'61 hard top

[Bob Hardy]

[Christopher R.]

Re: '61 hard top

I assume you can figure out how to do it. It'll scare you a bit, what with drilling holes and all. Don't know how it'll affect the value of the car. But I believe you could pull it off without hurting the value. I berlieve the AIM will show you how to do it.

But why do you want to do it? How do you use the car? Only you can answer that question, and that's where the answer lies. I've got a hardtop for my car. It has sat in the cellar for 20+ years. (It's not for sale.) Heck, I don't even use the soft-top. My car only goes out in nice weather. The hardtops were to make the car more practical, better to drive in lousy weather. Do you need that? Some people prefer to drive the car as a hardtop. More room inside. If that's your case, then you should get one. But if you only drive with the top down in nice weather, why would you want one?

[Jim W.]

Re: '61 hard top

Bob, if you want to put a hardtop on your car, why not buy another rear deck lid already setup to receive a hardtop? More costly but also more sensible and less painful than drilling an original softop only rear deck lid. Good luck, Jim Weeks Member #2978

[Mike M.]

Re: '61 hard top

I agree with jim: if ya gotta have a hardtop( and they're really only good for winter driving, excessivly big driver and passenger, and Drag strip participation), then go for it. otherwise you'll probably never use it. one the other hand, i really think a 56 to 62 vette is much more attractive with hardtop installed as opposed to soft top(up or dowm) but this is purely subjective on my part.If you're gonna do it, takes jim's advice and pick up a used soft top cover off a hardtop equipped 61 or 62. they are much more common than what you have(cover NOT drilled for the hardtop) My ol 61 was a soft top only vette and when i was restoring it for
Duntov, i had a heck of a time finding a soft top only cover(a previous owner had bought a hartop and drilled holes in the cover and i was certain filling the holes in the cover from previous owner would be near impossible.) good luck, mike

[John H.]

Re: '61 hard top

I went through untold grief and expense restoring the hardtop on my '57 when I did the whole car back in '97, put the "bagged" hardtop in the basement, put it in the basement again when we moved to our new home three years ago, and it stayed there until I sold the car last year. Other than when I restored the top, that was the first time it had ever been bolted down on the car.

The cars look great with the hardtop in place, but I never found an excuse worth the hassle to install it; I didn't drive the car in the winter, and the only time the soft top went up was for judging or if I got caught in the rain.

[Dick W.]

Re: '61 hard top

I question the comment about making the car more driveable in bad weather. I owned a '61 in '62-'63. You had to put a rain coat on when it rained if you had the top up. If you lowered the top and ran over 35 mph (100 was better), you stayed dry. It leaked so bad that I drilled holes in the floor board to drain the water out and not rot the carpet. Surprise fer all you members that thought that I was a vacuum head

[Mike E.]

Re: '61 hard top

Buying and using another soft top lid that's already drilled is a decent idea.
However, on a 61-62, there are also two holes in the body, one for each side bracket immediately behind the door, that are there ONLY when it was delivered from the factory (or properly retrofitted) with a hardtop. If you drill those for the installation of a hardtop, that is not readily reversible.
In my book, it's really a go/no go. You either do or you don't--it's hard to go back.

[Ed Jennings]

Re: '61 hard top

If you do the job correctly, no one but you will ever know that the hardtop is retrofited. Therefore, it should not affect the value of the car. The hardtop will make the car much more weathertight than most soft tops, and seems to me to make the body more rigid as well.

[jordan grant]

Re: '61 hard top

If you can "aquire" the hardtop for a good price,you will then have a two top car!!.and if you will never use it(and if history repeats itself)you wont.buy the top,and dont drill or buy anything else but the hardtop!!.I would research how much it raises the value of your car,and try to buy it for a lot less than that.(have your cake and eat it too!!.Good Luck.Jordan

[Larry Parylla #41143]