Does anyone made the correct thin, correct vinyl grain for our 70-72 Skylarks? The ones I've seen and on my car have padding that make impossible to reinstall the front ant rear moldings with out denting them. I saw a a few threads on this in the past, couldn't relocate them.
SMS should be corret although the recommendation has been to buy the material from them & have someone else actually make the top (I believe someone said Legendary will do this) as SMS may/may not put the seams at the back in the correct place & it looks dumb when they're wrong. @BUQUICK might have some choice words to say there. There's also an issue w/the A-pillar seams not being made correctly & I believe that's from Legendary so...
Al, A couple of things here for you to think about. There is only 1 company in the world that makes the Levant Grain vinyl top material and that is "Hartz" (I may not have spelled that right) They make it, and sell it to all the jobbers. The last stuff I bought had a type of spun backing material on it, and it was a little thicker then the original. However it had a bit of give to it, so it was easier to make it contour to the roof. As far as the rear seams, some Buicks, and i think they might have been the 71-72 cars, had a hole drilled into the sail panel on each side. There were thin metal strips, with a stud attached, that were used to "locate the seams exactly. For these tops you glued the center piece down on the sail panel. Then, on the top, you trimmed & wrapped the top material to it, and bolted them in. (Perfect alignment.) You should check to see if your car has them. As far as SMS, there is no way I would buy 50+ year old vinyl top material from anyone unless it was absolutely necessary due to some special color or design, like a Mod Top. Even then you are dealing with material that will be harder from age, which will probably not give as much, and could lead to troubles. You will end up spending big bucks and will not be getting anything visible for your money. And finally, Nick had an Upholstery shop, in his area, install the vinyl top on my 69 car. I do not remember where we got the top but it was a new one. All the chrome moldings were sent to Adam Martin, who polished them, and shipped them back. They are installed on the car, with the new top, and have zero dents. Maybe you need to contact Nick about this, or even easier, talk to Tim Garland. If Tim is going to paint your car, why not let him install the vinyl top. I know Tim installed one on his brother Rich's old 72 car and he didn't dent any chrome, and he did the one on my X-Camino. Duane
The only change I would make would be going to a black top. The few big problems I've read ihave been grain, thickness, seams, and a good installer. All this has been put me on the fence on to or not to do a vinyl top.
Dano, Why? I used to sell green vinyl tops for the 1970 cars. Aren’t they available any more? I don’t remember the name of the company but they were out of Virginia and I was buying some of the special colors from them. They had runs of special colors made by Hartz, and I bought both the 1970 Green and Burnished Saddle tops from them. Duane
This getting more interesting! I'm not pulling the trigger on a vinyl top till I get rock solid information. Looks like I'm still on the fence.
Sorry if this hijacks your thread Al. While we are on the subject of vinyl tops, mine is in great condition (though the seams are wrong as Dano's picture is). However, it is coming detached from the car under the bottom corners of the rear window. Is there any way to re-glue those areas? I may have to pull and reseal the back window here soon, and have been thinking about trying it then.
It may be possible using a high power hair dryer or having the car in direct sun light. The real problem is why the material come detached. You may find in trying to gluing the material that you come up short at the molding.
I would also like to buy the correct brown vinyl top for my GS. The one I have now is too dark. People mistake it for black. I started this thread awhile back, https://v8buick.com/index.php?threads/vinyl-tops.371681/ Page 2 shows a picture of the sample I got from SMS I believe. Never did pull the trigger.
Jeff Corey suggested Kee tops as that's what he also installs. I have seen a couple cars with their tops and they looked good as well. I will also need a green top for my car later but my original is in really great condition. https://keeautotop.com/?fbclid=IwAR1K9pfNfkQzxIQvppWtQ8AzmLeriM8jEzuCJhLd-icrTTvJMUzZgvmtDRI
I heated my original top with a heat gun and reglued it. It worked very well just don't melt it too much. Also don't breathe in the vapors while heating! Bad stuff.
Awesome, I have a heat gun that I can use. Did you put any more glue under it and if so what did you use?
This site lists Black, White, Buckskin, Lighr Sandlewood, Dark Blue, and Dark Green. All in Levant grain. They may have had special runs made. https://www.topsonline.com/model/La...ick_Skylark_And_Special_-_1966_thru_1978.html
Duane, My 72 does have those thin metal strips in place. The top is totally wasted and needs replacement or just removal/paint (no more vinyl top). I have always wondered if the new tops for purchase make provision for these.
