Carbon Fiber T-tops?

[brownz]

I have a 79z28 that has t-tops, I wish the car did not have them but I didnt think about it when I was 15 lol. I would like to know if it would be possible to have some carbon fiber t-tops made and around what it would cost?



I know it will not be cheap but I figured it would be a way to make a t-top car cool.

[Bryce]

Can you make the molds? Otherwise molds alone would be about 5K each.

[oestek]

Just saw this... doesn't help, but kinda ironic.

[BulldawgMusclecars]

It would be cheaper to find a hardtop roof and weld it in (assuming the car doesn't have nice paint now).

[BADNBLK]

I have a 79z28 that has t-tops, I wish the car did not have them but I didnt think about it when I was 15 lol. I would like to know if it would be possible to have some carbon fiber t-tops made and around what it would cost?

I know it will not be cheap but I figured it would be a way to make a t-top car cool.

I'd be interested too. I have the Lexan tops and they are not super heavy, but would be a cool factor.

[Project92rs]

As the owner of a couple of T-Top 3rd gens, I'd be interested in these just as an option if the sets I have ever break. Glass isn't available for these any more so if they break, you are limited to junkyards and eBay for replacements. Replacements wouldn't even have to be carbon fiber. Fiberglass or metal would work just as well.

The other problem for anyone wanting to market these, is there were 3 different variations of the t-tops during the 10 year production run. 2 are interchangeable but the 3rd only fits on the early years.

[LS1-IROC]

I'd love to have a set too. If I could change one thing about my car it would be to have it a hardtop...lol.

I've made a few things out of CF in the past and the more I think about it, making a CF panel for the top wouldn't be that hard.....hummmm

[BADNBLK]

I'd love to have a set too. If I could change one thing about my car it would be to have it a hardtop...lol.

I've made a few things out of CF in the past and the more I think about it, making a CF panel for the top wouldn't be that hard.....hummmm

If you get serious about this... PM me. I want some and would be willing to help get the ball rolling.

[MonzaRacer]

Hmm doesnt seem to me that if you worked together with other owners to revive the parts that making limited runs might prove to be feasible if you decide to make your mold easily broken down and set up you could rune say 10 or 20 a year or more if demands come up. Last time I saw a mold done the guy used a simple shop vacuum to pull the resin/cloth into a hand built mold that was treated to release the items.
guy made a simple table from ply wood, polyurethane sealed and then he would wax it with some sort of wax, it also had holes in it and a simple manifold underneath to hook to vacuum. he had some sort of vinyl or plastic sheet that was sealed to top after he laid the carbon fiber and the resin and turned on vacuum. his design took into account for places that could develop voids and his resin was supposedly easily sanded and polished to perfect a smooth surface. Ill have to try and dig up a link and he was building spoilers and noses for cars as pretty reasonable prices, you guys T tops would be much easier to develop as its a near flat panel.

[joe440]

Little late, but if you guys are seriously interested, the company i work for can make them no problem. Just gotta pay, but remember you get what you pay for and it'd be a quality part. The most expensive part is getting the molds made. After that, the more sets that you have made/order the cheaper it is. Could be a money maker in the long run if you find a decent amount of guys that'd want them.

[CreepinDeth]

Brownz,

T-top Camaro's are already cool with the T-tops that the prior 11 years didn't have.
Carbon fiber T-tops.....me personally I prefer my glass original one's that are transparent.

But I can see the benefit to those guys who broke theirs or are pretty beat up.

That is pretty cool looking IMO.

I'm rather shocked and disappointed that GM didn't make a 5th gen T-top Camaro.

[astroracer]

I am planning to do a bit of CF work on the van. Besides rebuilding the engine cover/shifter console I will be replacing all of the fixed window glass with CF panels. I am talking with a shop near where I work and we will use the removed glass panels as the molds... Nothing to fabricate here, no cost actually. Clean and prep them and lay up the CF. Glass makes an excellant mold surface and will give that "smooth as glass" look for free... The biggest cost is the CF and that's really not to bad.