jdlev

Was going to trade the Z06 in this weekend when of course managed to do the unthinkable last night and forgot to latch the freakin roof. Good and bad luck that it happened at 2am because it didn't hit anybody behind me....of course when I turned around to pick it up...it was still in the road and despite signaling frantically and no doubt being impossible to miss (it is white after all), some guy in a 300 manages to flatten it.

Totally my fault obviously, but surprisingly...it's still functional and latches down...just a bunch of road rash. Might have been salvageable had it not taken the hit from the other car.

Anyways...looking to find a replacement, and was hoping for something reasonable since I'm probably going to trade it in.
Everything I've see for a new top is like $2k. I could 'maybe' get by with one of those carbon fiber covers (not a wrap, but a cover) for about $400, but the interior has a small crack near the handle, so I doubt that's fixable.

My deductible on my insurance is only $250, which makes that an option...of course if it shows up on the vehicle history report....the trade in value drops a lot more than a new top would probably cost. What are my options?

TNSQUIRE

Check salvage yards

DWS44

No harm in taking it to the body shop and get a repair estimate...you never know. A wind gust got a hold of the targa on my first C6 while I was putting it in the trunk one time, and knocked the front face, almost dead center, right into the trunk latch and knocked a nice chunk out of it. Luckily I had the dual roof package, so I just took it to the body shop, and a couple hundred or so later, it looked new. Obviously, yours is in worse shape, but again, you never know till you try, since you aren't planning on keeping the car much longer.

Luke42_02

51 stovebolt

I found a color match top for the around $1200 price range, I don't think you can get a clear one for anything near that. I purchased both after my incident did not report to the insurance company either.

aj98

Summer is here - I would venture you may be able to find one locally - given where you live, I’m sure someone around Miami didn’t realize how hot the clear top can get, so has one for sale....

spireland

You can most likely get a used glass top for about 1k from a local. They are posted up quite frequently.

Kevin A Jones

I don't believe history showing a top replacement is going to negatively impact your C7 value significantly. It's not like someone plowed into and took your front end out.
I'd turn it into insurance and have the top replaced.

Gearhead Jim

Are all the painted C7 tops CF, or are some of them fiberglass under the paint?

robertlevine

On the "Parts for Sale" forum, someone posted a transparent top for $900.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...new-900-a.html

2K14C7

They are all Carbon Fiber. Same with the hood.

PatternDayTrader

What was the maximum height achieved in this flight test ?

JGarland

Welcome to the club.

Luckily it will only happen to you once.

MrGary2011

2K lesson

davepl

The only Targa I've ever owned was the C4 that required tools, cursing, and about 20 minutes, so there was never any "forgetting" it.

When the "Remove before Flight" things started coming out the producers were derided for selling an unneeded product that no one should need, but this feels like the 10th thread from someone who's willing to admit they did it!

To me that doesn't (only) mean the owners are at fault, but maybe the car needs a (sorry) idiot light for this. I mean my 1969 Pontiac knows if you've got the key inserted with the door open, it's not rocket science or a lot of extra circuitry.

And it could save a life.

I wonder if there's a way to actually pass feedback like that along (besides emailing Barra or Jeuchter and hoping to get lucky) in a manner that will get seen at some useful level?

PatternDayTrader

Yeah no kidding. Imagine one of these suckers hitting your windshield at say fifty mph.

davepl

I didn't bring it up because I have in the past, but not far from my house I saw someone on a motorcycle killed by a flying Corvette roof. It was a C3 being trailered and I guess they never checked the roof panel before taking off.

PatternDayTrader

There is no doubt in my mind that happened, and as a 14 year competition license holder, I can say for sure, no motorcyclist is going to "ride it out" after being clobbered by removable roof …

Gearhead Jim

There is another way to make a reminder for the front latches:

Get a small soft rubber ball or piece of foam rubber, black.
Put a string through it and attach to the front latch handle.
When the handle is latched, you can stuff the ball between the handle and the targa frame, black color will be unnoticeable.
When unlatched, it won't stay in there and dangles in front of your face.

I made one for our C6 but got sidetracked on other projects before perfecting it.

0Flying Roofs

Sorry to hear about your misfortune and membership to the Flying Roof Club (FRC). I am especially glad that no one was injured.

Gearhead Jim has a great point however, if you don't feel like making one yourself, please check out www.flyingroofs.com.