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As I shop for a C4, I notice a lot of them only have the smoked glass roof panel. How hard is it to find a solid color top to match the car, and what would a person expect to pay? Thanks in advance.
here's two options....when the car was red, I used carbon fiber vinyl...comes in a few colors...when I had the car repainted, had it painted black on the bottom and the car's color on top...
finding a fiberglas top is tough.....if you find a place, let me know...
When I joined the "Flying Top Club", it took me about 3-4 months checking eBay and CL in a 500 mile road trip route to find mine. I saw a couple on the 'bay (out of budget)and one on CL (Cheap but really beat up)during this time before finally finding one that fit without mods, the same color and in decent shape for a bit over $300 and the guy met me 1/2 way. I would say you can expect to pay between $300-500 for about the same and up to $1K for a primo one. I sold one from an '84 I parted out for about $350 IIRC. If you do find one that has to be shipped, ask the seller to use FedEX because UPS charges extra for the bigger shapes.
I like my solid top a lot because of the sun here in FL. I bought it because I was thinking of painting rally stripes from front to back but as yet have not done it. Structurally I dont think it matters as I think the frames are the same. There are a lot less worries of cracking and scratches with the solid top. The solid top does have a thick insulation pad so if you are at 6'0" or taller you will notice the inch less of head room.
I went through this earlier this year. Posted a couple of WTB threads in the parts section and nobody had the color I needed. Did a lot of searching on ebay and finally found one. The guy does the "Storage Wars" thing in which he buys abandoned storage lockers and sells the contents. I felt lucky to find one in OK shape, the funky headliner notwithstanding. I had the top resprayed at the local GM dealership due to a nasty scratch and they did a great job of matching the paint. Put on new WS from Wilcox. All said I'm into it for about $900 total which to me was acceptable as I'd been looking for one for a long time. The smoked tops do have the "cool factor" when it's nice cool weather but when it gets hot and muggy they....basically suck. I'd suggest keep searching the parts section here on CF and also the online auction sites. If you find one in decent shape, even though it may need to be painted to match your car I think it'd be well worth it. The car now seems to actually feel a little more solid while driving
If you look thru the C4 Parts For Sale section, you may find that member "See4Parts" has them from time to time. Note that there are 3 different front mounting tab styles for the Targa:
Make sure you get the top for your year of car otherwise you will have to get the tabs for the car or replace the windshield header mounting pieces to match the roof tabs.
Good luck OP. My acrylic piece flew off like 2 weeks ago. Bought a fiberglass one on CL for $150(original top, not an astro) and got it painted for $200.
POS Astro top. Notice the acrylic is missing
How do people lose tops? Is it something with the one piece tops? I had a '77 with a T-top for 22 yrs. and never heard of someone losing a roof panel back in those days.
If you can find one with the fiberglass top already on it, go for it.
It took me 2 years to find a fiberglass top for my 89.
And frankly, I'll only put the smoke top back on for carshows. It's that horrendous.
One it's a hell of alot more prone to shifting around on it's lonesome than the fiberglass, two it's alot noisier (because it moves so damn much. ESPECIALLY in hot and cold extremes). It also makes the cabin interior much louder than it really needs to be, sounds in the cabin with the fiberglass top are not so tinny.
TLDR, if you have your choice in buying tops, or car with a fiberglass, or acrylic top, pick the fiberglass one every time.
I saw a top separate during a drag race. He was flying and so was the top. He came into the pits with only the frame. The skin was back on the track somewhere.
I bought an acrylic top for my 94 Corvette with 27M miles on it and have the solid one for sale. Its torch red and in mint condition. The headliner is black. Its in the box that the new acrylic top came in from Eckler's. I would like to get around $800.00 for it. Thanks Softaill
I bought an acrylic top for my 94 Corvette with 27M miles on it and have the solid one for sale. Its torch red and in mint condition. The headliner is black. Its in the box that the new acrylic top came in from Eckler's. I would like to get around $800.00 for it. Thanks Softaill
I bought an acrylic top for my 94 Corvette with 27M miles on it and have the solid one for sale. Its torch red and in mint condition. The headliner is black. Its in the box that the new acrylic top came in from Eckler's. I would like to get around $800.00 for it. Thanks Softaill
I would think you should be able to pick up a top for cheap at any of the used parts guys. then 100 or so to have it painted. I would not go thru the hassel of trying to find one that is a color match just get one and get it painted
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
C4 solid roof panel
I'll bet you would!
