[Jehannum]

Hey, I'm new here.

I have a 1986 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham for my daily driver. Not a lot of power, but loads of style (IMO). We've had hail in Albuquerque a couple times over the summer, and that has put small tears in the vinyl top of the car. I like the way that the car looks with a vinyl top, so I'd like to replace or repair the thing.

The cracks/tears in the top are about 3/4" long, and seem to only happen where the hailstones hit the roof. Any tips on repair? Failing repair, are there good places to buy a new vinyl top? I'm not afraid of body work, or of mechanical work.

 

[Halloweenking]

Jehannum, reffer to this section a few pages back and there iss a simular/same question. Repairing the top will take as much effort and time as buying and installing a new one. JC Whitney as well as a few other places sell replacment tops for certain cars, pre cut and ready to install. I don't remember the names of the other places off hand, nor do I know if they are still in business, but do a search on this site or your favorite search engine and you are sure to find one. If you have anymore questions after reffering to the past post let me know, glad to help.

HK

 

[[email protected]]

vinyl top replacement is not for the average joe, you have to use contact type cements and be fast and accurate it takes years of experiance. on the other hand there are lots of vinyl repair kits available at parts stores the best is Mar-Hyde you can glue the tear down, fill imperfections, then clean the top with prep-sol or mild enamel reducer then mask and recolor, if you take your time you can do a pro job that no one can tell in your garage with a rattle can of vinyl dye.

 

[Jehannum]

In fact, Halloweenking, searching vinyl tops on google was what led me here

I guess my original point in posting got lost in my rambling - where are good places to buy these replacement tops. JC Whitney doesn't have anything that will work for my car.

 

[kbow]

Try this site. Looks like a good place to start. I'm looking for basically the same thing. I found a place on the web last night, but the URL is at home. It was a place in NJ that said they had all the factory styles... I can't find it now though..
http://www.oldcarnetwork.com/vendors/Fabrics-Upholstery.html

 

[adtkart]

On a vehicle of that year, I would bet that the top is near it's useful life. The tops on them are usually padded, and should not be tearing from hail, unless it is deteriorated. I would seriously doubt that you can repair it with good results. I work at a Cadillac dealership body shop and see them all of the time from that time period, in that condition. Most of the ones that I see that aren't like that, I believe, have been garage kept. It may be the salty air here, but it is getting old.