News:

Due to a technical issue, some recently uploaded pictures have been lost. We are investigating why this happened but the issue has been resolved so that future uploads should be safe.  You can also Modify your post (MORE...) and re-upload the pictures in your post.

Main Menu

Convertible Top Care - keep it down all summer or not?

Started by colinlikens, June 09, 2014, 08:55:39 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

colinlikens

Another ongoing discussion here reminded me about this question:  Does anyone have an opinion about the pros & cons of retracting the top regularly?  For the summer season I expect I will rarely drive it when I can't have the top down.  So here are my competing concerns:

Am I saving wear & tear on the top mechanism by leaving it down?  Putting the top up when I put the car in the garage seems silly and needless if I'm just going to put it down the next time I use it.  But...

Will additional creasing be created by leaving the top down for extended periods of time?  Does keeping the top up help to preserve the right shape of it?  And does using the mechanism regularly do it good?

Thanks.

As an aside, I always liked this story:  Back in the '50s and '60s my Uncle Lou would buy Buick convertibles instead of hardtop coupes because he liked the look of the convertible roofline when up.  But he felt that retracting the top contributed to folds and creases that were unattractive.  (He was obsessive about the care & appearance of his cars.)  So when my Aunt Rose used the car she would wait until she got around the block before putting the top down to avoid his objections.
1973 Eldorado Convertible
2008 DTS
1978 Buick Estate Wagon

TJ Hopland

The 'top guys' I have talked to always told me to keep it up if you ever wanted it up.    When my last top was at the end of its life I got kinda lazy and left it down for weeks at a time.  When I did put it back up it had a lot of nasty looking creases in it and was very difficult to latch especially if it was not a warm bright sunny day.   The material on mine was in decent condition over all but the damage in a few spots was why I finally got it replaced.

A lady at work that leaves hers down all summer got caught in the rain a couple weeks ago and hers looked terrible and it took 3 of us out there (in the rain) to try and get it up and latched.   That was a late 80's mustang.  I don't think it was the original top but I didn't ask.
StPaul/Mpls, MN USA

73 Eldo convert w/FiTech EFI
80 Eldo Diesel
90 CDV
And other assorted stuff I keep buying for some reason

The Tassie Devil(le)

The main thing to remember is to put it down when the sun has had a chance to warm up everything, and when putting it up, also do it when the sun is up, and warmed everything up.

One of the problems with leaving it down, and driving it around all summer, with it down is that there is the chance that all the vibrations and rubbing of the material as it sits all folded up, can result in damage from friction.

When I leave mine down, and I need to put it up, I park it out in the sun, let it warm up, and then slowly put it up, and eventually put it up all the way, but not lock the header bow to the screen until it is completely warm.   It doesn't take long for the folds to come out.

The other things are:
Do not put a dirty top down.   
Do not put a wet top down, unless you are going to put it back up within a few hours.
Do not put a top up when it is cold, as in at midnight, unless you know it is going to rain.

Do these things and your top will last for years.

A friend had a '64 Ford Galaxie Convertible, and that original top lasted 30 years before it had to be replaced.   Boy, was he fussy.

Bruce. >:D
'72 Eldorado Convertible (LHD)
'70 Ranchero Squire (RHD)
'74 Chris Craft Gull Wing (SH)
'02 VX Series II Holden Commodore SS Sedan
(Past President Modified Chapter)

Past Cars of significance - to me
1935 Ford 3 Window Coupe
1936 Ford 5 Window Coupe
1937 Chevrolet Sports Coupe
1955 Chevrolet Convertible
1959 Ford Fairlane Ranch Wagon
1960 Cadillac CDV
1972 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe

76eldo

Having owned convertibles for many years I can tell you that you do not want to leave the top down for weeks or months at a time.  The top material will get wrinkles and can get chaffed or damaged from driving with the top folded down for a whole summer.

It is best put back up after use. If its an older top and a bit shrunk and won't latch easy leave it up and unlatched and get it in the sun to warm it up and stretch it.

Brian
Brian Rachlin
Huntingdon Valley, Pa
I prefer email's not PM's rachlin@comcast.net

1960 62 Series Conv with Factory Tri Power
1970 DeVille Conv
1970 Eldo
1970 Caribu (?) "The Cadmino"
1973 Eldorado Conv Pace Car
1976 Eldorado Conv
1980 Eldorado H & E Conv
1993 Allante with Hardtop (X2)
2008 DTS
2012 CTS Coupe
2017 XT
1956 Thunderbird
1966 Olds Toronado

gary griffin

Great post, I have been pondering over this one for a while as we have three convertibles.  Living in Seattle we get too little convertible friendly weather to not enjoy our tops down when the sun arrives.  My intent is to leave them down and put a dust cover on them when they are in the garage. I think of a top the same way I think of an umbrella.  Shrinkage is a consideration especially if it is almost always down and then needed all of a sudden.
Gary Griffin

1940 LaSalle 5029 4 door convertible sedan
1942 Cadillac 6719 restoration almost complete?
1957 Cadillac 60-special (Needs a little TLC)
2013 Cadillac XTS daily driver

76eldo

You are not going to wear anything out by putting the top back up after you use it.  If your pump or mech isn't right, then it isn't right and needs attention anyway.

You will end up with permanent wrinkles if you leave it down for months.

Do you guys get out of the car and fold the material in between or pull it out of the bows or do you just hit the button and let it do what it wants to do?  That makes a big difference too.

Brian
Brian Rachlin
Huntingdon Valley, Pa
I prefer email's not PM's rachlin@comcast.net

1960 62 Series Conv with Factory Tri Power
1970 DeVille Conv
1970 Eldo
1970 Caribu (?) "The Cadmino"
1973 Eldorado Conv Pace Car
1976 Eldorado Conv
1980 Eldorado H & E Conv
1993 Allante with Hardtop (X2)
2008 DTS
2012 CTS Coupe
2017 XT
1956 Thunderbird
1966 Olds Toronado

gary griffin

Our tops are not hydraulic, they are manual and difficult to put up.  I am going to try to invent some sort of device to pull them the last few inches to clamp them to the windshield frame.  As I said they are umbrellas as far as I am concerned to be used only when raining.

The Stag has a hard top also so the convertible top is almost always down.

The Triumph roadster is under restoration and when I have the top fabricated I think I will add a few inches so it fastens easily if I accidentally get caught in the rain which is always a possibility in Seattle.

The LaSalle has a very nice older canvas top and I am afraid it will just be damaged by being left down as I hope to use it a lot during our short summers and occasionally in the fall and spring. I can see why they invented the hydraulic tops though and wish I had them and would certainly put them up if I did.
Gary Griffin

1940 LaSalle 5029 4 door convertible sedan
1942 Cadillac 6719 restoration almost complete?
1957 Cadillac 60-special (Needs a little TLC)
2013 Cadillac XTS daily driver

Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621

I had a friend who always kept the top down on his '67 GTO "because I never drive with the top up...", despite many warnings from all around him. For 10 years he left it thus, unmoved.

Silly man.

Motor/pump assy ran very slow from non use (stiff top didn't help matters much), blew a hose - hydraulic fluid everywhere, cylinders tired, a big mess and of course, a ruined top.

He sure showed us.  ::)

A Cadillac Motorcar is a Possession for which there is no Acceptable Substitute

Dave Ventresca

I 've had converts all my life, and was told when a teenager, if you have a hydraulic top, to run it at least once a month. keeps the seals wet in the cylinders, keeps motor working. same concept as driving  a car once in a while, right? and if you have hydraulic windows and seat, same thing. in fact, the pump rebuilders recommend once a month on those. Dave