Cloth Vs. Vinyl Replacement Top
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Joined: Sep 2004
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From: Deland, Florida
Cloth Vs. Vinyl Replacement Top My wife has a 2002 Mustang GT Vert and the car is in need of a new top. The shop we have decided to go with gave us the option of going with a replacement Vinyl top or a cloth top. With the vinyl top we had a problem with mold <the top was white so it was easy to spot>. The shop said that the cloth was less prone to molding. I personally don't know anything about tops. How does a cloth top stack up to a vinyl one? What are the pros and cons of each? Can you guys give me some insight?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,447
Likes: 6
From: Grand Junction, CO / Tomball, TX
Do the cloth and make sure to keep it clean. The problems you will see over years of wear is fading and stretching, if you take care of it a cloth can last several years with no problems.
Vinyl is the suck, '70s style. If you -had- to have
white though, probably have to go vinyl. White
cloth even if available will be a dirt display. I have
had a couple of white vinyl top convertibles and
they seem not to age that well, and in Florida the
white top stays cooler (good for you, bad for mildew
growth as the dew will take longer to evaporate
every single swampy morning). Black fabric will cook
its little microbe ***.
white though, probably have to go vinyl. White
cloth even if available will be a dirt display. I have
had a couple of white vinyl top convertibles and
they seem not to age that well, and in Florida the
white top stays cooler (good for you, bad for mildew
growth as the dew will take longer to evaporate
every single swampy morning). Black fabric will cook
its little microbe ***.
Go with cloth but make sure it's from Haartz. If this is an aftermarket shop you could get a cheap China fabric and would then be screwed. Haartz is the cloth manufacturer for virtually every convertible made. The newer products they make have excellent UV protection properties.
Haartz Manufacturing
Camaro, Vette, Firebird, Viper and more all use Stayfast® material.
When I replace my TA top I'm going to have them make it out of Twillfast® MC which is a material they designed for the 2001 Z06. It is 6 layers instead of 3. It was to help with noise in the vette and has the best anti-balloning qualities. It was expensive and eventually dropped by GM use.
Haartz Manufacturing
Camaro, Vette, Firebird, Viper and more all use Stayfast® material.
When I replace my TA top I'm going to have them make it out of Twillfast® MC which is a material they designed for the 2001 Z06. It is 6 layers instead of 3. It was to help with noise in the vette and has the best anti-balloning qualities. It was expensive and eventually dropped by GM use.
On The Tree
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 199
Likes: 0
From: La.
My green Mustang convertible GT had the vinyl white top.It was a 1994 5.0 5-speed, bought in 1997 until 2005 when I traded for the 02 Z/28 convert. Of course I kept it in the garage but have been caught several times in a monsoon. A couple of times I would wash the top with comet cleanser and it would make that top look brand new. People at the local show & shine used to ask me if I just put a new top on the car. You just have to be sure to rinse the car several times thoroughly to not leave any residue on the car body. Although only the Cobra has the fabric top in the ford line. All the Camaro's & Vette's use them. I've noticed mine although not faded is loose & sags at times which I'm concerned might bubble up at speed & I hate that in a convertible. This was not a problem in my Stang.I tend to believe that the vinyl top is more durable than the cloth top but not nearly as classy.
