cracked acrylic roof panel

[kalmwill]

Hi folks. I am the new owner of an 86 Vett. It has a substantial crack in the back corner of the roof. Has anyone tried to repair a break similar to mine. If so, what adhesive did you use and what was the procedure that you followed, or am I condemed to the purchase of another top?

A second question is about new tops. A number of places sell them and they vary in cost and material out of which they are made. I determined the materials to be polycast which I gather is an acrylic, acrylic with a scratch and abrasion resistant coat, and lexan. I have no idea which material is best and what to look for. Any input from anyone on these subjects would be appreciated.

 

[sumoboy]

I don't think you can repair a crack but try here.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2404838185&category=6781

 

[The Car Whisperer]

You can glue the crack with a solvent type cement used for Plexiglas, but, it will still be a weak point. I replaced my roof with a factory original from GM. You can get them no problem, but they cost about $1250! You'll need to know the production date of your car because the roof design changed somewhere in the middle of the 1986 production year. Check your car insurance, my roof panel was covered by my insurance when it cracked.
I looked at some aftermarket replacements that are half the cost of the OEM roofs, but some of them do not have a perfectly shaped surface, some have definite and noticable distortions in them at the front curve that just does not look right. The GM roofs are perfect.

 

[kalmwill]

Re Cracked Roof Panel:

Thanks for your reply. I would like to to repair my top if possible as an interim step until I get a replacement. I am searching for the proper adhesive to do the job. The cost of a new one at $1250 is prohibitively expensive. I hope to find a used one but even these are extremely hard to find and those who have them are asking a big price for them.

The question still remains as to whether the abrasive resistant acryic, or lexan are the better materials for a new top. A distributor in Florida says "acrylic" at $1250 and scoffs at the lexan while another in Illinois says that they have lexan tops at approx. $900 that are a considerable improved over the original. Any coments.

Thanks

 

[silver84]

I just replaced mine as well. I went with the one from GM. My insurance picked up all of the $1300 except for my deductable. I also had to replace the hardware that the roof panel connects to the car with. That was about a 4 hour job! I'm not sure what the new GM tops are made of (material).

Good luck!

 

[The Car Whisperer]

I would definitely try to get a roof with the scratch resistant finish. Otherwise you will definitely have scratches in it the first time you clean it. In regards to Silver 84's comments - you will have to specify to whoever you get the top from that your 86' Vette is either early or late production. The tops for this year are not directly interchangable as far as I know. You can probably change the hardware but seems like a lot of extra work, I would try to get the correct top to begin with. The top wil not fit perfectly on tyour Vette right out of the box, there are several adjustments you will need to make to get a perfect fit. I submitted the complete instructions for adjustments to the knowledgebase on this forum, check it out for the correct adjustment procedures.

 

[MRANT212]

I had a crack in my roof and called a place called Generation Roof Panels in Iron City Tn. 800-265-9459. They did a great job on my roof. You have to send them yours, they send a box to send it. Total cost was @450 bucks +shipping etc. Price was right to me!!!

 

[Full Bull]

or call some of your local corvette dealers...if there's any in town. I found a used top, very nice condition, for 250....

 

[The Car Whisperer]

Ebay is a great source also, I have bought lots of new and used parts there at low cost.

 

[kalmwill]

Thanks for the info on new top installation. I took down the information sheets posted in 'knowledge base'.

I think that I will search around for a used top and see what I can find.

I discovered that there are three different mounting bracket types for the C4. The first type was in model years 84 to early 86. The second type was from late 86 through 88, and the last was for 89's on up. Eckler's also has a conversion kit that allows the '89's and up' tops to be fitted to the 'late 86 to 88' model.

Thanks again.

 

[mcswsr]

Does anyone know what causes the roof panel to crack, and under what circumstances does insurance cover it? My 85 corvette was parked in the driveway and sat for about a week without driving. The next time I drove it there was a large crack in the roof panel. We did have one night of frost, but my husband says that wouldn't have cracked it.

 

[The Car Whisperer]

Mine cracked for no reason also. Just sitting in my garage, a few years back, over the winter and it developed a foot long crack. Had it for a few years before this happened. Thanks for insurance, they paid 100% for a replacement GM part no questions asked! Check your insurance policy, you may be covered. I just called my agent, they let me get the part from my local Chevy dealer and I put it on myself. It's a little tricky to make all the adjustments to install it, but, the GM part comes with detailed instructions for adjusting for a perfect fit.

 

[mcswsr]

Thanks for the reply. I'll call my insurance tomorrow and see what they say.

 

[mcswsr]

Good news, I called my insurance and they will pay for the new roof panel from GM. However, I talked to my friend who works at a GM dealership and he said the only top that GM listed is called Bronze. The one I have is Smoke colored. The car is red. Does anyone know if Bronze is the correct top or if they've discontinued making the smoke colored ones, or where I can find the right color top? Thanks so much.

 

[Corvette-Pilot]

I wondered about this too but the bronze is the smoked color. The other option is the blue top. From what I have been told the blue top is a bit darker from the inside and that from the outside it looks black.

 

[RoadReady]

I got an acrylic top from Thompson Astro Tops, Florence, Ala., for $450 exchange and have been very pleased. It has not scratched at all. He has all three colors and will advise which was OEM but I couldn't see much difference in the bronze and smoke. Luckily I'm close by and he installed and adjusted the top.

www.astrotops.com

Hey Full Bull, where in the heck can you nail a decent top for $250?!!! I'd like to have a solid top too.

 

[The Car Whisperer]

I have an 86 Bright Red Coupe and it came with the Bronze top from the factory. I have looked at the different color tops at car shows and to me they all appear black from outside, the tint is more noticible when looking out through the top from the inside.