tan vinyl top

[70 Charger RT]

I want to repaint my 69 RT back to the original T5 copper.  It's currently red with no vinyl top.  I want to go back to the original tan vinyl top but I can't find a supplier.  I checked YO and Laysons but they have only black, white and green.  I thought I had seen pictures of 69s with the tan top so I'm pretty sure they're out there.  Anyone know where I can pick one up?

Thanks,

[tan top]

 
                   

[Brock Samson]

mine was too,..
no tan top material when i last asked last year... and six years ago when my black top was put on..
ya think there would be more of a demand from the #s matching freaks... 

[resq302]

mine was too,..
no tan top material when i last asked last year... and six years ago when my black top was put on..
ya think there would be more of a demand from the #s matching freaks... 

Hey, us freaks need to be loved too.   

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

get a white top and some buckskin vinyl dye and go crazy with it

[Lord Warlock]

I haven't found one yet, just figured I'd have to have one custom made by a shop owner i'm friends with.  Sure it will cost more, but I'd rather spend what i have to in order to bring back memories nice and fresh (and correct) than put a wrong color back on top.  Never thought it would be hard to replace it when i took it off, but times have changed.  If you find a supplier, let us know. 

Yes, 69s came with a tan top if you ordered it that way.  Not many did though, mine matched the seats pretty well, I still have a healthy chunk of the original top for later reference. 

Lord Warlock

[70 Charger RT]

I still have a healthy chunk of the original top for later reference.

Warlock, could you please take a picture of your sample and email me a copy?  It would give me something that is close.  Right now I don't have anything to go by.

Thanks,
rcolgan at telus dot net (replace at with @ and dot with .)

[Lord Warlock]

I'll see what i can do about a picture, more than likely I'll have to clean it and armor all it prior to taking a picture just to bring out the color more.  I kept the piece mainly to ensure the new top grain pattern was the same. 

If I could get my friend to make new tops (he's done vinyl tops/convertible tops for 20+ years) what would the people here consider a reasonable price just for the skin? Seeing as he wouldn't be able to travel around to do installs?  I haven't breached the topic with him yet, but anticipate talking to him in the near future.  The way I see it, he'd probably have to order a charger vinyl top just to make the pattern and ensure the twin seams were in the right place, then measure, cut and sew up the new pieces.  If there was enough demand for them it may make him willing to make a quantity of them to sell to a group.  I don't know for sure though.  But seeing how noone makes these currently it may be worthwhile broaching the topic. 

Lord Warlock

[Brock Samson]

didn't the lizard get a custom gatorgrain in green and brown?..
that might be the place to start..
bout time...

[70 Charger RT]

I'd being willing to buy one so long as the price was about the same or a little more than the white or black ones.  I'm sure he would make a tidy profit if he went ahead with this venture.  There are probably a lot of guys looking for that color.

[Lord Warlock]

I talked with the top installer last night.  He said he could do a custom top for it without too much trouble, but he was somewhat concerned about the quality of the seams on a custom stitched top, mainly because he doesn't have a heat press to do them the way they'd be from the factory.  He said an option would be to order a standard generic double seam vinyl top (not too much trouble) and then trim it to fit the car.  Using my own car for a pattern, it wouldn't be too much trouble to make a top that would look good on the cars. 

As the weather warms up in the spring (yes its winter now even if it is 70 outside) I plan on building up a primer coat on the top of the car (over the por15 brushed on black coat) and then painting the top completely before adding a new vinyl top to the car.  The top is really the last thing to go on after the repaint.  So it will probably be a while. 

Do we know what the measurements of the tops are supposed to be?  such as where the seams are in relation to the edges of the roofline, as well as where the pieces are stitched on the front windshield pillars? 

I'll see what i can do regarding getting a picture of the top material soon,  been a little distracted by football playoffs etc. 

[Nacho-RT74]

I can find Tan vnyl down here ( I think is still available ). just that you would need to cut and make the seams. Is the way I made my white one.

[70 Charger RT]

I can find Tan vnyl down here

I'm sure I can find it here too but I was hoping to buy it off the shelf already pre-cut and sewn.  Also, I don't have a sample to use to get a match.  Warlock is working on that.
L8R,

[Lord Warlock]

Dug out the old vinyl piece, scrubbed it clean then armor all to give it a shine, pics came out pretty good, I left them at 800x600 to make them easier to view the grain pattern.  The two i'm posting here now are with the flash attachment, the background is a primered car in y3 colored primer (matches the original paint except no sheen). 
I have the originals at 1152x?? and can email them if someone wants to print originals with a photo printer.  I have a couple that I haven't optimized yet that don't use the flash, but appear much darker.  I'd prefer to shoot them again in daylight tomorrow rather than flourescent lights. 

This was an original V1T vinyl top in decent condition, only minor flaking in small spots when it was removed.  No splits or tears at all. Sometimes it looked more brown than beige/tan, it was a darker tan than you'd think.  It was close in color to the dash pad.  (still have the original dash pad as well)

Lord Warlock

[Lord Warlock]

no flash a little shadow toward the bottom. 

[Lord Warlock]

Here is a look at the flipside, showing the factory date stamp of 6-68 and what looks like a manufacturer logo. 

[70 Charger RT]

Looks great Warlock.  Can't wait to see the daylight shots.

Bye for now.

[Brock Samson]

i've asked in the past for pics of tan top cars, but noone seems to have any...
ive seen a couple cars with tan tops in magazines or in older pics but i guess they are simply rare after nearly 40 years...
mine was med (t-3) bronze with the tan top, black int and stripe delete. i dont think that's my favorite combo though... 

[tan top]

i've asked in the past for pics of tan top cars, but noone seems to have any...
ive seen a couple cars with tan tops in magazines or in older pics but i guess they are simply rare after nearly 40 years...
mine was med (t-3) bronze with the tan top, black int and stripe delete. i dont think that's my favorite combo though...

(Brock) don't know if you remember this topic  started by ( lord Warlock )  don't now how to do a link sorry but in this section ( paint/ body & trim . go to page 5  about the 11th topic down ,  called   (  Y2  or  Y3 Question ) we had a chat a bout tan tops also. click on the link in my last post   

[Lord Warlock]

Part of the problem with posting pics of tan tops to the internet is that most of my pics with the tan top on are older ones in print, and not digital photos.  I really only have one or two shots of it online with the top on still. I have a side view of the car (i've posted it here on occasion) with my car in its heyday in direct sunlight showing the top.  I may have a better picture of it elsewhere, quality on that shot is degraded.

[chargerbr549]

There is a picture of a 69 Charger with a tan top and T5 copper metallic paint in the January issue of Mopar Muscle in the PentaStars section, the owner says that he installed a new tan vinyl top. Also in our Blackhills Mopar club we a have a guy with the pretty much the same combo on his 69 Charger and if I remember right he said that he put a new tan top on that one, I will have to ask him the next time i see him when and where he got it from.

Kevin

[Lord Warlock]

not sure if first attempt worked. 

[Charger1973]

Guys go look in the off topic section, member name "253862656971" posted pics of his yellow car with tan vinyl top.  Beautiful car and really nice pictures. 

Edit: forgot to mention its in the thread of "pics of us under 18"

[Charger1973]

http://midwestgeneralleeclub.com/index.php?topic=92.0

There are also some pics of GNRL01s 69 Charger before it was a GL on his website here.  It is green with a tan top.

[chargerbr549]

I just talked to the guy in our Black Hills Mopars car club and he has a 69 Charger with a tan top that he put on 2 or 3 years ago and he said that he purchased it from Legendary Interiors and they cut it from original material and it cost him around 500 bucks, whether it's still available I don't know but hopefully this might help somebody out.

Kevin