Fall is in the air here at Ethyl’s headquarters. Soon Cars & Coffees and regional car shows will be paused for the season. Classic cars will be seeing less time on the road and more time in the garage.
If your car is a convertible—vintage, classic, or modern—now is a good time to give your convertible top a good once over.
Hagerty’s Kyle Smith has 7 Convertible Top Care Tips for keeping your convertible top in great condition:
- Before using any product on your top, make sure you know what it’s made of. Vinyl? Fabric? Something else? Different materials require different products. Be sure to choose the right product for your top.
- Store your convertible out of the sun. Those UV rays can do a lot of damage. Rain and snow all winter long are not so great, either.
- Avoid spot cleaning. This can result in a blotchy appearance. You’ve identified your top’s material and selected the right cleaning product. If you need to clean the top, clean the whole top for an even appearance. The commercial car wash is probably not the best option for your convertible.
- Check all the pivots, latch assemblies, and cables for lubrication. Avoid using too much lube that could stain your top. Smith suggests checking the service manual for info on applying lube. I checked some of our manuals and did not see this info. But they do show all the parts of the frame assembly, including pivots and latches. Alex says a little squirt of WD-40® should be fine. Just be very careful to not get any on the soft cover parts.
- Maintain the seals and weatherstripping. Smith recommends using a silicone spray or wipe-on product on the weatherstripping.
- Use extra caution with the back window. These are often made out of plastic that can be easily scratched or damaged by harsh cleaners.
- Keep the top up when your vehicle is stored to avoid creases developing in the cover or window.
We have factory service manuals for many convertibles. If your convertible top needs more extensive adjustment or restoration, our original factory manuals will be a big help.
For GM makes (Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, GMC) info about convertible tops shows up in different places depending on the year. For vehicles pre-1970 info on convertible tops is in different manuals, depending on the model. For GM vehicles post 1988, info on convertible tops is in the service manual for your specific model. Fisher body manuals cover removal, replacement, and maintenance of convertible tops for General Motors makes from about 1970 through 1988.
For example, the 1973 Fisher Body Service Manual covers the 1973 Chevrolet Camaro, Caprice, & Malibu. Other service for these cars and the 1973 Corvette is covered in the 1973 Chevrolet Car Chassis Service Manual.
A few of the other GM convertible manuals we stock include:
- 1991 Buick Riviera & Reatta Service Manual
- 1996 Chevrolet Camaro & Pontiac Firebird & Trans Am Shop Service Manual Set
- 1994 Chevrolet Corsica & Beretta Service Manual
For Ford convertibles between 1966 and 1989, info on convertible tops is in the body volume of the manual set for your vehicle. For Ford vehicles post 1989, convertible tops are covered in the manual for your vehicle.
Ford convertible manuals in our web store include:
For Chrysler/Mopar (Chrysler, Dodge Plymouth, Jeep) convertibles, info on convertible tops is included in the service manual set for your vehicle. A few of the many manuals we have that cover Chrysler/Mopar convertibles include:
- 2002 Chrysler Sebring Sedan & Convertible & Dodge Stratus Manual Set
- 1970 Imperial and Chrysler Service Manual (Chrysler 300, Newport)
- 1969 Dodge Polara & Monaco Service Manual
Not sure which manual you need for info on your convertible top. Just send us an email and we’ll be happy to look it up for you. Or contact us through this website.
You can also enter your car’s year, make, and model in the search bar to see what manuals we have in stock for your convertible:
Photo credit (Ford Galaxie Convertible 1970): Copyright 2018 by Reinhold Möller; cropped by Melinda McBride w/gimp. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
