Cloth or Vinyl Top

[SteinOnkel]

Hey guys,

so my black convertible top was pretty much ruined by the ash fallout from the Glass fire I've tried cleaning it, but it's all blotchy and grey now. Poor little Fiat...

Luckily, insurance will take care of everything. I'm wondering what the difference is between a cloth and vinyl top? Is cloth stretchier, more elastic? To be honest, I'm not 100% what I have now.

Also, this is a question of taste. The car is currently grand prix white (just a single stage) and it will be resprayed with that this winter. I've changed the interior to tan seats, black carpet and red floor mats. Looks pretty cool. Whaddaya reckon should I go with another black top as is now or maybe grab a tan one?

Thanks
Manuel

[geospider]

Steiny,
went through this last year. Tan/Black, canvas/vinyl; Oh what to do.
I went with the Robbins vinyl top: probably cleans much better. honestly if I drove this with top UP more, I would have gone with canvas: they look great (and I think even more so in black). But it is almost never up, so why spend the extra $100+.
Installation: not bad at all: which is stretchier: no idea, but put the vinyl one in the sun for a few hours prior and no problem.
I think the Black with the tan and black carpet would look great.
The Canvas does look good though.

lets get together again soon...Bryan?

Geo

[SteinOnkel]

Steiny,
went through this last year. Tan/Black, canvas/vinyl; Oh what to do.
I went with the Robbins vinyl top: probably cleans much better. honestly if I drove this with top UP more, I would have gone with canvas: they look great (and I think even more so in black). But it is almost never up, so why spend the extra $100+.
Installation: not bad at all: which is stretchier: no idea, but put the vinyl one in the sun for a few hours prior and no problem.
I think the Black with the tan and black carpet would look great.
The Canvas does look good though.

lets get together again soon...Bryan?

Geo

Cause it ain't my money I'm spending

The 2x increase in price doesn't really make sense to me.

I'm always down to hang out, lemme know.

[18Fiatsandcounting]

lets get together again soon...Bryan?

Yo, I'm here! It would be totally cool to chill with my buds Geo and Steiny (and scrapiron and greenfiats and toyfiats and whoever else), and I was just waiting for a weekend when some part of the Bay Area wasn't in flames or under a spare-the-air advisory. Later in October should be good.

-Bryan
PS: My '71 is on the road, and I'm a few days away from getting the '69 back on the road. Working through electrical stuff now.

PPS: As for tops, I prefer cloth. Seems to fold better and last longer, but I'm willing to be corrected.

[Bagneaux]

I prefer the cloth top. It looks better and performs great. The difference in cost is about 2 % of the value of the car.

[SteinOnkel]

Alright, I'll see if the insurance will spring for a cloth one.

Install...I might just have someone do it; it's not on my tab after all.

[DieselSpider]

Alright, I'll see if the insurance will spring for a cloth one.

Install...I might just have someone do it; it's not on my tab after all.

If it currently has a vinyl top it would be hard to imagine them paying double to upgrade it to a canvas top.

Whats the deductible and will they even pay out before you have contracted a shop to do the work?

Myself I prefer the easy to clean and maintain vinyl.

[TX82FIAT]

You hit the nail on the head with anticipated top up driving. I have found as my hair has thinned (bald), highway driving has increased and the sun is at full force with heat.... The canvas top is worth it. The vent windows provide good airflow to help cool on hot sunny days at speed. The vinyl top is still a good option.

[SteinOnkel]

Alright, I'll see if the insurance will spring for a cloth one.

Install...I might just have someone do it; it's not on my tab after all.

If it currently has a vinyl top it would be hard to imagine them paying double to upgrade it to a canvas top.

Whats the deductible and will they even pay out before you have contracted a shop to do the work?

Myself I prefer the easy to clean and maintain vinyl.

The way they are figuring it out is by looking at pictures. They don't even send anybody out during covid, they just use an app. I'm 50% sure it's a cloth top already.

The Deductible is $0 of course and the agreed value of the vehicle $9000. If you tell them you'll do it yourself they will send a check for parts+going-rate labor. Might do that and invest the rest of the money elsewhere on the car.

It's the beauty of classic car insurance. If your car isn't on it, it should be.

[baltobernie]

I have the Robbins canvas top, and agree with others that it both improves the look and is also moot if the car spends most of its life top-down. If you store your car outdoors, I wouldn't recommend the canvas top.
What I wish I'd investigated further was a top installer that would install a zipper on the rear window. Somebody on this forum successfully performed the procedure. It would make summertime driving in extreme heat much more bearable.

ps Whichever direction you go, make sure that you get the correct top for the frame which is currently on your car. There's a difference between early and late model Spiders, and you don't know if a PO has replaced your (interchangeable) frame.

[wetminkey]

Just FYI,...I have a canvas top that is a little over twenty years old, that I bought, and installed myself. It looks as beautiful as the day I installed it. It is easy to clean - all I do is pressure wash it. Unaffected by the sun,...stows nicely - and no residual "fold marks" with canvas when the top is raised.
If I had to do it again, I'd spend the extra cash to buy the canvas top,...
Enjoy shopping!
Todd.

[DieselSpider]

Alright, I'll see if the insurance will spring for a cloth one.

Install...I might just have someone do it; it's not on my tab after all.

If it currently has a vinyl top it would be hard to imagine them paying double to upgrade it to a canvas top.

Whats the deductible and will they even pay out before you have contracted a shop to do the work?

Myself I prefer the easy to clean and maintain vinyl.

The way they are figuring it out is by looking at pictures. They don't even send anybody out during covid, they just use an app. I'm 50% sure it's a cloth top already.

The Deductible is $0 of course and the agreed value of the vehicle $9000. If you tell them you'll do it yourself they will send a check for parts+going-rate labor. Might do that and invest the rest of the money elsewhere on the car.

It's the beauty of classic car insurance. If your car isn't on it, it should be.

Most classic car insurances I have looked into don't allow for use as a daily driver so no trips to the beach, picnics, etc. Way too limiting on use and where you store the vehicle.

[SteinOnkel]

If it currently has a vinyl top it would be hard to imagine them paying double to upgrade it to a canvas top.

Whats the deductible and will they even pay out before you have contracted a shop to do the work?

Myself I prefer the easy to clean and maintain vinyl.

The way they are figuring it out is by looking at pictures. They don't even send anybody out during covid, they just use an app. I'm 50% sure it's a cloth top already.

The Deductible is $0 of course and the agreed value of the vehicle $9000. If you tell them you'll do it yourself they will send a check for parts+going-rate labor. Might do that and invest the rest of the money elsewhere on the car.

It's the beauty of classic car insurance. If your car isn't on it, it should be.

Most classic car insurances I have looked into don't allow for use as a daily driver so no trips to the beach, picnics, etc. Way too limiting on use and where you store the vehicle.

Well, yeah. Obviously it's not a DD. I have three cars: 1982 VW Derby (classic insurance), 1978 Fiat Spider (classic insurance) and 1988 VW Fox (pay-per-mile insurance).

I think it's a huge liability to drive around a classic car you actually care about on regular insurance. If anything happens, they will give you a moist handshake and a smile. Also, none of them really check where your car is stored. Send them a picture of it in a garage when you first sign up, done. As for beach trips, picnics etc of course those trips are acceptable. That's specifically what hagerty, grundy etc insure and why they don't have a mileage restriction. And as long as you don't drive it for work exclusively, they don't care if you take it into the office every now and again.

Think about it, my top is fucked because it was parked outside...

[toyfiats]

If your car is stored outside a vinyl top might be the better choice. Otherwise, for black tops canvas wins hands down in the look and feel department. A friend had a yellow '68, and when he replaced the black vinyl with black canvas top it just popped.

[SteinOnkel]

Yeah. I'm not sure what to get yet.

I think first and foremost, I will give the top another very careful, very thorough wash. Spoke to a friend of mine who details cars, he gave me a bunch of pointers and what to buy.

Called a few shops for installation "Well, it's convertible top season. We're booked until January." Yikes.