# TAKING THE VINYL TOP OFF



## clotoneDMK (Apr 17, 2009)

So i wanna take the vinyl top off my cutty.......i was wondering if there was a easy way to do this....and is the metal that is under the vinyl the same as the rest of the car? 

Thanks


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## jayoldschool (Jan 18, 2006)

Take the trim off, then grab the vinyl and pull. You can cut it into strips to make it easy to pull. Yes, it is metal under there. There will be lots of glue to sand off, and likely some rust to take care of, too.


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## pi4short (Sep 29, 2006)

You also will have to seal up the seam along the 1/4 glass window and dont use bondo it will crack.. I would weld it , fill it with lead or fiberglass.... I just did mine a few weeks ago on my regal..! :biggrin:


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## dwnsouth985 (Oct 21, 2008)

> _Originally posted by pi4short_@May 5 2009, 04:41 PM~13795056
> *You also will have to seal up the seam along the 1/4 glass window and dont use bondo it will crack.. I would weld it , fill it with lead or fiberglass....  I just did mine a few weeks ago on my regal..! :biggrin:
> *


X2 did mines to wasnt bad...finding the trim was the hard part


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## clotoneDMK (Apr 17, 2009)

werd, thanks for the input


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## 92seville (Apr 15, 2005)

ive done this too it wasnt too bad at all. you can get the quarter windows from a none vynal roof. and youll have to find the trim for the rear window too. there will most likely be rust issues under the top most of the time there is. you have a few screw holes to weld up and a few rivits if i remember correctly. like some one else said theres a spot youll have to fill by the quarter window where the roof meets the panel. use lead of fiberglass then a skim coat of filler to finish. all in all pretty easy job just take your time and do it right.


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## Airborne (Oct 23, 2005)

> _Originally posted by 92seville_@May 6 2009, 02:50 PM~13804184
> *ive done this too it wasnt too bad at all. you can get the quarter windows from a none vynal roof. and youll have to find the trim for the rear window too. there will most likely be rust issues under the top most of the time there is. you have a few screw holes to weld up and a few rivits if i remember correctly.  like some one else said theres a spot youll have to fill by the quarter window where the roof meets the panel. use lead of fiberglass then a skim coat of filler to finish. all in all pretty easy job just take your time and do it right.
> *


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## clotoneDMK (Apr 17, 2009)

Are the windows easy to take out and install


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## dwnsouth985 (Oct 21, 2008)

are you talking about the quarter glass?? if so you need to take your interior apart your gonna have about 6-8 nuts then cut the urethane out becareful not to crack the glass pushing on it find you some quarter glass with the gasket around it to fill in the crack from the rag and re apply urethane make sure you do this right you dont want water in your car re install the interior should be it the back glass is the same becarefull cut the urethane take out


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## pi4short (Sep 29, 2006)

> _Originally posted by clotoneDMK_@May 6 2009, 06:31 PM~13808231
> *Are the windows easy to take out and install
> *


somewhat... you just have to take out some interior trim pieces, and to get to those you have to take out the rear seats...!


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## pi4short (Sep 29, 2006)

here is what mine looked like under


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## SwAnGiN88 (Oct 11, 2004)

i was thinking about doing this to my caddy... is it the same?


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## 92seville (Apr 15, 2005)

> _Originally posted by dwnsouth985_@May 6 2009, 10:02 PM~13809337
> *are you talking about the quarter glass?? if so you need to take your interior apart your gonna have about 6-8 nuts then cut the urethane out  becareful not to crack the glass pushing on it find you some quarter glass with the gasket around it to fill in the crack from the rag and re apply urethane make sure you do this right you dont want water in your car re install the interior  should be it  the back glass is the same becarefull cut the urethane take out
> *


when i did mine i didnt have to cut no urethane. and my windows came out super easy. after you get out the interior peace needed theres 2 or 4 nuts i dont remember then just slowly push the window out. if your paint is in good condition tape news paper on the rear quarter panel cuz that shit gets messy and is very hard to get off stuff.


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## Canada (Feb 22, 2007)

> _Originally posted by True Blue187_@May 6 2009, 11:23 PM~13809638
> *i was thinking about doing this to my caddy... is it the same?
> *


ttt


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## pinche chico (Jan 29, 2007)

i used the same q-windows on my regal after removing the top..they still work,,and theres no gaps,,theres only a lil bit of a diffrence,,,also chip away that old plastic bondo crap they used from the factory,,i used fibergalss filler and finished it with glaze,,aka bondo,,also you need to remove the studs with a grinder,,dont use pliers or chizels youll dent it,,and just use glaze to fill on the lil grinding spots,,its really easy to do,,
good luck homie and show us process pics :biggrin:


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## MONTE CARLO SD (Sep 25, 2003)

> _Originally posted by pi4short_@May 6 2009, 09:12 PM~13809478
> *here is what mine looked like under
> 
> 
> ...



anyone know how that product "ALL METAL" works on this? will it hold up?


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## ScandalusSeville83 (Mar 17, 2009)

When I took mine off my Seville


















But I don't think mine had trim in the way. Not much anyway. The trim on the back by the trunk had to come off. And there were a few pieces that went across the top of the roof that had to be unscrewed. Then it was just rip and sand all that damn glue off. Aircraft stripper wouldn't eat through it. I ended up having some really good luck using 80 grit sandpaper and a DA. But I also wasn't worried about taking paint off cuz it was getting repainted anyway. But it was long enough ago that I can't remember clearly


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## G&CWireWheels (Oct 2, 2008)

:cheesy:


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## ILUVMY82 (Jun 17, 2008)

i just used a 3m scotch brite disc on the drill and the foam and glue came off with some elbow grease


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## 350_85_BroughamCut (May 25, 2009)

I recently took on the task of removing my vinyl top on my 85 Cutlass. I had a couple rot spots on the b-pillars (either side) but that was it. I ground out and wire wheeled and wire brushed all the rust out, then used Muriatic Acid to treat and etch the metal afterwards. I then used US Products All Metal filler to fill first, it's a gray filler that requires a liquid hardener like fiberglass resin and is waterproof and replaces metal with metal, then went over that with a thin layer of Rage Gold. I took the lil trim studs off with a vise grip, just turn clockwise and they should twist right off, leaving no hole, and NO it doesnt warp or leave a dent unless your tug or twist real hard, it doesnt require much effort to do. just had to grind off a lil afterwards and fill with some filler. around the back window you do have some rivets to drill out and fill. i just use some all metal or some rage filler to do so. I used Kustom Shops epoxy primer 










here you can see the red box, is where i found some lead type of filler, maybe solder as i don't think lead was used anymore on these cars, could be wrong. it wasn't on the passenger side tho. also prone to stress cracks from the door slams i need to fix that cuz a lil crack is showing thru in my primer









be prepared for some bodywork, the lil red circle is suppose to dip there so don't block that straight, but the bigger oval is where i noticed a big dip in the quarter, don't know if it's suppose to be like that but on my parts 81 that was a hardtop has the same dip. I'm blocking it straight, this lil spot is hell to block out right, so be prepared


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