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| Restoration: T-Tops |
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American T-Tops
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When I bought the car, my friend told me that car had Hurst t-tops on it. He was never told anything different by the previous owner. Well, I knew no better, and just ran with the assumption that they were Hurst t-tops. Imagine by surprise when I found out they were "American" t-tops. Oye. I have no idea what I am going to do about getting replacement weatherstripping and/or parts, considering the company is no longer in existance.
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Here is a picture of the "American T-Top" logo that is in the left-front corner of the driver side t-top.
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And here is the "PPG Solarcool" logo on the left-rear of the driver side t-top.
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This sticker was also on the driver door jamb.
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Since I was stripping the car down to bare metal to paint it, it was only logical to remove the T-tops. Here is the steel hoop that is inserted between the roof panels to hold the basic shape of the roof for the T-tops to bolt to.
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The company that installed these aftermarket T-tops back in '77 didn't really do a good job installing the front bracing. There was only one rivet holding the driver's side bracing to the A-pillar steel. So, I went in a welded the brace where it should have been attached.
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This is a good example of how quickly these T-tops were installed back in the day. The roof looks like it was simply cut with a sawzall, leaving lots of jagged edges. Sure, the T-top hoop and the trim covered all these cuts, I was just amazed at just how violent the install of these T-tops really was. Cut, fit, bolt, seal, and go! It's no surprise most T-tops leaked.
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