TIL (well yesterday): 1st gen vinyl tops

"RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht" (ramblininexile) 10/06/2014 at 11:03 • Filed to: None

0

11

Saw a '65 out on the road yesterday much like the one pictured, with a vinyl top. I did not know this was a thing. Uncommon option, and judging by some wear and tear and location of trim strips (per a Mustang forum), very possibly the original. Mostly on '65-'66s, apparently, and most made at San Jose/Malpitas.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/06/2014 at 11:10

0

YEP, rare I believe, but they certainly can be original. I always feel black vinyl top on a red car, is the best way to do vinyl.

(I wonder what inspired that opinion)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/06/2014 at 11:12

0

My original thought was along the lines of "WTF? Who puts a vinyl top on a Mustang?" Then it occurred to me that it might be original, and apparently...

They even had a specialized body code, and they left the roof seam unleaded.

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/06/2014 at 11:16

0

Had a white-ish vinyl roof from the factory on my '70 Cougar. Scared me off vinyl roofs from then on, unfortunately.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 10/06/2014 at 11:19

0

We had a '79 Eldorado in the family that had an immaculate green on green body vinyl top, and a ~82 Skylark with black on metallic light blue that was... less immaculate.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/06/2014 at 11:21

0

yeah they do trim around the windows and base of the roof differently for Vinyl top cars. I can typically spot the "no longer vinyl" vinyl roof cars at car shows because of it lol

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/06/2014 at 11:23

0

Maybe if they're well cared for from new, it's not such a problem. By the time I got the Cougar it had seen some life, and water and whatnot had gotten under it through the edges, and...let's just say from what little I saw of the metal under the top, I didn't have the stomach to take it off.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/06/2014 at 11:25

0

I think this would be an instance in which you'd *put* a vinyl top on. Have the trim for it, and it was a rare factory option? Just fix the damn thing, it's not like you're making it magically more tasteful - and it'll quiet the wind noise a little.

wabbalosthiskey > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/06/2014 at 11:32

0

A lot more common that you would think, was a fancy upgrade at the time. Now you'll notice them more often..

You could actually get one on a fastback also, it was order-able that way but dealer installed. That is significantly more rare, but they do exist..

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > NotUnlessRoundIsFunny 10/06/2014 at 11:35

0

To be fair, despite the Skylark's top suffering skin cracks and turning into powder, rust elsewhere was more of a concern IIRC.

Also, prepare your horrified face:

The K-car New Yorker's landau top was actually a plastic prosthetic on the underlying Dodge skin, with the side windows covered up and the original window just missing - trim on the inside to hid the transition. I tried and tried to find a picture of the underlying structure I've seen before and couldn't, but in short, there's like 3" of foam just filling in a gap.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > wabbalosthiskey 10/06/2014 at 11:37

0

So very "wat".

NotUnlessRoundIsFunny > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 10/06/2014 at 11:52

0

Oh, the horror, the horror. I think I've seen the picture you mention...pretty awful. Yikes.