After almost three years of owning an F-Body, and losing one set of t-tops to drag-racing, I finally found out that you can actually adjust the brackets that hold them in. I took it upon myself to actually do it today, even though I'm not strapping sticky tires to the car again any time soon. Anyway, on to the write-up...

Time to complete: 10-15 minutes

You will need:
F-Body w/t-tops
10mm gear-wrench, or 1/4 ratchet with small 10mm socket
#2 Phillips head Screwdriver
Flathead screwdriver

Here's what the actual bracket looks like. This is the Passenger Side front.



Starting on the driver's side, I took the two screws holding the top of the A-Pillar cover to the bracket loose. Be careful when you're putting everything back together not to break the little tab that's in the middle of the A-Pillar panel (not pictured).



Now remove the two screws holding the rear t-top trim panel in place. Part of my plastic where the pin goes through was broken when the tops flew out.



You'll also need to remove the clothes hook that's holds the top of the rear seat panel in so that you can drop the headliner just enough to loosen/tighten the bolts.



Now you're ready to adjust. Don't make the mistake that I did at first. Make sure that you account for the thickness of the plastic trim pieces when you push the brackets towards the top. You need to leave about 1/8" for the plastic to fit. Loosen both bolts, then adjust the bracket as needed, so the pin from the tops goes through further.

After you adjust, replace the trim-panels, being careful with the aforementioned clip on the A-pillars. You're done! And now you don't have to worry about your tops going for a flight!

Here's how my tops were adjusted before:







Here's the after pics, A lot better:





This is an adjustment that anyone with t-tops needs to make, especially if you plan on drag-racing the car and running any kind of good times.

Don't trust the factory to make sure that your t-tops aren't gonna fly out, check them for yourself.

Hope this write-up helps someone.

 

nice

 

Sticky!!!

 

WOW! i guess I should check mine. I've ran 10.2's and all seems good so far,but now you make me want to check.

 

Better safe than sorry! (And have to spend at least $200 on replacements)

 

I'm going to have to do this to my passenger side one. It seems quite a bit looser that the driver's side. I had it eject once, but ends up it wasn't locked. It was just sitting there. That happened when I was test driving the car.

 

think this adjustment can hold a tighter seal to keep my dam top from leaking? or is this just an outward thing?

 

Nah, this really just lets there be more pin in the bracket, although there is some slight side-to-side adjustment, but only a little. No real "up-and-down" movement.

You might try lubricating your seals with some silicone based lube, or just do like I do and use a light coat of Vaseline. I do that when my tops leak, and they stop leaking.

 

Awesome write up, I'll be doing mine soon!

I vote sticky!

 

And we have penetration!

 

WOW that's a very good write-up, with great pictures.

Good Job!

 

Great information, thanks for writing this up.

 

Ran across this about a week ago and didnt think much about it until i dumped the trans am at 60 and watched my passenger t top fly off at 90...luckily today on the way home from the gym after being up all night trying to find a replacement thinking my was completely shattered i i found it sitting between an on ramp and the highway right where i lost it. So needless to say i am on my way outside right now to so this adjustment

 

lol....

 

Glad I saw this, I should check mine.

 

Great bit of info here guys, did mine today and the end result nets you no gaps in the trim as well. Looks really clean now and I know they are not going anywhere, thanks!!

 

need to do this!

 

Thanks for the write-up. Made this really quick and painless.

 

Glad to know that, even after I sold the car that this post is about, it's still helping folks...

 

Thanks for the help! Does anyone know a safe way to get the bracket to "bend down" a little bit? My passenger rear of the ttop sits up a tad higher than the drivers side on my 99 WS6. Annoys me. Lol. Thanks again. I'm a new owner for about 2 months now. Love this site!