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Vinyl Tops

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SaxMan

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I had to run over to the Walgreens in West Boca during our stay in Florida and spotted this monstrosity:

IMG_20140301_202952_294 by onyxsax, on Flickr

Um, 1972 just called and they want their vinyl top back. The car is a late model Buick Lucerne, not a bad looking car in terms of today's styling cues...but the vinyl top? I'm hard pressed to think of the last time I saw a vinyl top on a late model car. I'm pretty sure they went out of style with disco music (or maybe a year or two later). I am completely baffled why anyone would want to put a vinyl top on a new car...especially in south Florida where the humidity will get trapped between the vinyl and the roof.

When did the vinyl top craze start? I seem to recall the Ford Mustang had it as an option from the get go, but can't recall anything before that. It seems the craze ended in the early to mid 1980s in the form of "Landau" roofs on the GM "specialty" cars (Cutlass Supreme/Regal/Grand Prix/Monte Carlo.
 
JPSmit

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Saw a Lincoln with a vinyl top the other day, very very rare here, much more common in the USA, especially Florida where I regularly saw various cars, though all on the larger size and all more err geriatric. Camrys spring to mind. I was never sure who was doing the conversions or why people would think that was something worth paying extra for.
 
PAUL161

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JPSmit said:
Saw a Lincoln with a vinyl top the other day, very very rare here, much more common in the USA, especially Florida where I regularly saw various cars, though all on the larger size and all more err geriatric. Camrys spring to mind. I was never sure who was doing the conversions or why people would think that was something worth paying extra for.
Click to expand...

Just to be different and have the funds to do so! I never did like them. But, to each his/her own! PJ
 
Bayless

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I never did like those. Guess I was not stylish enough at the time. What seems even worse is those fake convertible tops on Lincoln Town Cars. :puke: Where is that old "puke" smilie?
 
Banjo

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We used to see the occasional vinyl top/ fake convertible conversion at the Toyota dealer. They had all been done in Florida. Originally the fabric/ vinyl top look was to mimic the look of the very high end cars of the '20-'30s like Caddies Packards and Dusenbergs I think the look continued straight through till recently. if not it made a strong appearance in the 60s and didn't fade till the 90s.
 
Mickey Richaud

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Guess I'm in the minority here. Back in the day, I liked vinyl tops. Pontiac Catalinas, Chevy Impalas, etc. My dad bought a '69 Catalina - metallic green with dark green vinyl top and matching dark green interior - cool looking at the time.

That was then; this is now.
 
Gliderman8

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My first car... 1971 Ford Torino with the 302 v-8 AND a vinyl top.... it was hip back then, not so much today.
 
aeronca65t

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For a period of time in the late 60s, Penske raced his Trans-Am Camaros with vinyl tops. He claimed GM Corporate was forcing him to do it.

Then the SCCA did an inspection and discovered he was really using the vinyl to hide the acid-dipped roof. :devilgrin:

7f13783122.jpg
 
Basil

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Mickey Richaud said:
Guess I'm in the minority here. Back in the day, I liked vinyl tops. Pontiac Catalinas, Chevy Impalas, etc. My dad bought a '69 Catalina - metallic green with dark green vinyl top and matching dark green interior - cool looking at the time.

That was then; this is now.
Click to expand...

My first ever "new" car was a 73 or 74 Mercury Capri (Small 2-door). It was metallic mint green with a black vinyl top. With the black top it didn't look bad.
 
Gliderman8

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Basil said:
Around this place you start talking hip and the first thing that comes to mind is "replacement."
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You're right Bas... I forgot how old the rest of the guys are here. My apologies to all the old Fart's.
 
NutmegCT

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Gliderman8 said:
You're right Bas... I forgot how old the rest of the guys are here. My apologies to all the old Fart's.
Click to expand...

Old? not old here! Soon as I read that I hopped into my walker and stumbled over to the phonograph, slipped on a wax cylinder and enjoyed some hepcat music.

Jeez - you young'ns these days ...

(My first "new" car - a 1971 Pinto with 1600cc engine. Actually ran great, even *after* the a/c unit fell out of the dash. Still pushing out cold air tho ...)
 
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SaxMan

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My grandfather had a '68 GTO in the Mediterranean Blue. The paint started to turn on the roof (I've seen this with other light blue metallic cars). Rather than pay for a respray he put a vinyl top on it. Even at a young age, I disapproved mightily when I saw it.
 
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