zrater

how did alot of people loss there t-tops out of there cars.

2001NBMZ28

Never lost one, but always lock them while in place, in case someone riding with me thinks it's a handle or something. You can also take the 2 screws and trim cover off at the rear and make sure the pins fully engage the bracket when closed - on my driver's side it was barely catching before I adjusted it. I also yank on them after locking just to be sure.

Mike02Z

iTrader: (13)

I have not lost mine as I rarely take them out but about 5 years ago a buddy of mine stopped by and wanted to go out for a ride. It was winter but a pretty sunny day and when he pulled up he had the tops from his 97 TA out.

I told him it was like 30 degrees and I wasen't going with him unless he put the damn tops back in. He forgot to latch them and then decided to wind out his car getting on the highway near my house. At about 70 miles an hour we heard a noise. We then saw the T-tops floating right above the car and then they went flying back right into the middle of the highway. Thank God no one was behind us or they might have been killed. Funny part was I had to drive around with him all day looking for a junkyard that might have t-tops to fit his car. We found some after about 4 hours of looking. Man was that a COLD day. I think a lot of T-tops get lost due to folks forgetting to latch them.

My brother buys trashed f-body's at salvage auctions and parts them out all the time and even the most crunched F-bodies seem to have good T-tops so there are a lot of t-tops in circulation. You would be amazed at how many destroyed f-bodies are out there. I guess that much power in the wrong hands is to blame but he sometimes gets 3 or 4 a week. It's great for me though as I get parts pretty cheap.

Pewterpower

I've heard lots of stories about flying T tops. Even tho they're latched and locked, it still can happen. Ebay is a good place to get them as well. They're $$$ from the dealer.

2002_Z28_Six_Speed

iTrader: (19)

I have heard the stories but never actually known a person to loose them. I don't think they would magically fly off, these people have to leave them unlocked.

99camarosupersport

iTrader: (6)

thingthatgoes

iTrader: (2)

I have only heard of that with sick (800+) horsepower twisting the body on a launch. That is all.

SmokeySS

iTrader: (7)

After you latch them into place, what does locking them do? I always lock them, but I don't see what that does to make them more secure.

2002_Z28_Six_Speed

iTrader: (19)

Friends yank on mine all the time because they think they are oh-**** handles. [also mentioned earlier in this post] If you have a younger kid there is also the possibility they could unlatch it on you while they are goofing off or something.

H8 LUZN

I too have been in an F-body and had the T-top fly off... My buddies 98 Z. Dont remember if it was latched or not but it flew off and into a ditch. Luckily no damage other than mud all over

Formula96

I have seen two fly off. one was my brothers 01 Firehawk. We were leaving a hooters show in fort worth and an ss came up behind us real fast. so my brother punched it, got up to about 130 and passed a truck. the drivers side top just ripped out. It was latched. the only thing that i can think of is it was really windy that day and when we passed the truck the wind went over the car, in the window and just pulled it out.
good thing the ss was far enough back that he could dodge the floating t-top. But we pulled over to look at the car and we could see where the pin had accually scratched the plastic on the car as it pulled out.

Charging TA

I think Im going to adjust my T-Tops now.

trackbird

iTrader: (4)

I lost one at 80 mph a few years ago. Unfortunately, I'd just passed an S10 blazer (the only car within 400 yards of me) when it flew out. It did actually land on her hood ($1700+ in damage to the S10) and was completely destroyed on impact.

It was a nice day, I'm sure I started to take them out and then changed my mind, so, I'm guessing I unlatched the first one and then got in the car and left. It was almost 1/4 mile behind me when it finally landed.....

WannaZ28

had then fly off around 80, they flew FORWARD. If you look at the profile of one, its like a ******* wing.

That explains why at 2 am i couldnt find it with the help of fire dept. the next day i figure it might have actually gotten lift, and found it around 1/4 mile away

goddam gm, the only car company where my window regulator breaks before i break in my engine

pontiac

iTrader: (4)

I drove home from auburn to huntsville 3 hour drive and had one unlatched and did not lose it, but i got lucky!!!!!!

RevGTO

iTrader: (12)

This is what happened to me at about 65 mph and it was definitely latched. Rolled up my window while cruising and the top just flew off ...

z28ss4me

iTrader: (2)

Ok, I have to admit this story has been a fear of mine, but I thought I would share this. First my t-tops are latched completely and I've inspected the rods to make sure they seat well inside the holes. With the windows up, I routinely drive 130 - 140 mph for over 30 minute stretches on the Authobahn here in Germany. All said and done I probably have over 200 hours of 100+ mph driving and never a t-top issue. Just my two cents.

Charging TA

Off topic, but man Im waiting to someday take my TA on the Autobahn (live in Finland) and go touring the rest of Europe in it, just afraid if something were to go wrong... Parts are no where to be found.

illy5603

I have lost 3 total. In all cases it was a sunny day, put the passenger side t-top on and was distratced by something, never latched it. 2 times I recovered them, the other time it shattered.

2001NBMZ28

If you ever lose one for whatever reason, always go back and retrieve it so you can transfer the lock cyl to the new one so the keys still match.