Vader953

Going down an Interstate in Columbia, SC yesterday, My damn driver's side glass T-Top blew right off my f*%$#ng 78 Silver Anniversary, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY. It shot up about 20 feet in the air, and exploded into a million pieces on the asphalt. I just kept on going. It was useless to stop.

The worst thing is that it was one of the few rare original T-tops, and was a factory option. They are sooo expensive on EBAY, does anyone have one they want to sell inexpensively to a fellow forum member :rolleyes: :p:

Thanks, and make sure those tops are on and sealed well!!!!!!

I'm devastated!

Chris@VetteFinders

Damn man. I had a cracked one myself. $1300 to replace the set with originals

QuickVet

:eek: Just thank God no one was hit by it :smash:

jlsru

:iagree:

Vader953

I know. There wasn't anyone directly behind me, but I could see them having to maneuver around it in the distance. It would have been suicide to attempt to get it in the middle of the interstate on top of a hill!

Bob Jenkins

Wow, that is terrible ! :eek:

Bobchad

File an insurance claim under either your comprehensive (most likely) or possibly collision coverage.

71roadster

Look in the back of one of the magazines. They can be had for less than $500 a pair. People just get on ebay and think that is the going rate so they pay it :crazy:

Chris

BB wowbagger

That happend to a friend of mine aswell..It just blew off.. :eek: :eek:

Chris@VetteFinders

Only if you are willing to buy NON-ORIGINAL

theandies

That happened to a friend of mine that had a 69 Camaro with a fiberglass cowl induction hood. He forgot to clip the hood pins and it blew off at about 60 MPH and shattered into a million pieces. Luckly it was about 2 in the morning and nobody was on the road. Besides losing a good hood, it was pretty cool.
John

Brettmc

Bum-mer!

Robert N

Ouch! THis has to be my biggest fear.

Sorry to hear.

Steve Straus

Did you just forget to latch it? I can see how this happens on a C5, but these go on sideways? Did you get a gust of wind from the side?

Sorry to hear about that, I hope you find a new one.

Wrecked82

My driver side T-top got hit by something large off a truck. Shattered into a million pieces but stayed on and in place - because of the dot matrix liner I had. State Farm replaced both sides as I told them that they only come in matched sets :rolleyes: . Local agent wrote check for me as I said I could not wait for a replacement check sometime in the future.

BTW, when taking off the dot matrix to move it to the new top, the shattered top just fell apart. Looks like there is some side benefit to the liner :p: .

burners

What a bummer and a costly repair. I guess I don't even understand how that can happen unless the latch fails.

Vader953

The latch was up and didn't fail. The wind hitting the front at 80 mph was enought to literallly lift the top from the car. There was a small gap between the windshield beam and the top, and my only clue is that the wind got in that gap and lifted the top.

Just so you know it was latched, the poker that protrudes bent the chrome hole plate as it was ripped out (but only slightly).

So be careful guys. Man, thanks for the sorrows, but I'm still depressed!

L48Shark

I think '78 is when they switched to a front latch only, unlike previous models that had a latch in the front and back. Someone correct me if that is not right. I know '79 had the single latch, but I am not sure about '78.

74FLCONV

When taking my very first Corvette for a test ride with the seller ('68 convertible w/hardtop), the yahoo failed to latch the top down correctly. I was driving and he suggested I "punch-it". It was the middle of winter at the Jersey Shore...no cars around for miles.

To make a long story, short, at about 70mph, the hard-top lifted off like Dorothy's cabin in a tornado, started spinning and landed upside down, chasing the car down the street. If this sucker hit someone, it would have cut them in two.

I did buy the car, but at a discount for the "pre-sanded" hard-top.

Happy New Year,

D. Ocean
Miami, FLA

PROSOUTH

Even the original single latch Firberglass Tops are quite expensive these days. Apparently they grew in demand as other folks lost there glass tops. The Glass tops were quite popular on new car purchases and only a limited number of fiberglass tops are out there. Seems supply and demand rules.

It is a different story on the old double latch style they are almost a give away with little demand. It is only necessary to change the rear latch catch to return to the older style. You may find this useful as an interim fix.