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My question is in reference to my breaking the original drivers side t top glass on my 1981 corvette.
I am sure there are a lot of opinions out there but I need a few suggestions.
Since the m1131 glass is so rare I bought a new set of tops from Melrose. They fit and look great.
If it were you:
1. Would you keep the original set as is?
2. Have the original frames fit with new glass?
3. Sell the old set...other side is in great shape.
If I sell the old set, what is a going price?
Car has 21,000 miles and tops are nice..'81 red interior
My question is in reference to my breaking the original drivers side t top glass on my 1981 corvette.
I am sure there are a lot of opinions out there but I need a few suggestions.
Since the m1131 glass is so rare I bought a new set of tops from Melrose. They fit and look great.
If it were you:
1. Would you keep the original set as is?
2. Have the original frames fit with new glass?
3. Sell the old set...other side is in great shape.
If I sell the old set, what is a going price?
Car has 21,000 miles and tops are nice..'81 red interior
My original 1980 T-Tops are cracked on both sides... I bought an Astro Top (well, actually my wife got it for me for x-mas) http://astrotops.com/ but I am keeping the original tops in case I ever want to get the glass in them replaced.
Since the m1131 glass is so rare I bought a new set of tops from Melrose.
The M1131's aren't correct for your 81, and they aren't really all that much rarer than the M92A's either.
The blue tint M1131 laminated glass tops, were only used from 78 till 80. All 81-82 Corvettes, equipped with the CC1 Glass Top option, came with the gray mirror finish M92A tempered glass tops.
As far as rarity, there were about 40,000 78-80 Corvettes built with the M1141 glass tops (including the 6500 Pace Cars), while there were about 45000 81-82's equipped with the CC1 M92A tops, not counting the 82 Collector Editions that came with "Bronze" tinted M92A.
Your broken glass top is worth about $125 to the rebuilders as a core. The good right side top is worth about $250-$300, and maybe more, depending on the date on it. If it has an early 78 date, making it correct for a Pace Car, it could be worth $500-$600 to a Pace Car owner in need of a correct top. The orange paint on the top's frame, may hurt it's value some, as the frames were all originally finished in black.
21000 miles or not, if your car has/had M1141 "Blue" Laminated tops on it, then a previous owner installed then at some time in the last 34 years. They did not come on the car, so there's no real reason to keep them.
Where would one look for a number on the t-tops? Where can I locate the number meaning?
Originally Posted by gbvette62
The M1131's aren't correct for your 81, and they aren't really all that much rarer than the M92A's either.
The blue tint M1131 laminated glass tops, were only used from 78 till 80. All 81-82 Corvettes, equipped with the CC1 Glass Top option, came with the gray mirror finish M92A tempered glass tops.
As far as rarity, there were about 40,000 78-80 Corvettes built with the M1141 glass tops (including the 6500 Pace Cars), while there were about 45000 81-82's equipped with the CC1 M92A tops, not counting the 82 Collector Editions that came with "Bronze" tinted M92A.
Your broken glass top is worth about $125 to the rebuilders as a core. The good right side top is worth about $250-$300, and maybe more, depending on the date on it. If it has an early 78 date, making it correct for a Pace Car, it could be worth $500-$600 to a Pace Car owner in need of a correct top. The orange paint on the top's frame, may hurt it's value some, as the frames were all originally finished in black.
21000 miles or not, if your car has/had M1141 "Blue" Laminated tops on it, then a previous owner installed then at some time in the last 34 years. They did not come on the car, so there's no real reason to keep them.
Where would one look for a number on the t-tops? Where can I locate the number meaning?
All of the numbers on the top, are etched into the glass, at the rear corners, as part of the LOF logo.
To the left of the LOF logo, and under the word 'FLOAT" on 78-80 tops or "FLO-LITE" on 81-82 tops, is a two letter date code. The first letter is the month, and the second is the year. "J" is 78, "A" is 79, "Z" is 80, "X" is 81 & "V" is 82. Post the two letter code and we can give you the month the top was made.
The 78-80 tops will say "BLUE" above the LOF logo, and "LAMINATED" and "DOT-15 M1131" below the logo.
The 81-82 tops will say "SOFT-RAY" above the logo, and below the logo, on three separate lines it will say "SOLID TEMPERED", "COATED" AND "DOT-15 M92A".
I dug out my NCRS Manual and found the following...see photo
[/B]
Originally Posted by gbvette62
All of the numbers on the top, are etched into the glass, at the rear corners, as part of the LOF logo.
To the left of the LOF logo, and under the word 'FLOAT" on 78-80 tops or "FLO-LITE" on 81-82 tops, is a two letter date code. The first letter is the month, and the second is the year. "J" is 78, "A" is 79, "Z" is 80, "X" is 81 & "V" is 82. Post the two letter code and we can give you the month the top was made.
The 78-80 tops will say "BLUE" above the LOF logo, and "LAMINATED" and "DOT-15 M1131" below the logo.
The 81-82 tops will say "SOFT-RAY" above the logo, and below the logo, on three separate lines it will say "SOLID TEMPERED", "COATED" AND "DOT-15 M92A".
Is that the most recent (4th) edition of the 80-82 manual?
I don't know if I agree with the info there. I have an internal Chevrolet Engineering letter from some time in late 79 or 80, that lists the change to tempered tops as a change for model year 1981, not just for Bowling Green. I also have the fall 1980 issue of Vette Vues that had the introduction of the 81, and I think the tempered glass tops are discussed in there too. I'm travelling tonight, so I don't have access to my files, but I'll have to take a look when I get back tomorrow.
My 81, which I bought new, has the tempered glass tops, but it is a Bowling Green car, so that doesn't answer the question.
I was a member of the team that worked on the original NCRS 80-82 judging manual, as well as the 2nd and 3rd editions. My name was inside the front cover of the first three editions, as a member of the 80-82 national team. I don't know what happened when they did the most recent edition, but I wasn't consulted, and my name was removed from the manual. This was in spite of the fact that I had previously submitted some updated info for the manual. I don't recall the earlier editions listing the tempered tops as Bowling Green only?
If the tempered tops weren't released until Bowling Green production began in June of 81, it would make the tempered tops much rarer than the M1131 laminated tops. There couldn't possibly be more than 20000 pairs of factory installed tempered tops. The glass tops continued to be available through Chevrolet Parts, for a few years, but I can't imagine they sold all that many over the counter tops?
Thanks for the interest. My '81 is said to be "Bone Stock" and is a St. Louis model. The seller is the factory red finish on the interior of the t tops. Interesting....
The M1131's aren't correct for your 81, and they aren't really all that much rarer than the M92A's either.
The blue tint M1131 laminated glass tops, were only used from 78 till 80. All 81-82 Corvettes, equipped with the CC1 Glass Top option, came with the gray mirror finish M92A tempered glass tops.
As far as rarity, there were about 40,000 78-80 Corvettes built with the M1141 glass tops (including the 6500 Pace Cars), while there were about 45000 81-82's equipped with the CC1 M92A tops, not counting the 82 Collector Editions that came with "Bronze" tinted M92A.
Your broken glass top is worth about $125 to the rebuilders as a core. The good right side top is worth about $250-$300, and maybe more, depending on the date on it. If it has an early 78 date, making it correct for a Pace Car, it could be worth $500-$600 to a Pace Car owner in need of a correct top. The orange paint on the top's frame, may hurt it's value some, as the frames were all originally finished in black.
21000 miles or not, if your car has/had M1141 "Blue" Laminated tops on it, then a previous owner installed then at some time in the last 34 years. They did not come on the car, so there's no real reason to keep them.
Correction, you are incorrect regarding the figment for the 1981 t-tops. Read the article that I have provided:
07-10-2015, 01:23 PM
1981 Corvette T-Tops--Repair? Replace?? Keep Originals?
