Rear spoiler - Vinyl top

Hi everyone
I was wondering where you guys get the rear spoilers and if their expencive?
I was also wondering how hard vinyl tops are and if they are exspensive to? Thank!

side note, I pulled my straight six today with no problems, this wed. my 302 should be put together and hopfully ill have my engine mounts also! To excited! wont be drivin my Kia Sophia much longer! lol

 

are you talking about a Grabber Spoiler???

 

A vinyl top has the potential to rot your roof.
Just a heads up.
Some folks get lucky, but the tendency is to rust under the vinyl.
When I pulled up my vinyl, it took the roof with it in big rust flakes.

 

Why don't ya paint the roof? Check out mean_maverick's Mav. It looks great!

 

Vinyl tops are not expensive if you put them on yourself or have a friend that knows what they are doing. If you just go down to your local upholstry shop, it will be expensive. I got a quote for $1000 to replace the one on my 4 door. I ended up buying the top myself for less than $120 and had a friend do it. If your car does not have a vinyl roof already, you will have to find all the trim from a factory vinyl roof car. The rain gutter trim is different than the non vinyl roof cars. PLus you will need the border trim.

As far as spoilers, I have seen them go anywhere between $75 to $300. You just have to be at the right place, at the right time to get the best deal. Maverick Man did reproduce them in carbon fiber and fiberglass. Contact him to see if they are still available and price.

 

Thanks.

my car actually came factory with a painted roof instead of a vinyl one, but painting it would be a better alternative to vinyl IMO. it looks great and you'll never have to worry about your roof rotting away

 

Mine had vinyl from the factory. When I had the car painted. I painted the roof....

 

Yeah, if my roof hadn't rotted out beyond repair, I'd have put the trim back and painted the top where the vinyl would have been. I have seen that done and it looks great when you have the trim.

My 'new' roof doesn't have provisions for the trim, so I probably won't go that route.

 

Im curious if priming the roof with an epoxy primer would cure the problem with vinyl tops rusting under them.

 

the problem with vinyl tops is that it constantly holds water on the roof, you could prime it but eventually water will get to it if you dont take care of the vinyl extremely well or if u keep ur car indoors

 

The biggest problem with factory vinyl roofs is the factory does not paint them before applying the vinyl. The second problem with vinyl tops is nobody takes care of them properly or replace them until they are too far gone. By that time water has migrated through them and rusted the ill prepared surface. If you paint your roof prior to, and and keep a good sealant on the vinyl, you should have no problems. I recommend Auto Glym.

http://www.properautocare.com/autvinrubcar.html

 

Is it hard to find the trim?

 

if you need the early 70-72 trim, it can be difficult to locate in good condition

 

I don't know for sure, but I think it would be harder to mount the trim on a non-vinyl equipped car, vs finding the trim itself. Heck I have some that I am probably not going to use, but if I knew how to properly mount it without having the pins in the roof beforehand, I probably would use it. I have the Halo top, one of 3 or 4 types that were available over the years. The Halo is by far the 'sportiest' version. The others look more 'formal'.

I would agree that keeping a vinyl car inside would do the most for preservation, along with a good paint underneath. Mine was never garage kept. However, the roof HAD to have been rotting before the vinyl ever looked bad. I had no idea it was rotting. When the vinyl started bubbling a little is when I pulled it up, and the roof was shot by that time. So it is a problem that sneaks up on you without warning, until it is literally too late. I figured if the vinyl looked good, the roof under was good. Ignorance is bliss!

I love the look of a Halo top, so if I find out how to remount the trim, I will do so, but the top will be paint, not vinyl.

 

This is what the roof looked like under vinyl that only showed itty bitty bubbling...