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I have to agree with everyone else. No way she could have broke it unless maybe she sat on it...even them. I have heard members of the Flying Roof Club state that the panels got scratched up bad but never really broke after their flight.
Your daughter would have to be stronger than an ox or uglier than sin to crack the roof on a Corvette.
They are designed to protect the car's occupants in a rollover accident.
Search the internet for pictures of Corvettes involved in rollover accidents. Although it's a C6, not a C5, here's an example of what happens to a Corvette removable top when the car is involved in a rollover:
I believe Lexan is a Polycarbonate which is much tougher (about 20 times stronger) than Acrylic like plexiglass. Softer Acrylics like Plexiglass can be easily buffed out and polished. If you have ever tried to polish a scratch out of a C5 top, you know it is a major job to remove (and of course it destroys the UV coating as well). Lexan (unlike acrylic) will tend to yellow with UV exposure, which may explain the heavy-duty UV tinted coating on the C5 top.
That said, I see some 3rd party vendors (like Melrose) that claim their replacement tops are manufactured to GM specs, DOT approved and are made of hard-coated acrylic? Of course many people refer to any plastic as acrylic just to imply it is not "glass".
My factory top is stamped on the passenger side as Lexamar Corp. & Lexarcoat - so I am guessing Lexan is a good bet.
Thanks to all of you who have responded, first the kid who said this happened does not like my daughter.. I'm going to print this post and bring it into the court maybe it'll help. They said that she slammed her hand down on the window and crack, there is no video or pic just the owner saying he seen her do it.I have included a picture of what it looks like. I don't know what to do next I've contacted the manufacturer and they said they don't have that information so I don't know where I can get that information if the manufacturer doesn't have it. She is being charged for 2nd degree felony for destruction of private property which I think is a little ridiculous but she's being charged in Second District Court Small Claims and she's actually going to trial in front of a jury. If there's anybody on this forum that lives in Utah and would be willing to bring their car to the courthouse or whatever we'll have to talk to the attorney and find out what we would need or what we could do that would be greatly appreciated because its not right foot somebody to go down for something that is completely impossible for them to do. She weight 135 pounds and she's 19 I knew there was no way she could do that thanks for your info everyone. I'll keep checking back to see if I get more thanks bye guys.
I'm in Kaysville about half the time. I have a clear top. When is court? My vette is at Premier Performance in West Jordan right now getting a clutch and rear end rebuilt. I should have it back in a week.
Hard to tell from that photo, but it looks like there may be a bunch of stuff marks around that area, like maybe someone got on top of it and stomped it? That could do it.
But could just be a bad photo or car was dirty - can't tell. Some of those marks almost look like a hammer?
Contact CF member "Marc@vettenuts". He deals in used Corvette parts. Maybe he has a used top that is too damaged cosmetically, to be re-sold, but you could buy it from him, take it to court with you, then attack it with a hammer, to demonstrate how tough the tops actually are.....
I'm in Kaysville about half the time. I have a clear top. When is court? My vette is at Premier Performance in West Jordan right now getting a clutch and rear end rebuilt. I should have it back in a week.
Her court date is may 6the at farmington court house I will let you know what time and what the attorney needs from you soon. Thank you so much your a life saver.
sorta different materials that go into the process, acrylic is easier to bend and mold to shape's then lexan..ie. less heat... i own a glass shop and we use lexan in the prison's because of the strength it has against impact..best way to describe the difference is take two pieces one 12''x12'' one acrylic and one lexan both 1/4'' thick set on a table and hit them both each with a hammer ...the acrylic will almost crack every single time while the lexan will take repeated abuse over and over again ...
Most glass is stamped/IDed with mfr and material codes, DOT codes, etc.
Perhaps you can get the number off another roof and google them? I've found lots of different material data sheets for a variety of "styles" of lexan and variants - all have values for impact testing, etc. The Federal DOT code may also provide data in material strength requirement for impact resistance.
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She weight 135 pounds
Originally Posted by Charity
This is what she supposedly did too it she can't even reach that far in on the car. She is 19 5'4 130lbs. They are charging her for class b felony for destruction of private property because it was over 1000.00 to repair, there is no pictures or video to prove that she did it only a 19 year old boy who says he watched her do it. This boy and get have always not liked each other and this all came to light after he got mad at her when she bought a 67 Camaro. I have contacted the manufacturer and had no luck they said they don't have that info, I just need to get contact info for the person who would have this info. If anyone can help with that I would greatly appropriate it. Also anyone like around Ogden, ut that has one of these cars that would be willing to come to the trial for us to use your car to prove her case, I can contact her attorney and get all the info war would need. Thanks
So, does she weigh 135 or 130?
Doesn't matter, no way could she break the top with a bare fist. By the way, as others hvae pointed out, it looks in the picture like someone was banging on the top with something....like a hammer?
Anyhow, good luck with the court case. Like I said earlier, I had a clear top hit the pavement at at least 60 mph from a height of 10 to 15 foot drop and it didn't crack one bit, just scratched the heck out of it sliding down the road.
OK someone pointed out that the roofs are stamped with IDed with mfr and material codes, DOT codes, etc. Does anyone have a 99 that would be willing to share there stamp info with me so I can get the info I need? In the court document it says the roof was plexiglass is that the same as lexan? Thanks everyone for you input and help.
Not sure I understand the "strategy" here. I am not sure why the specifications of the roof panel would be of any use to this court case? If you are trying to prove that it is impossible for someone to crack a DOT approved part with their fist, I would think that is an effort in futility? With my martial arts training I am pretty sure I could crack my top and there is always the lucky hit even if accidentally concentrated at that location. All the DOT specification would refer to is the manufacturing standard - they do not "test" each top to withstand impact before they ship them out. In fact a number of DOT approved Corvette tops on the C6 took flight off their frames while driving down the road resulting in recalls!
Let's say for argument sake, that the top had seen years of neglect, was never maintained properly, and even somehow became brittle over time, but was still fully in-tact and functioning for it's intended purpose. That is irrelevant if someone vandalizes it! In this case it could probably cost the owner over $1,000 to replace (unless he could find a suitable/acceptable used replacement). It does not matter what the material is - this could apply to ANY painted body panel as well. If someone just gouges through the paint on a Corvette hood in an attempt to damage the car, it "could" cost $1000 to fix and get repainted/blended. A vandal can actually "total" a C5 with just a key in a couple minutes to where the insurance company would refuse to pay to have the body panels replaced/fixed/repainted at today's prices!
The real question in court will probably go to "intent" and proof of the act actually occurring. Did she "try" to inflict damage to someone else's property? Even if it were an accident, she could still be financially responsible if she made physical contact with someone else's vehicle that resulted in damage AND IT COULD BE PROVEN. For instance, if she were caught on video hitting the top of the car or there were witnesses to testify that the act occurred as described here (which would prove at least intent to inflict harm), I would say the case is closed. So the real questions are:
1) Did she actually hit the top of the car with her fist?
2) Can that be upheld in court through video and or testimony under oath that that impact actually resulted in the claimed damage?
Unless someone actually saw the top break at the moment of impact (or was captured on video), nobody will never know (or think they know) what actually caused the damage shown in the photo.
I am no lawyer, so obviously cannot give any legal advise, but the moral is "Don't touch other people's property unless you have a good personal liability policy, and if you "intend" to inflict harm on said property there may be other legal consequences beyond just financial restitution if you are charged"!
Even if you brought an undamaged top into the courtroom and hired a girl of similar build to try to crack it with her fist and she failed, that would prove little. That still would be a different top under different conditions. The fact appears to be that this particular Corvette owner claims that his particular top was compromised due to this "alleged" act. However, even if the top were not "cracked" as in the photo and the top were in pristine condition prior to the alleged incident (like mine is), if a girl were to just take a key and put a big cosmetic gouge in my top, either she or my insurance would be paying to replace it with a new top.
If those are stamped into the roof, then the point of the exercise would be to determine the material composition, then find The manufacturers testing data of the material. The sheet would show it would take X amount of impact force to break/crack a piece of said material.
DOT code would specify force before breaking, regardless of material composition.
Ala:
your honor, here's the id and DOT codes from the part, heres the manufacturer spec sheet for that material. The spec sheet shows it takes X psi to crack the lexan variety. DOT says the material must be able to withstand Y psi without breaking.
Science/research says the strongest human can only generate Z psi, which is less than either X psi shown on the data sheet or Y psi per DOT code.
05-05-2017, 08:35 AM
