C3 T-Top Restoration - T-Time

There are only a couple of Phillips-head screws holding the headliner panel to the T-tops, and several of those Velcro pads GM liked to use. Removing the headliner pad will reveal the mechanical parts of the T-tops.

The weatherstripping is held on with plastic clips and glue, and usually comes off in pieces. Don't worry about breaking the clips; the new pieces will have fresh clips on them.

Using a drill, remove the heads of the rivets holding the side molding in place and take the trim off of the T-tops. Be sure the metal shavings don't fall between the painted side of the top and the quilt, as they could scratch the finish.

T-top latches are easy to remove by simply taking the bolts out, allowing you to inspect them for wear. Ours were in pretty good shape, so we elected to reuse them.

The periphery molding can be gently pried from the underside with a small screwdriver, then tapped with a plastic or rubber mallet. These pieces should come right off with a little persuasion, but be careful not to scratch the upper painted surface of the T-tops.

Now that all the parts are removed, it's a good time to paint the T-tops (if needed). We previously had the exterior of ours painted by JD's Paint and Body Shop, so we were only concerned with the underside.

A quick check of Corvette Central's C3 catalog verified that the company had all the items we needed to complete our T-tops, including the trim, the weatherstripping, and even the fasteners and hardware.

While we waited for our parts to arrive, we cleaned up the underside of the T-tops, masked them off, and painted them black to match the rest of the car's interior.

Latches and guide plates were cleaned up in the parts washer and polished with chrome polish.

The parts from Corvette Central arrived quickly, and we were impressed with their quality.

Everything was professionally packaged and show quality, making us eager to get these pieces on our car.

The new headliner pads use a molded plastic frame, which is far better than the original fiber board. All the Velcro fasteners were pre-attached.