Nice writeup. Glad to know when mine starts going south I can fix it on my own.

 

thanks ponchov8, i'm just one to do things right , not cover up if i can help it . like i said in the very begining , it's not that hard .i'm not a body man , i repair appliance's for a living . i love cars and love to work on cars . and if i can help any other car guy or gal pm me or post it up here , i'll be happy to.oh i see you had a 81 t/a ,my first car was a 78 6.6 t/a. wish i still had it too.

 

It's been awhile since I been in the paint and body section and just found this post.

Just want to tell you , Thanks Alot Tim for posting up the pics and how-to !

I might try this shortly. If I get stuck can I drive up from Aiken,SC with 1/2 the sail panel ripped off for some help ?

Thanks again

Tom

 

good write-up!! I will need to do this once I repaint my car.. It's starting to bubble pretty bad

 

your welcome Tom , paint it and bring it up to Gville and i'll be glad to help...

 

Nice

 

Mine's a hardtop (and it looks like hell at 8 years and 125K miles of living outside in the sun all day in the parking lot at work)...but you made me a LOT LESS afraid to try this. New hardtop panel from GM is $453.92...not too bad I guess.

 

I am supprised that it's a urethane caulk rather than an epoxy glue under there. Most likeley the culprit is release agents from the modling process that got trapped under the paint. You can fix it how it is outlined by the OP, or I'd imagine you could strip it and repaint it. Either way great job!

 

When replacing the top on a hard top does the windshield need to come out? And is the new panels fiberglass or something else?

 

we tried sanding ,but you could see the oily stuff just ooze out . so no way strip and paint will work

 

not sure about the windshield , but i'd be happy to help anyone close by that would need help with a hard top

 

What oily stuff oozed out? I was hoping to sand mine down a bit and repaint.

Mike454, is there a link to where you saw the panel for sale or did you go to the dealership?

 

Did i miss the part on how the middle T-Top catch is removed, and re-installed?

Thanx for this write up,,im a victim of about 5 zits on my sail panel,,,

 

the oily substance that causes the paint to bubble , sand it and you'll see.. trust me , i tried that first .

 

it has 6 or 8 screws and some double sided tape holding it down , reinstall before you install the panal, that way you don't get the panal to close top the t-tops

 

I've got a hardtop and 2 spots on my sailpanel that ooze.. Been seriously considering getting a new panel and getting it painted black and installed. Does anybody here have experience installing a new hardtop?

 

What is the part number for the panel?

 

I am replacing my passenger side quarter panel on my 02. I have to remove that panel to get to some of the seams and spot welds. Is there anyway to get it off without destroying it?

 

if you can get something mega-sharp and work your way around the panal and cut the caulk ..maybe , all i can say would be take your time and good luck

 

I had a hardtop and i now have t-tops thanks to the conversion. Id very much like to have a t-top sail panel now so i can get a real nice defined line for the cut we made for the roof. Is it possible to do this since i converted? How much does it cost? Id gladly drive up to SC for someone to do it for me

Also how much does the sail panel cost?