one piece tops?

[wwilkins]

Has anyone used the one piece tops that are available for C-3's? How well do they seal and fit? I just bought an 82 that is missing a top and the one piece one is much cheaper than the two piece tops are.

Bill

texaswilkins@hotmail.com

 

[Macgyver]

You got mail.

 

[sherry_ridgeway]

hi
I was fortunate enough to get both sets of tops for my 77
I really didnt care a lot for the one piece"smoked glass" top, it requires a screwdriver to install and remove, and the fact that it's actually too large to store in transit easily, depending on the weather I normally leave the tops off and enjoy the sunshine , and store the hard tops on the "luggage rack" on the back or inside "cramped" ..Just my 2 cents
Sherry

 

[79'vette]

My wife and I have one of the one piece smoked tops on her 79. She loves it. The car rides more quietly (less wind noise) and the viewing area is greatly increased with the top on. Also, the slight dripping of water that was present before is now gone. She can get the whole top off in about 5 minutes (4 screws with knobs on the ends) and it fits well in the back. IMO, the car even looks better as the roof has a nice smooth look to it.

 

[chrism]

I had a one piece Astro top on my 79' a number of years ago. It looked great but used threaded connectors for the front and sliding adjustable blocks for the rear. Needless to say the latching arrangement was poorly executed. Aditionally, the weatherstriping used to seal against the top of the door windows consisted of a flat neoprene strip and sealed poorly. Maybe they make them better now.

 

[79'vette]

I had a one piece Astro top on my 79' a number of years ago. It looked great but used threaded connectors for the front and sliding adjustable blocks for the rear. Needless to say the latching arrangement was poorly executed. Aditionally, the weatherstriping used to seal against the top of the door windows consisted of a flat neoprene strip and sealed poorly. Maybe they make them better now.

They still use the same latching mech, but they are using metal rather than plastic for the two adjustable pieces in the back. Don't know how they did it back then, but the newer models have two tongs in the center that slide in where the normal driver side top would go to secure it in the middle.

The side pieces, from the way you are describing it, has been changed. It has a solid insert that can be adjusted to fit tightly against the top of the window.

Your mileage may vary....but my wife is happy, and it's been raining a ton here in FL lately.