Slicktop Conversion in Progress :)

[Lincolnmania]

lookin' good Tiggie!
well...almost.

I thought about goin' Slicktop on MAGNA, but...I'm not crazy about slicktop MGMs for some reason.
plus, since I have the "privacy" style top(it takes up part of the rear window) I would have to get my rear tints redone...
meh, I'll just get it replaced...less paint to clean/wax.

but if I had a Vic...I'd slicktop that biatch!

if you have the coach roof option, leave the top.......someone a few yrs back made a slicktop out of one, after he removed the roof, he had to remove the fiberglass structure around the back window, if i remember correctly the glass is smaller and attached to the fiberglass structure, and after you remove that then you need to locate and install a rear window and the trim, not to mention welding the coach roof light holes shut and filling the 1/4 seams

[DuceAnAHalf]

Top is going brown like the rest of the car for now. All I'm going to paint is the top. The rest of the car could use painting, but I'm trying this out to see if I like it all brown. The cut line is going to be the c-pillar trim for the vinyl top, I'm hoping to strip it and polish it. When I paint the whole car, the C-pillar trim will come off.

I got a quote for the headliner yesterday. He said $50 if I bring the board to him. The sunvisors need done along with the side panels in the back. I figure he'll do it all for about $100.

I want to start sanding, but I need some primer so I'll have something to spray down after I sand it. But payday is late for several reasons so I can't get anything yet!

thats a good price, i charge $40-$45 to do a mustang headliner, a vics uses more more material. and visors are a pain in the ass

[Tiggie]

Yay got paid today! So that must mean I need to go get some paint and stuff I reckon. Driving the Ranger non-stop is getting boring. My plan is to do the brown topcoats next Saturday, so that gives me a week and a couple days to get her prep'ed. Shouldn't be a problem (fingers crossed).

[Nathan in MI]

Lookin' good, mang! But I wanna know what the car next to it in the garage is!

[Mr. Land Yacht]

if you have the coach roof option, leave the top.......someone a few yrs back made a slicktop out of one, after he removed the roof, he had to remove the fiberglass structure around the back window, if i remember correctly the glass is smaller and attached to the fiberglass structure, and after you remove that then you need to locate and install a rear window and the trim, not to mention welding the coach roof light holes shut and filling the 1/4 seams

ah kool...yea, I'll just have it replaced then...
sounds like a PITA to go slicktop in my case.
if it didn't have the "coach" style top, I MIGHT consider going slicktop...but I'm not too big on it for some reason on MGMs or TCs.
that's why I planned to just replace it anyway...would be much easier.
costly, tho...$450.
but it's cracking EVERYWHERE..if it was only a few cracks, I'd leave it, but it needs to be redone....maybe I'll post a good pic of it soon.

[Grand Marquis GT]

Just got slicktop anyways! You got a potential performance car, not a grandpa car!

[Mr. Land Yacht]

meh...not worth it to me...I like the look of the vinyl on the MGMs and TCs
call me an old fashioned Grandpa I guess.
but at least all my woodtrim is gone, stock steering wheel is tossed, the front looks much meaner, the wheels are shiny chrome with white lettered tires...so yea, its got some attitude. :banana:

[Tiggie]

So I've been busy even if it doesn't show in this thread. So far the top is sanded. I found rust under the paint exactly where I thought it might be - in the center where the original paint was cracked.


The top in the process of getting sanded. If there is any rust, it will need to come down to bare metal in those spots. Also, any places you plan to bondo need to be down to bare metal if at all possible.



More sanding. The center had to come down to bare metal after this picture because of rust hiding beneath the paint.



The intermediate coat of bondo on the C-Pillar seams.



The top being sanded. Note the B-Pillar still has no bondo.



THE PAINT!



Updates not shown in the pictures:
The holes for the crown on the top were filled and that area is ready for paint. I probably have about seven hours just on that.

The C-Pillar seams are pretty much ready for paint as well.

The B-Pillars need some final touch up bondo work to make them pretty.

The headliner and sunvisors are at the shop getting recovered, all for $80.

I'm sick as a dog with some kind of flu crap. So I probably won't do much with the car today even though I have the day off. I might get the bondo work finished, depending on how I feel after lunch. Maybe primer Saturday, or most likely Monday. Wet sanding throughout the week, and maybe top coat next Saturday (June 23).

[87_crown_vic]

i was planning on removing the vinyl on my car too. it is developing rust bad enough that it is bubbling and bleeding thru the vinyl plus its cracked bad. i plan on keeping the crown molding on the car and where the vinyl is being removed to paint it black. i wanna get the vinyl removed so that the rust doesnt get to a point where it gets holes and leaks. how do you get the trim off of the car above the rear quarters? i noticed the chrome around the doors is held in place by screws. here are a couple pics of my vinyl.

[87_crown_vic]

its not letting me load up any pictures...what the hell??? i have never had a problem before.

[Tiggie]

87_crown_vic, the C-Pillar trim comes off by removing the rear seat, the package tray, the inside rear window trim, the package tray trim on the sides, the inside upper rear window moulding, and the headliner side panels. A nut holds it on the front, two plastic retainers (pull to remove), and a clip on the back side you need to slide the moulding out of. A lot of work.

So yeah it's done! And looks freggin' awesome. Better than I expected actually. The C-Pillar moulding doesn't look too out of place. The seams turned out great and the top came out pretty good. I put some extra thinner into the final coat to dull it down slightly to match the rest of the car better. I did most of the priming, but my dad sprayed the final brown coats.

Speaking of the top, it took a ton of sanding. I thought it was okay and then I primed it. Yuck eek! It was bad. So I sanded it down and the bondo eventually developed a pattern along the edges like a snake. You can see the beginnings of it in the picture before I primed it in the center of the roof.






This needed a lot more sanding. About two more hours worth to be exact.






And it's magically done:














In closing, let me say dial up sucks. I have 6MP versions of all these I'll probably add later.

If anyone has any questions about the process, PM me or post.
Slicktop > Cracked Vinyl

[zwack88]

You did a great job. You welding up the holes from the trim right?

[88Vic]

Hot damn, that's an amazing looking car. Slicktop is definetly better looking to me then half vinyl roof, but I still think the full coach roof option looks great.

[87_crown_vic]

that looks damn good. im not going that route. i am doing almost all the same work though. i am leaving the crown on it and doing a faux vinyl top i guess you can say. i am making it look like a black top area where the vinyl was at. you are more than welcome to work on mine since yours looks so damn good

[FatNasty]

Excellent job mang! It looks perfect.