I still got to put on a headliner and a couple interior peices that havnt come in the mail yet, but other than that the conversion is complete. I did something a little different with the back roof edge cut. I bought a piece of black rubber door trim from an auto store and glued that on the edge and it looks very good as shown in the pics. Enjoy http://dell.shutterfly.com/os.jsp?i=...21b30f9fe58437

edit: also missing the plugs for the holes and the upper windshield moulding in those pics. (havnt come in the mail yet either)

edit: dont want to forget thanks to curt, dave, and mike for their pictures

 

Looks awesome. Approximately how much did it cost? How long did it take? I'm thinking about doing it on my TransAm-everyone says it's pretty easy, I just can't get past the idea of cutting my roof off.

 

looks sweet! well worth the money! T-tops are the bomb!

 

one of the best mods i have done yet by far !!!!

 

Hey CHUCKYS95:

Did you do the conversion b4 or after the SFCs and STB??? If after, any difference in structural rigidity such as squeaks, rattles, or the way the car handles?? Any leaks??

 

Good job on the conversion man...............looks perfect! And I have to agree.............T-tops rock!

Believe it or not though.............when I had my '81 Z28, it had been converted to after-market T-tops at some point in its life, and they rattled and leaked like a b!tch, so my dad & I actually went to the trouble of getting another car (hard-top) and swapping everything (motor, tranny, rear axle, interior parts, etc., etc., etc.,) from the T-top car to the HT car just so I'd have a solid roof over my head!! However, once I rode in my friend's '96 T/A with T-tops, I was convinced that the new factory design was much better than the aftermarket design of the 70's/80's, so I wanted a car with T-tops when I was looking, and fortunately I found exactly what I was looking for --- a black Z28 with T-tops!!

 

Thanks for the replies! If an 18 year old with no bodywork experience can do this, anyone can. The kit minus the headliner and windshield moulding cost me $280 on ebay. Used headliner cost $60 and windshield moulding cost me $10. So $350 for everything. Took me about 2 days for all the cutting and fabricating and probably a couple more for bondoing, painting, and small adjustments in the brackets. It really was pretty easy to do. I havn't noticed any new rattles or squeaks. I had a 94 v6 camaro with ttops and that car didnt have any squeaks or rattles so I'm not sure what all this complaining about squeaks and rattles is! Cornering is a little sloppier but I plan on getting some sfc's for christmas so that'll fix that.

 

F1GT,
after i did the conversion i drove down the road (sounding kinda strange) holding one arm out the window with my index finger feeling the gap between the door and rear quarter panel (felt it flexing a little) while driving.
did the same thing on a buddies factory t-top camaro, no difference....
i figured the sfc's would just make it just that much more rigid..

 

The sqeaks and rattles develope on some cars over time and overs never seem to rattle.

 

Superal: Hey dude. Good job.

Don't forget to fill the round holes on the front portion of the T-bar by the winshield.

Also fill in the cuts on the fabricated corners.

Otherwise you will get water in there.

I added new pics on how to do that on my conversion page.

http://pages.sprint.ca/Conversion/files/Index.html

p.s. Where did you get the windshield molding from?

 

Thanks Grip. Looks like yours turned out very nicely as well. Very nice work on the site as well. Probably would have helped me out if I had it during my conversion. A quick suggestion, tell people on your site to remove the original weatherstripping bracket before cutting into the pillars. It's just held on with 4 or 5 screws. Yea, I bondoed the fabbed corners. I wouldn't just paint over the metal without making it smooth . I put plastic body plugs in the holes and siliconed them underneath and so no water leaks (no pics of those yet). I got the windshield moulding from a cz28 member for $10 shipped. He was the only guy in about 20 that knew what I was talking about as far as the moulding is concerned. I hear you can get it at a dealer for $35 though. Didn't like the rubber door edge trim on the edge of the c-pillar? I posted in your thread about that.

 

Sorry which trim is that?

I need a new molding for the windshield.

Mine is cracked.

Maybe I'll bug dreamer for one.

 

It's the trim piece I stuck on the edge where you cut off the roof. Look at some of the last pics on the website I have to see some pics of it. It's rubber door trim. The guy that was supposed to send me the moulding said ups lost it so I guess I'm still looking for a moulding too.

 

Yeah I tried plastic door trim but it was too thin.

I tried cutting a black rubber vaccum line hose and attaching that to the trim but it looked ugly.

I'll have to find something else.

 

I could always get you the kind I used for $5. It has 3M adhesive on inside already so you just stick it on there and it sticks good.