Vinyl Top Installation at Factory
Short answer: The vinyl top was a genuine scheduled factory option — not a way to hide bad welds. But if a top was added after the body shop, it was installed at the dealer; there was no facility to apply vinyl at the factory. The factory did weld special trim-mounting studs to the roof of vinyl-top cars (the same kind of studs that hold the window moldings).
From former GM body-shop workers:
- Studs around the window frames were installed freehand, so uneven spacing or edge distance is a tell.
- On cars without a vinyl top, the roof-to-quarter and windshield-post seams were filled with lead solder and ground smooth — a skilled job. Waviness, grind marks near the drip rail, or lead buildup at the drip-rail end mark a new worker’s work; inspectors had “metal finishers” touch up bad ones.
- Vinyl-top cars got a Bondo-like filler in those seams instead (likely to save cost). So if you permanently remove a vinyl top, plan to redo that seam. (Some original vinyl-top cars do show body solder at the pillars and sail panels, just poorly finished, with the rain gutter not sealed.)
Any proposed updates, changes, pictures, and/or corrections, please use our comment section below (may need to click on permalink to access comments feature). Information is subject to change and offered as is without any warranties or guarantees. Please review our Term's Of Use for more information.
Content last modified: June 13, 2026 at 10:06 am
← Frequently Asked Questions
