least a couple thousand if not more to do that. You might as well sell the TTA and buy a hardtop TTA because it will end up costing about the same with the money you spend to convert it. Either that or get a hardtop TA and swap all your TTA stuff into it, might actually be cheaper just time consuming, obviously you don't care about keeping your TTA intact that it shouldn't be that big a problem. Its not hard to find a real cheap TA and you might end up making some profit if you end up selling all the parts you took off a the TA. No matter how you look at it its gonna cost you.

 

duck-- read the posts again, I believe someone else starting calling everyone idiots. Are you looking for some or what?

 

how about you do the opposite and make it into a TARGA!!!

 

trophystock

You aren't gonna find the answers you seek in this forum, or any other forum for that matter because the procedure of turning a t-top car into a hardtop car is just so rare that nobody does it....

However call around a few bodyshops and go get some estiamtes, it will yield you better answers....

Good luck, but the TTA make not be a "trophy stock" car anymore.........

You could always sell it to me for a nice price.....

 

Some what?

 

Well I have always thought hard top cars looked cooler but t-tops can be nice to... You will also run into a lot of problems with t-tops espically if you have high HP. But if you want to convert I think it would be easiest to take it to a bodyshop and see what they can do and how much it would cost... ive heard its pretty spendy so depending on how bad you want a hard top I would just keep the tops man.

 

Lets see, you pick one with the general in another thread, which I am sorry but anyone that does that (the topic of the other thread) is a hack. Then you come in here and start some crap. I dont see where on this thread the general started anything. Didnt see it in the other thread either.

 

I'd say the main reason you'd be better off IF you absoulutely must ruin that car by doing this, with a whole roof from a hardtop car, is that the whole weatherstrip channel area that bolts to the roof line would be a huge pain to duplicate, along with you or a shop only having to join the two small areas of the a pillars with the frame rail at the base of the windshield rather than along the whole top of the roof. However i would recommend preserving a rare car, and swap the parts into another shell, maybe put the tta body itself in a big plastic bag in your back yard

 

Apparently nobody here has replaced T-Tops with a hard-top roof panel [although I'll bet there's than a few with rolls of plastic wrap and various sealers trying to stem the floods from above]. The overall tone of replies seems to be that the unhappy owner's most cost-efficient option is to either change the seals or sell the car to someone interested in owning a T-Top car.

 

As for honest answers, I see a lot of people that dont give a damn about thier cars get out the caulking and go to town on the t-tops. I have seen people buying and selling entire roof panels all the way down the pillars for converting a hardtop to t-tops, so i dont see why you couldnt do it in the opposite fashion. I cant see it being cost effective, but that doesnt necessarily matter sometimes. I went to all of the trouble to convert my v6 to a v8, because it was my car, and I like it. If you are attached to your car that much, it may be worth it to you.

 

There is a member on here who did the hardtop to ttop on his 88ish Iroc. I cant remember his name but I remember he has a prowler, 4th gen, and a few other vehicles.

His Iroc was originally a hardtop, then he made it into a ttop, then he made it into a convertable. Its red with flames soooo sooo sweeet


Cutting the roof is rather simple if you make the cut on the b pillars where the braze is between the roof line and the rear quarter panel. That spot was the same for every 3rdgen as far as I know so you at least have a base point on the b pillars. Then for the a pillars you could either make a high cut 6 inches below the roof line or you could replace the whole a pillar. Then all thats left is making an equal cut and re welding on both sides.

 

just to educate the other members: some of us have a great third gen example ( great engine, good interior, tight chassis ) and would rather not take a chance on buying a potential lemon. some of us have already put in a healthy investment of both time and money into our cars...and we also know we won't be getting that investment back when we sell! all we want is a healthy discussion and to immediately declare a mod as a waste of time is not helpful. now, i apologize for calling the desenters "idiots"....i did not mean it. i was just upset that people out there can dismiss an idea outright without discussions. this forum is meant to be helpful....sorry again..but i still think it can be done....expensive, but doable.

 

Doable ? yes.

Reasonable ? You'd have to be a moron.

 

Some people say it's also moronic to drive decade-old cars instead of new, fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly automobiles...

 

And some people just like to try to contradict what people who work on these cars everday say

 

Let's not confuse stupidy and emotion -- if someone cares enough for their car to change it in ways that he or she desires, it has nothing to do with intelligence -- it is passion.

 

thank you, Duck!!