My 59 is a convertible. What's involved in putting a hardtop on it? Just drilling the holes in the deck?

 

If I'm reading you correctly, your car DOES NOT have the holes/anchors for a hardtop, right?
If so, yes, to ADD a hardtop to any 56-62 that was a soft top ONLY car, you will need to put holes in the soft top cover.
IT IS CRITICAL TO HAVE THEM IN THE EXACTLY CORRECT LOCATION!!!!! Because there is EXTREMELY minimal adjustment available---------------AND YOU ONLY WANT TO CUT THE HOLES ONCE!!!
In addition to the hard top, you will need the anchors that fit into the cover, rubber seals that go between the anchors and the top cover, nuts/washers for the underside of the cover and the bolts to attach the top to the anchors.

Tom Parsons

 

Seems a shame to modify a valuable original soft top only deck. I would keep it and find a replacement that has the holes and preferably the hardware on it. Just my .02 Save the Wave.

 

Absoluetely.

After trial fitting the HT, roll up the door windows and adjust those as/if needed (rear window channel in the door) so the top fits best at the rear and the windows, THEN drill the holes.

Doug

 

Not to hijack this thread but another '61 at the Kissimmee show had a hex head bolt installed into the deck lid holes for the hard top - my car doesn't have these bolts. Are these correct for hardtop cars that do NOT have the hardtop installed ?

 

yes, there are hex head stainless bolts that are used to install the hardtop.

http://www.corvette-paragon.com/popu.../large/640.jpg


oWEN

 

Thanks...

 

IF you have a hard top for your car, and the top is removed, you can either remove the hard top bolts and store them away somewhere, or, you can just screw them back into the anchors so that you will always know where they are. BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUT, BEWARE, if you leave the hard top bolts screwed into the top cover------------------WITH THE TOP REMOVED---------------they may have grown legs and walked off while you were gone.
With all the environmental polution which has been occuring on our planet in the past, there have been a lot of things which have become severely mutated, especially car parts such as cigarette lighters, gas caps, etc, etc, and grown legs as well as extremely mutated eyes that have excellent night vision, and just walked off never to be seen again. I can only guess that when these items have grown legs and walked off, some how they have lost their way and fallen into storm drains, or they got hungry, climbed into a trash can searching for food and couldn't get back out to return to wherever they came from.
My Point? You might want to think twice about leaving hard top bolts screwed into the anchors in the top cover because they may develop specialized unscrewing legs and walk away.
Many years ago when they were still available from Chevy parts dept, I bought a pkg (I think 10/pkg) of hard top bolts and keep them in a very dark box where they cannot get food or light, and so far it has kept them from growing mutated legs.
This is the ONLY POSSIBLE answer for their mysterious disappearance-----------------------because everytime it has happened, I've asked people if they saw anyone hanging around the car that looked suspicious, and they all stated that they had not seen anyone suspicious around the car.

 

Errr..OK Tom. You all right out there in Okie ole buddy ? Not living under any high voltage lines or drinking tap water from near a chemical plant I hope...

 

[QUOTE=fdreano;1568699943]Not to hijack this thread but another '61 at the Kissimmee show had a hex head bolt installed into the deck lid holes for the hard top - my car doesn't have these bolts. Are these correct for hardtop cars that do NOT have the hardtop installed ?[/QUOTE

You can get them through Paragon or CC Frank, not expensive. I just put a bit of dumbdumb under each hole and leave them off, looks cleaner IMHO.



Paul

 

Frank
get em and use them; i've never lost any in 33 years. (i'll probably lose a set a day now...)
Bill

 

strzelecorwhateveryournameis,
Here are the parts you will need to attach the rear of the hard top (3ea).

This is what I call the anchor nut (GM just called it a nut), plus the nut that goes on the underside of the top cover.


These are the hard top bolts (GM called them screws).


These are the rubber washers (seal) that goes under the anchor nut.


All parts and original pkgs.


Tom Parsons

 

Thanks for the info. I saw a '58 hardtop for sale for $2500 and started toying with the idea.

 

Had the hardtop for my 59 for 35 years, clamped to the windshield frame in the front and sitting on a piece of rug at the back. Finally bit the bullet and drilled the holes for the bolts.....takes ***** to put holes in a perfectly good deck,

 

Before you drill the outboard holes, make sure you are dead nuts centered. The holes just barely clear the reinforcements on the bottom of the deck lid...Don't ask.