Vinyl or Not?

[BlackoutSteve]

Big fan of the vinyl roof. I know it's a psuedo convertible thing, and psuedo things I normally dislike, but I really like them. Maybe it's nostalgia. 

I love this.. Welcome aboard. 

[lakeholme]

Pseudo Convertible        

In 68, vinyl tops outsold convertibles 3 to 1, and by 69 5 to 1.  Convertibles were on their way out (at least in the US)!  Makes them rare and worth something today.
Don't get me wrong, I love convertibles.  I've owned three.      

Actually, way back in the 1920s, some car tops had vinyl coverings to make them look like buggy tops. I guess that's where that nasty "compariason" got started. But in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, they were a styling design of their own.

[BlackoutSteve]

Pseudo Convertible        

Yep.
See this convertible Deusenberg with the f-style bracket that was actually a component that folded back the roof?


..and then hard tops started faking them with a non-functioning ornament of the same bracket?


..to the point where they were simplified just stuck on a vinyl roof purely as an ornament and didn't even look like a functioning bracket at all?


Vinyl tops were "invented" to look like convertibles.  

[lakeholme]

...What I wanted to show in this pic is how well the Top chrome (Stainless) trim flows into the belt reveal at the top of the door when viewed from the rear.
Nice feature with the 68's so equipped.
Jim

Close up where it comes together...