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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Mustang / July 2006Opinions on T-Top mustangs?
I've always had a thing for the 87-93 fox body mustangs and I've always wanted one with T-tops. I've owned a 4cyl 89 hatchback, a 93 5.0 hatchback suped all up, and more recently I owned a 88 5.0 lx convertible. I thought the convertible would be a good substitute for the t-tops but I have been sadly dissapointed with the whole convertible top when its up. Seems like it was put together with a bunch of coat hangars. So I'm about to go look at a mustang with t-tops. Can anyone tell me any pointers to look for when checking out the t-top situation? I assume that if the rubber seals on the t-tops are old I can purchase a kit pretty cheap to replace them? The car will be garaged of course. Thanks, --C I bought a new '87 LX 5.0L that I factory ordered with T-tops. They are great when the tops are out and suck when they are in. I traded it in for an '89 LX 5.0L with a sunroof. The factory sunroof gives you as much open area as T-tops without the leaking, wind whistling and weaker chassis. If it is your thing, then go for it but expect to replace all the rubber if you find an original car. There was a good reason Ford discontinued the T-top option. I bet I had my '87 in the shop to have leaks fixed 8-10 times over a two year period and it still leaked the day I sold it. Also, check out the price of a complete rubber seal kit for them. I bet they aren't cheap. > I've always had a thing for the 87-93 fox body mustangs and I've always > wanted one with T-tops. I've owned a 4cyl 89 hatchback, a 93 5.0 hatchback [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Thanks, > --C Thanks for that info, it was exactly what I was looking for. I looked up those kits on some different sites and it looks like you can get some generic ones that probably dont fit for $20 or a real kit made for the 5.0 t-tops for $200-300. I won't be driving hte mustang out in the rain, its will be more of my once a week baby that i drive to work, but there is always a chance of getting stuck in the rain. However, some terrible whistling would be crummy. I'll make sure to take it up to 75mph to see what kind of noise I get. Worse noise than a 88 convertible would be terrible, but less noise wouldnt be too bad. >I bought a new '87 LX 5.0L that I factory ordered with T-tops. They are >great when the tops are out and suck when they are in. I traded it in for [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > and it still leaked the day I sold it. Also, check out the price of a > complete rubber seal kit for them. I bet they aren't cheap. Cruising around with the tops out the car was fine and enjoyable. I would get whistle noise from 50-60 mph and up. I think that bugged me more than the leaks. It only leaked when it rained but the damn whistling was always there. > Thanks for that info, it was exactly what I was looking for. I looked up > those kits on some different sites and it looks like you can get some [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >> and it still leaked the day I sold it. Also, check out the price of a >> complete rubber seal kit for them. I bet they aren't cheap. Went and check the car out. Interior could use some love and the paint needs to be redone but other than that it was pretty sweet. It was pouring rain and the car was parked outside. The inside was bone dry until I opened the door, then a little water poured in. Got it up to 70mph and didnt hear a sound. The seller wants $3k and I think I might just buy it. > Cruising around with the tops out the car was fine and enjoyable. I would > get whistle noise from 50-60 mph and up. I think that bugged me more than > the leaks. It only leaked when it rained but the damn whistling was > always there. Sounds like a good deal to me. > Went and check the car out. Interior could use some love and the paint > needs to be redone but other than that it was pretty sweet. It was pouring [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >> the leaks. It only leaked when it rained but the damn whistling was >> always there. > I bought a new '87 LX 5.0L that I factory ordered with T-tops. They are > great when the tops are out and suck when they are in. I traded it in [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] >> Thanks, >> --C I don't know if the Mustangs did this, but a friend had a top Firebird. In cold weather moisture condensed on the inside of the tops then dripped on the seats. It was parked inside an unheated garage, so we knew it wasn't a leak. One particularly cold morning I noticed a sheet of ice on the inside of the glass... >> I bought a new '87 LX 5.0L that I factory ordered with T-tops. They >> are great when the tops are out and suck when they are in. I traded [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > knew it wasn't a leak. One particularly cold morning I noticed a sheet > of ice on the inside of the glass... I never had that problem. They just leaked around the seals. Especially and the top of the door glass. > I don't know if the Mustangs did this, but a friend had a top Firebird. > In cold weather moisture condensed on the inside of the tops then > dripped on the seats. It was parked inside an unheated garage, so we > knew it wasn't a leak. One particularly cold morning I noticed a sheet > of ice on the inside of the glass... I had an 87 Firebird TransAm that acted pretty similar. I never saw ice form, my garage was semi-heated mostly because it was well insulated and had a small hot water baseboard in it. However it did condensate at times and I could never figure out why. That however was a minor problem compared to the other problems. 1. Noise when installed. Even when brand new, creaks, little rattles that got worse over time and so forth. 2. What do you do with them when you take them off? Trunk! Duhhh, trunk was almost non existent to begin with, but they did fit. 3. Leaks and worn rubber seals as they get older. Rubber seals are VERY expensive to replace. 4. People like to steal them! (At least back then) My advice? Get a sunroof!!! Better yet get the vert!!!! (Not that the vert doesn't have it's issues as well but they are less problematic IMHO. Seriously, they are a ton of fun to drive with when they are off but they are a PITA to take off/put on and when they are in place, you ain't gonna like the problems they cause. Maybe I shouldn't comment since my only experience was with a '76 Grand Prix with Hurst T-Tops. They leaked, squeaked, rattled, whistled, creaked and cracked. The dealer went thru 3 different recalls to replace weatherstripping and the panels themselves were replaced once. And the damn thing took-up the whole trunk when you had them out. Looked nice tho !!! |
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