Vinyl Top

[Hi Rev V8]

I have a 1968 RS L30/M20 that has been in the family since 1970.  The car is in excellent condition except for the white vinyl top.  The car is black with a red interior, which looks great.  There is some bubbling of the vinyl top near the rear window, so I am assuming there has been water under the vinyl top and I have corrosion in this area.  Does anyone have experience in getting rid of the vinyl top and then restoring the top, and then painting it.  I have never liked the vinyl top.  Any suggestions?  I have experience with body work and painting, but have never dealt with a vinyl top.  Thanks for any suggestions.

[camaronut]

I would take the car to a qualified restoration shop or a super decent body shop, and have them do the work.  When it comes to rust on that part of the car - better have a pro look at it.
My 2 cents.

[Sauron327]

If you have bodywork experience then rip off the top and repair the rusted areas. I'm going to guess the Dutchman panel is rotten. I own a resto shop and have replaced numerous of those panels. I don't do my vinyl tops anymore, I sub it out. Too many other things to do. Use the search engine here. I think there was someone who posted a step by step on vinyl top installation. Probably plastered all over Youtube as well.

[Hi Rev V8]

Thanks.  Useful information.   I am not intending to replace the vinyl top.

[Kelley W King]

I don,t really like vinyl tops either but black on red with a white top if factory colors would seem to be kind of a rare combo to do away with. Also the studs that hold the molding on are a pain to patch for painting.

[Hi Rev V8]

Hi Kelley:

This is a good point that you raise.  The black on red is original, as well as the white vinyl top.  My father bought the car in 1970.  I am sure that there were not many L30 cars with this color combo. 

[cook_dw]

Post up some photos.  We all enjoy seeing cool 1st gens.  Especially 68's..   


If you can't figure out how to post them just shoot me an email with them in it and I'll post them up for you. 


darrellwadecook@gmail.com

[Hi Rev V8]

Hi Darrell:

Some photos of my 68.

[Hi Rev V8]

Hi Darrell:

I tried putting 4 photos but I probably went over the 500 kB max size  Another photo.

[cook_dw]

Great looking car.  I see the engine has been sprayed.  What's the plans for it?  Put back to original or something else?  Also is the interior still original?  I see its red deluxe (742)  I know you mentioned it had one repaint many years ago.   Here's some other photos Lorne sent me via email.  Its a cool car.  I personally wouldn't touch it just clean and preserve the best you can until you get to the point you want or have to restore it.  These cars are waaay cooler if kept as found or as close to unrestored as possible.  At least in my book.

[z28z11]

I’m right there with Mr. Cook - such a unique and cool combination, I think you’d be better off to preserve it, or repair it and keep the combination of original colors the same. It’s a striking little car, I think it’s well worth keeping it original. My L78 had a vinyl top, removed long before it cam here,as did my ‘67 Nova. They are a pain, but they are going back as original-

JMO -

Regards,
Steve

[x66 714]

I agree with Darrell. This car is way too cool to do anything but preserve what you have & maybe find some the items that are incorrect, like the master cyl. If you decide on another vinyl top, which I'm in favor of, the reproductions have the seams in the wrong place. SMS in Canby Oregon can make a more correct vinyl top....Joe

[camaronut]

Now THAT is cool. 

[maroman]

I agree.

[Hi Rev V8]

Thanks Darrell for posting photos of my car.  I tried inserting an image, but could only load one at a time.  Darrell, if you have some time can you please let me know how to do it properly.
Thanks to everyone for their comments.  Since this appears to be a rather rare color combination, I am rethinking getting rid of the white vinyl top.  This is a Canadian car so I am checking with Vintage Vehicles Service (thanks Darrell) to see if I can come up with details on the car.
The interior is in excellent condition.   I will take some photos on the weekend and post.  The only non-original parts on the car are the master cylinder, replacement AC Delco alternator, replacement water pump, and voltage regulator.   Everything else is completely original.  I recently rebuilt the original Q-Jet (mostly original 68 parts and a few from a 72/73 Q-Jet).  The car has 114 K original miles.   The painting of engine components was simply to improve appearance back to original.  I still have a lot of detailing to do on the engine compartment and engine.  The cylinder heads have been off once to replace valve stem seals.  The engine is strong, and has excellent compression, so I intend to keep it completely stock.  The clutch has been replaced once many years ago.  I never liked the replacement master cylinder and that is on my list to replace with an original style unit.

[169INDY]

As a owner of a 68 Red int car, please post a bunch of photos of the various Red interior shots- Please

Very Neat Car combo- I also vote for Retain V top.

Jim

[cook_dw]

I decided to create a new thread on how to reduce the size of images and how to upload photos to the forum.  Are there other ways to accomplish this?  Yes and fill free to add to that thread with the same layout and step by step process for people to use to make the forum more user friendly.  Hope this helps


Posting Photos On The Forum - CLICK ME!!

[FRANKTHECRANK]

I agree with everyone else. That car is stunning in that color combo, and quite rare at that. I like vinyl tops, I had many car with them back in the day and my 68 Z28 still has it's original black vinyl on it today.

[MO]

I'm in the leave the vinyl top on group. That's a great looking combo and probably not many made or remaining.

[Hi Rev V8]

As a owner of a 68 Red int car, please post a bunch of photos of the various Red interior shots- Please

Very Neat Car combo- I also vote for Retain V top.

Jim

Hi Jim
I will take photos of the interior and post them shortly.

[Hi Rev V8]

Some interior photos.

[Hi Rev V8]

More red interior photos.

[Hi Rev V8]

More red interior photos

[cook_dw]

Early car.  Looks great.

[169INDY]

Great Pics, Nice to see the Various Shades of Red.

Thank You

Jim

[MO]

Thanks for sharing those pics. Looks awesome!

[KurtS]

I assume the paint code on the trim tag is A-6. I only know of a couple 68's with that color combo.

[Hi Rev V8]

Hi Kurt

Absolutely correct.  Paint code is A-6 and interior is 725.  The car also has a white vinyl top. 

I have reviewed Rich Fields' excellent research on the L30/M20 and think my car is in fact an L30.  My father bought this car in 1970 and has been in the family ever since.  This is a Canadian car and I am trying to track down more details, as GM Canada seems to have a more intact data base that I understand may be available from an enthusiast based company.

It has the following:

Numbers matching 327/275 hp and Saginaw M20
12 bolt differential (not sure if is posi or not but will check this out)
brake proportioning valve under driver's door
dual exhaust
multi-leaf rear spring
original spare is a Firestone Wide Oval

Lorne

[68 Ragtop]

I assume the paint code on the trim tag is A-6. I only know of a couple 68's with that color combo.

With interior 742? I imagine this is the only one. A-6 is odd enough let alone add the red interior.

[Hi Rev V8]

On the Cowl Tag extreme left:   TR   725
On the right:   A6   Paint

On 67 Cars I think there is a Red interior code of 742 for custom buckets.
 
For 68 Cars I think there is different code of 725 for custom buckets. 

I am not sure if there is a difference between these red interiors for 67 and 68.   I defer to the experts on this one.

The interior of my car is certainly very red everywhere.

[68 Ragtop]

On the Cowl Tag extreme left:   TR   725
On the right:   A6   Paint

On 67 Cars I think there is a Red interior code of 742 for custom buckets.
 
For 68 Cars I think there is different code of 725 for custom buckets. 

I am not sure if there is a difference between these red interiors for 67 and 68.   I defer to the experts on this one.

The interior of my car is certainly very red everywhere.

My mistake, you are correct. I used the 67 code for red custom instead of the 68 code 725. Either way, don't see that many black with white top and certainly fewer still with red interior.

[Hi Rev V8]

68 Ragtop and fellow CRG members are the experts, I am just renewing my interest in 1st gen Camaros.  My father owned this car from 1970.  My primary car interest has been C2 & C3 Corvettes.

My car does not have the original carpeted floor mats.  It has some aftermarket mats, but the color is all wrong.  Most of the companies selling repro parts list only one red for interior, carpets and floor mats for 67-69?   Is that correct that all years had the same shade of red? 

[cook_dw]

Original floor mats were not carpeted.  They were vinyl rubber and had the bowtie crest on them.

[Hi Rev V8]

Great.  Thanks so much.  I found a red 4 piece set with BowTie crest at RPS for 67-69. 

[R68GTO]

I used to own a 66 Fairlane GTA convertible that was black with red interior and white top.  My all-time favorite color combo.  I'm in the "keep the vinyl top" camp.  Your car is absolutely beautiful!

[Hi Rev V8]

R68 GTO, thanks for your comments on my car.  I had not realized Tuxedo Black with Red Interior and white vinyl top was such a rare combination.  I only have a little "bubbling" on the vinyl top, so at some stage I will take it off, repair the sheet metal and have a new vinyl top put on.

[camaronut]

Hell yeah!!!!

[R68GTO]

I don't know where your bubbling is or how extensive the damage, but has anyone had experience with "peeling it back", repairing, then re-gluing?  Would be great if you could keep the original top

[Hi Rev V8]

I don't know where your bubbling is or how extensive the damage, but has anyone had experience with "peeling it back", repairing, then re-gluing?  Would be great if you could keep the original top

There is not a lot of bubbling, and it is confined to the area around the rear window (right side).  It would be nice if I "could peel it back" and repair the sheet metal and re-glue in order to save the original top.  However, I don't know if this is possible, and I have zero experience with vinyl tops.  If anyone has experience in this area any suggestions would be most appreciated.

[Chuck-68-Cam]

There are a few ideas here...

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/109327/re-vinyl-top-anyway-to-fix-a-few-bubbles-without-redo.html

I can't speak to whether they work or not, but maybe someone here has some experience with the methods mentioned.

[MO]

Glad to see that you are embracing the vinyl top! Try to find a repair shop near you that is more interested in your needs than their own. Hopefully it will be possible to peel back the top for repair and preserve your original vinyl top. If not, it's not the end of the world to replace it. Just don't do it because it's easier.