i was just curious how many of you have lost a t-top, either your fault or the passenger...

i have learned two things from losing two t-tops:
1. if they are going to fly off, it is normally around 70 mph
2. never trust your buddy that says "yea, i locked it on" after he spent 40 bucks at the bar. :nono:

...i am just glad that none of my fallen t-tops (one glass, one plexi) has hit any other traffic in its brief flight.

 

this is a little off topic, but you only pull 3k RPM @ 110 MPH, trance?!?!?

 

Never have lost one but my brother has. Very annoying for him.

 

he could have let the engine wind down....................:shrugs:

 

one of mine flew off at about 3AM while racing some F150 in my old 82' T/A. i came back to the spot the next day but could find no trace of the missing roof! this also happened to my girlfriends dads 95' T/A. i guess this is a problem for fbodies

 

Nah, can't say that I have...i wish I did have T-s though

 

I've never lost one of mine. I do have a spare set just in case though. Best $40 I ever spent, and they are in perfect shape.

 

i used to lock mine all the time, now i have been too lazy, i think i should, since the weather has turned nasty i don't think they will be coming off anytime soon.
biker

 

Just make sure that when you put them back in place that you lock the handle down and give them a little tug just to be sure. Never had a problem if i did that.

 

i have not lost a t-top yet!
but i have also been lazy and not actually locking them with the key, but i might lock them soon because i dont think i will be taking them off anytime soon due to the colder temps..

 

Its still going to be at the same rpms

 

Maybe he dropped it in neutral?

 

1. not if it is an automatic trans

2. not if he pushed in the clutch on a manual

But my bet is on the one wheel peel brake stand. On the subject of things flying off cars, A friend of mine with a 1989 GTA said he had the passenger window blow out at 160MPH. Apperenty the window came out of its track and sudenly became air-born. I don't know if it actually did or not, but I talked to the guy riding with him at the time and he confirmed it. But I still take it for what it is, a story.

 

at 120-125 im doing 2500-2700 rpms and i have a 700R4

 

I had a hood louver fly off at around 100mph, I couldn't imagine a t top, I'd probably cry, they're not cheap.

 

just lock them and tug them no problem with me cuz im not lazy

 

Ive never seen a Ttop blow off but i did see one of my stupid *** friends flooring it at about 140 - 150 in his Ta with the tops off...needless i say he was looking for a cheap place to fix the glass in the hatch lol not pretty

 

Doesn't the converter lock up though and tie the tranny directly to the flywheel? That's how my automatic works. If i let off the gas at 5000RPM, it will stay at 5000 and drag itself down gurgling the exhaust behind it like a stick car would.

When i have my 2.73's, i would be doing around 2000-3000RPM at that speed.

 

i lost one right after leavin the exhaust shop they undid mine whe n they put it in the lift and forgot to redo them luckily my neighbor had a glass set that fit on it

 

Don't say this!!! I am looking for a GN or T-type now, and I WANT T-tops. Now I am nervous about them falling off an me getting ripped off on the price for another one!!!

 

the dealer ship by my house wants 835.00 for a singe glass and 720.00 for a lexan one i got mine for free

 

it looks like most of you guys are luckier than i am with t-tops...

in relation to the speedo/tach pic on my signature...

...not a brake sand...
...wasnt in neutral...

2.73's in the rear, 700r4, and just cruising on a nice desolate highway in ga, the pic i took before that one was showing around 4 grand on the tach, i dont like hitting the governer so i let of the gas so it would go into overdrive... then back steady on the gas to keep it around 110mph...snap, and there's the picture.

 

Take my advice, if you have T-tops, KEEP THEM LOCKED unless you are taking them off.

These things can get quite high off the ground when the go airborne and can do some serious damage anything or anyone it hits.

 

ive never lost a set, but a guy i used to work with, well him and his buddies decided on their drive on the interstate, that it would be cool to take the t's off, well, not realizing what could happen at 70mph, bam, the wind caught one and threw it back behind them shattering on the highway.
it cost him almost 200 for 1 side ttop
(this was in a monte carlo ss though)

 

Lost one at 80mph in the passing lane. Apparently the body flex from comeing in and out of my driveway had worked the latch loose and it just kinda poped the latch and away she went, one of those rare square glass kites. 75 bucks later and i now have two locking t-tops that fit better than the originals and have the mirror tint.

 

lol, been there done that. with the tops off at 105mph my 'bird was wanting to lift off the ground. that hatch glass acts likle a giant reverse-spoiler. not as bad in the iroc although i dont know why. youd think the firebird would be a more aerodynamic car?

anyway, about the t-tops, once when i was playing rough with the bird my girlfriend got scared and grabbed the t-top latch. she thought it was an "oh-sh*t" handle. luckily i was in a hard right turn so the force kept it anchored but still....

needless to say, i keep my tops locked now, and i no longer take joyrides with my girlfriend.

oh well, she hates fast cars anyway. (she just bought a hyundai and thinks its just awesome)

 

saw a T-top fly off and shatter at the track mid track once on a iroc the other was popping off but the driver grabbed it.

My friend used to make 150 mph runs on a open stretch of highway in his 1989 iroc in like 1992 (the car was like new) and the air leaking through the T-top seals would blow on yer face.

this is reason #563 and #821 why I dont like T-tops

 

I was watching my buddy in a 2001 GT race a LS1 SS, and right as they were crossing the finish line, the camaro lost a t-top.

 

Personally I think anyone who doesn't take the 5 seconds to lock down the handle of a t-top and ensure it is snug and fit deserves to lose one! Just plain lazy and dangerous to the safety of others. The only thing I've had fly off are the GTO headlight covers at around 85 mph.

 

Yep, my car had those when I bought it, they "disappeared" on the way home though
The problem with t-tops is that sometimes the chassis flex allows the t-top to become loose enough to pop out on its own which is why every single t-top car should have subframe connectors.

 

now that i think about it, shouldnt the t-tops stay on at high speed? i mean if you leave them unlatched youre begging for trouble but wouldnt the air hold them down? i mean think about it, at any speed above about 30 or 40, the air pressure in the cabin is a lot lower than the air pressure around the car. when the air gets moving that fast it should make the tops stick to the car. unless maybe the high pressure air coming over the windsheild creates a low pressure area right where the windshield ends. but if that was the case, why do rain droplets seem to stick to the tops even at high speed???

any aeronautical engineers in the house?

 

My friends iroc the seals would look like they were peeling back when we were side by side at around 130 or more. the wind was trying to remove them.

 

Not too flame you but, I can't see a car flexing that much but who knows My car was running mid 11's before I put subframe connectors on and to this day which I've owned this car for 14 years has never had a problem with 'em. but who knows **** happens I guess.

 

never a t-top but I had a louver snap in half driving through a car wash once, and the worst part about it is hearing it crunch as I rolled over it

 

I once lost the passenger side top at about 70-75 mph after just passing a 18 wheeler. One moment everything was kool then I heard a rattle looked over and saw it come off and I could think of was man that truck driver is sure going to be mad at me!! As luck would have it looked in the rearview mirror to see it shoot off to the right side of the freeway and go under and inbetween a sign and its posts. Well, I stopped and walked back to where I last saw it go and took a few minutes to finally find it. It was buried in the mud but still in one piece. I took it home and took it apart to clean the mud out of it and lube the latches and all it had for damage was 2 scratches, one at the front and back of the plastic edge. The top is still on the car and the scratches visable to remind me make sure the latch is secure.
I was working on the car and had the tops out and just careless and didn't latch the passenger side.
I guess I was really lucky..
cc 82Z-28

 

I remember reading an article in Pontiac High Performance magazine in the mid eighties. They were test driving a Dale Banks (?) twin turbo Trans Am. If I remember correctly, Banks mainly uses the twin turbo set up on marine engines, but they liked the aerodynamics of the Trans Am and wanted to see if they could get the TA up to 200 miles per hour. I don't remember who the driver was on the test runs, but I do remember him describing certain things as he was getting to the higher speeds. One thing that surprised me was him saying that the side windows were actually being pulled out by the force of the wind. I also thought the lower air pressure inside the car would have the opposite effect. Maybe the rubber seals around the windows let in enough air to equalize the inside pressure with the outside pressure, thereby pulling the side windows away from the body of the car. Maybe it's because the windows aren't in a metal frame. By the way, they did hit the 200 mile mark.

dave

 

Actually, you've got it backwards. The body of the car acts like the airfoil of a wing, creating lift as speed increases. Thats why when you get around like 150+, the car kinda starts feeling light, the nose is lifting up due to lift. Just like an airfoil, the air coming over the car must accelerate to stay at the same speed as that underneath the car, and when this happens, it creates a low pressure area on the top side of the car, which is centered pretty much right over the t-tops. This is also why on most t-top cars, as the speed increases, the wind noise coming in the front edge of the tops increases, because the air is pulling the top up.

 

Maybe some can relate, for the others who haven't experienced....

I had the opportunity, on a stretch of deserted open highway, to bury the needle in my Iroc. I am in Canada and my speedo reads to 240 kmph. I had a passenger next to me and one in the back. Shortly after 240 the car did become "light". As I hit the slight rises and drops in the road the car almost felt as if it wanted to lift and "fly". And yes, both windows began to almost screech and flutter wanting to burst aside and fly outwards. It was a pretty wild experience....looking over to my passenger he had a mesmorized look on his face and the grin was almost "plastered" on. The guy in the back seat was virtually screaming with freight ducking behind the seats as the lightposts became nothing but a blurr as they streaked by at incredible speeds. I couldn't blame him as it is bad enough sitting in the back seat of a thirdgen and not feel clostrophobic, but also have to deal with going at speeds you would lose your car and your license. I found my left foot glued down against the firewall and my knees shaking nervously. Could the car have gone any faster?? Quite possibly, but I didn't want to find out, nor do I think my friends with me either. I shut it down.

That was the only time I ( so to say ) buried the needle on the freeway. It was a truley awe-inspiring experience, but I've also since harboured ill fellings as it was kinda foolish and reckless, not only for myself, but also for my friends.

 

Heh.. it's funny that this thread got brought back from the dead just 2 days ago.. 4 days ago I lost the passenger's side top off my '88.. I'm 80% sure I didn't latch it, so it's all on my dumb ****, but I did find a replacement in 27 hours flat for 10 bucks, same tint, plus the spring-loaded centering crap the tossed on sometime after '88 to keep 'em from rattling.

 

I've lost one and I know I latched. Its true right about 70 MPH when it went.

 

About 2 months ago I was cruising down a dirt road around 50 mph. Everything seemed fine when all of a sudden the T-Top above my head felt a sudden need to leave the roof. Thanks to my quick reflexes, I managed to catch the top with just my left hand. I'm lucky I didn't wreck my car because as soon as I caught it the car almost swerved off the road. After gaining control of the car and balancing the top back in its slot I immediately pulled over. There was a SUV right on my *** the whole time... he gave me the classic "holy crap" look as he passed me.

Hardly seemed worth it for a scratched up Lexan.

Turns out the top wasn't latched down. Shortly before this I was at a gas station and about to take them off. I had just unlatched the top when my phone rang. Yada yada yada.... forgot to take the tops off, forgot to latch it back down.

 

if any of u need new ttops there is a junkyard here i could direct you to where i saw 1 or 2 sets in perfect condition that you could probably get for cheap.

 

boy do i love my hardtop

 

Me too...

 

WAna now somting 3 days after the the the oringal post was started. i was on my way to work, rounded a corner an off went the passangers side. hows that for luck. Oh an who been dumb enough to do it more than once?

 

yup one of mine went bye bye at 85mph on interstate on a bridge....was picking up my best firend because he had a blow out tire and well he also had a bunch of junk he needed to carry wtih him, so...being as I have a system in the back hatch...stuff had to go in back seat so I had to put the t's back in....well he didnt latch it and weeeeee it went bye bye....however dispite rational I pulled over immediately and went rushing to find it....I figured it would have gone over the bridge and into the water....but my trusty lexan top was on the ground....i grabbed it and it only had one scape.....so :lala:

 

Haven't lost one yet, but on one of those rare occaisions that I take my TA out for a spin, after doing well over 70 on the freeway, I get to my buddy's house and look up only to find the T's handle at a perfect right angle.

Never again...