1992 Camaro- Road Racing on a budget

[JoeliusZ28]

I doubt having a hardtop will be more desirable in the future. T-tops have two benefits and multiple negatives. They are nice for ventilation and head room , but they are more likely to leak, they weigh more, and they take away from the rigidity of the chassis.

I think they are fantastic compromise between a hardtop and a convertible. Convertibles have all the problems t-tops do, just worse. And frankly, there is no such thing as a "rigid" f-chasis until there is a cage installed anyway. Also, they only weigh more if you keep them in the car!

[nascarnate326]

Dont want to turn this into a TTop thread but wernt the 3rd and 4th gen cars design for Ttops? I thought the structural benefit was barely measurable.

[hoogiesngrinderz]

T-top cars had more reinforcement compared to a hardtop, at least in 3rd gen. Convertibles were made with only t-top cars then even more reinforcement was added.

4th gen?

[bri2203]

I think they are fantastic compromise between a hardtop and a convertible. Convertibles have all the problems t-tops do, just worse. And frankly, there is no such thing as a "rigid" f-chasis until there is a cage installed anyway. Also, they only weigh more if you keep them in the car!

Good Point Joel!
Don't get me wrong I think t-tops are nice to have. My Corvette has t-tops and they are off 80% of the time I drive it.(that generation car was supposed to have a true targa top but it was canned because the body flexed too much) However it gets most of it air flow from the fresh air vents at the kick panels(from the cowl) and having a removable rear window.

I am not sure if I mentioned it here or not but I almost bought a 8/10 point cage but if I ever wanted to be competitive the cage needs to be DOM which is twice the cost of EWS.

[bri2203]

T-top cars had more reinforcement compared to a hardtop, at least in 3rd gen. Convertibles were made with only t-top cars then even more reinforcement was added.

4th gen?

Do you have any more information on this?
I read on another forum that T-tops cars were the same at hardtop they just had a skin and side rails. Which is false as the t-bar is different t-top vs hardtop.
But I might be learning more about this in the months to come if I follow through with this idea.

I do not have any proof but I would wager a small amount that the 4th gen cars had less flex than 3rd gens.

[Gregs_gsxr]

If you have an extra part of the a pillar, let me know, need a patch on another car i have sitting around

[hoogiesngrinderz]

Do you have any more information on this?
I read on another forum that T-tops cars were the same at hardtop they just had a skin and side rails. Which is false as the t-bar is different t-top vs hardtop.
But I might be learning more about this in the months to come if I follow through with this idea.

I do not have any proof but I would wager a small amount that the 4th gen cars had less flex than 3rd gens.

Many sites state structural additions, I have yet to find one to prove it though. I can only prove that converts got a bunch of added bracing It would be nice to get a definitive answer. ASC only converted t top cars in to verts...I wonder their reason behind that?

[Gregs_gsxr]

They should see the addition bracing when they cut each roof off, in the t-top car the a pillar should show addition strength. It was easier for ASC to make a t-top car in a vert cause the front of the roof line was already somewhat made for removable roof.

[bri2203]

Like Greg said the A-pillars on a T-top car would be finished and only the header bar would have to be modified where the t-bar attaches. I will compared the roofs this weekend.

I found 7 cans of magic potion- This should take a second or two off my laps
003.JPG

[bri2203]

Well one step forward five steps back!
It looks like this car will receive more body work than I was planing on doing.
It is officially a door lock delete model. I ground out the recessed door skin, plug welded the hole and applied some duraglass.
004.JPG

When I started to fill in the lock hole on the driver side I found a lot of poorly applied body filler along with some poor metal work. Upon further investigation the door and 1/4 panel were involved in an accident early on in it life. The 1/4 panel has holes drilled in it where the body man pulled the 1/4 out(and didn't weld the holes )
When I bought the car I knew it was repainted, after sanding, I see it has been painted at least 3 times.
013.JPG

I also figured out why the exterior mirror wobbled so much. Looks like part of the door frame cracked. After taking this picture I welded it back together and door skin stays in place.
006.JPG

[bigjon88]

Loving it when can I come play

[bri2203]

Maybe tomorrow! Depending on how much wiring I am able to delete.

[bigjon88]

What wiring u removing?

[bri2203]

I will be removing the wiring for every electrical function that is not being used. This is big project but things will look cleaner, more simple and the car will be a few lbs less. I don't plan to be done tomorrow but I hope to remove the wiring for the power hatch motor, rear speakers, and defrost. Other wiring that will be removed include AIR pump, AC, power windows, radio, and maybe wipers.

[bigjon88]

I will be removing the wiring for every electrical function that is not being used. This is big project but things will look cleaner, more simple and the car will be a few lbs less. I don't plan to be done tomorrow but I hope to remove the wiring for the power hatch motor, rear speakers, and defrost. Other wiring that will be removed include AIR pump, AC, power windows, radio, and maybe wipers.

If you can re move the power window harness as one piece it's worth 30-50 dollars