Vinyl Top Inspection

jason99

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I'm going to be looking at a Formal Era car soon that has a vinyl top. From pictures there appears to be some discoloration on the lighter color top near where the top meets the windshield.

How do I try and determine what is going on underneath the top and what that will eventually mean to me in terms of repair?
 
The only way to know what is underneath is to take the vinyl off. Very few Formals that I have seen didn't have any rust damage. Mopar didn't paint the roofs before gluing the vinyl on. Cost saving measure. Best to get that vinyl off, make repairs, paint the roof, and glue new vinyl on it.

You can get a new vinyl top from SMS. I did and like it very much.

20170822_182327.jpg
 
look for bubbles/ripples. press on it with hands. if you hear/feel crunchy, or wet/moistness, or you can press 'too deep' into it are some weak ways to test. look for rust around the trims, window channels. look for water trail stains out from underneath any edge. an also push from inside cabin outwards for same feels.

my white car was a total sham though - someone put a piece of sheet metal up there and riveted it in, then covered the rusty mess with a new top. And I had no idea when I bought it - it looked decent to me. pics somewhere in this forum.

try not to die -

- saylor
 
Usually, if the rust area is pushed up, the metal will be very thin or rusted through. If the area is just discolored, but still has it's original contour or flatness, it's mostly light surface rust in that spot.
 
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