Question: Value placed on vinyl top

1970 BH Barracuda, car did not come with a vinyl top.

But I think I want one, black vinyl top would look good on F8 Ivy Green car.

Just wondering if it might affect the value of the car down the road, other things
will be changed as well so car won't original anyway, original Slant-6 / 904 / 7 1/4.

Do people tend to like vinyl tops, or is this a totally pointless question ?

Personally I'm not a big fan of vinyl tops on anything, the majority of E bodies seemed to have been equipped with them, IMHO if your going to do a vinyl roof it should make a "statement", like a ModTop or Gator grain, or bold color, to be "worthy"

Mike

For me personally, depends A LOT on the body color.
IMO gator grain tops are ugly as sin.
ModTop needs to be either dark green or yellow body.

Otherwise I am open to them either with or without

EXCEPT, a buddy of mine has a B7 blue 1969 Satellite with blue mod top, YUCK, no thanks

Looked at a pale yellow 1969 Barracuda a few years ago with yellow modtop and all white interior and that car looked KILLER. I gave some serious thoughts to own that one

I wasn't the biggest fan of them but like others have stated... it really depends on the exterior color. I think F8 would be a good candidate for a black top. Here's a before (2016) and after (2020) pic of my car with the added vinyl top, I think it made an improvement.

It has lasted this long with the /6, column shift and extra cost bench seat, so why change it now?

There are already more than enough customized cars in the world.

Most cars to my eye look better with less distracting decoration, including vinyl tops, but it's not my car.
I can tell you this: at one time I had an F8, green VT, green interior Road Runner, though the top was pretty tired.
Before I replaced it, I dyed the top black and looked at it that way for awhile.
It got a new green top, as that just looked better to me - more consistent colors - and was its original spec.

If I came across a car like the OP, I'd leave the body & interior appearance original, and probably not change anything else that wasn't bolt-on & returnable to OEM.
But again, not my car.

Hey guys,
When I got the car, all the sheet metal replacement was done, and quite a bit. BUT, it's just a sad empty shell.
Rolling, no motor/tranny, and not a lot else. Interior empty.
I assume it was a bench seat, H4X9 trim, column shift.
I can tell you it's not getting a Slant-6. But I'm keeping the color scheme green/black. The black vinyl roof would
just be another choice, upgrade ? I don't know if upgrade is the right word.
I don't think I hate the bench seat.

BTW, Orangewagon, I think orange and black do go together !

Don't even think smblk, go straight to RB/440-426 power

76orangewagon, it looks great in the first photo, but it looks awesome in the second photo. Love the changes you made

I have a 68 Dart that is B5 and has some black accents already. I think it would look good with a black vinyl top.

Many people think vinyl tops = rust so that can be a negative.

Factory installed, yes.... the factory very rarely put any paint on the roof, primer and some overspray of color, which you still see some restorers doing because they don't want to waste the paint, It's only a matter of time before moisture gets under the vinyl and eventually the primer, most think a vinyl roof "seals off" the roof from the elements, not so....

when I paint a vinyl top car, the roof gets the same coverage of paint as the body regardless of paint type or costs

Agree 100%.

If you add a vinyl top to a car you should take pictures to prove the roof is great shape before the top goes on that way that question is eliminated to whomever buys the car down the road.

Another thing to consider is to do a painted top in a different color instead of the vinyl top. Probably easier as well.

I looked at that same car. It was a very nice car.

I don't know but sometimes some cars with the right color and other trim look okay with the right color vinyl roof, just me. My GTX but again just me.

A12, Perfect wheels !

Like A12 said, depends on color, etc . . . on my car, it was original, and I put it back to that . . . I sure noticed a change once the top was on it ! Also putting the accent stripe back on . . .to me that sure changed the look, breaking up an awful lot of purple !!

Not sure why you are worried about the value of adding a vinyl top.

Its a slant six car, it's never going to be worth what you put into it compared to one of the more sought after factory combos.

If you are buildng it for yourself, build it like you want it, not how someone else wants it If you are building it to make money on selling, then it really doesn't matter because, imo, adding a vinyl roof does nothing for the value and I sure wouldn't pay extra for one and if you got your money back on the asking price you probably won.

If you aren't going to restore it then just build it the way you like it My Savoy was a slant 6, 3 on the tree, with the only options being a heater Every time I make a change to it I know I'm adding something to make it safer or faster
I say go for the vinyl top

Gus

I liked the ones I had on my E's better than my non top E's

The one on the 1973 Dart Sport 340

Probably the best and only reason to have a vinyl roof, especially if your car is a hood hinges delete car. LOH not LOL

Photo taken with a Sony mavica mvc fd88 digital floppy disc camera (remember those) at the Walter P Chrysler Museum decades ago ......

IMHO, green cars need a vinyl top, black preferably. Too much green is not a good thing.

Yes, I own a green car.

This thread makes me sad.

Vinyl is the worst. Its ugly, its heavier than not having it, it adds complexity (ie: things that can go wrong), its a complicated process to add one if you never had it (all those little rivets, holes, finding good chrome), it accelerates rust... and being a Mopar, you dont need ANYTHING that helps rust. They break up a nice, simple looking muscle car, and from what i've learned, they were originally offered as a 'poor man's ragtop'... which to me is just weak. Thats kinda like adding Hemi billboards to your 318 car. I mean seriously... who came up with this idea? 'Hey, i know... lets glue a bunch ov FABRIC to this cool looking car... AND halve its lifespan by doing it!'

Dont do it man.

Hey don't sugar coat it and stop beating around the bush, just come out and say how you really feel about vinyl roofs

Kind of share some of the same feelings about a vinyl roof and never gave it a thought of ever ordering my '69 Road Runner (in ;69) with one, or my actual first choice a 383 Dart GTS (or the M-code 440 Dart GTS if I could have found a dealer that knew anything about it ) with one either. Now I'm stuck with three '69 440 cars all with vinyl roofs, go figure? One Y4 gold (A12 RR <over there), one Y2 yellow (GTX above) and one F8 green M-code Dart GTS, all with black vinyl roofs. My leave it off of the Dart, that will surely make it a low key car as it's a stripe delete GTS.

You got it right Pale_Roader https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_roof

I guess that puts it in the same league as non-functional hood and side scoops on muscle cars or any vehicle for that matter eh?

To answer the question on value. NEGATIVE $5000. If you need color to break it up then paint the roof, or choose a different color!

Haha yup. If i was in the market for a shiny new muscle car and the otherwise perfect one came with vinyl, i'd have to factor in a roof repaint and bodywork into the price...

Wondering if either of you were old enough to buy (order) a new muscle car in the '60's or early '70's or "back in the day" as some call it?

Nope, but I was old enough to see what was going on. And yes, way to many cars had vinyl tops! I had to clean my dads all the time. Or sure the add to the color combo but what a rust making pain in the backside.

Most Mopars today that are worth more than two nickels live in a garage and don't get exposed to water other than an occasional wash job. If the car has been repainted under the vinyl top I highly doubt rust would ever be an issue.

Before these cars became worth anything people let them sit outside all the time in the elements. With nothing more than an accidental dusting of red oxide primer and paint overspray on the roof skin from the factory it's easy to see how many of them ended up with holes in the roof.

i have owned my charger since 1970, and it has lived almost entirely inside it's whole life.
however, there are a couple bubbles in the top next to the windshield trim i'm sure are caused by rust.
the top is also dried out and cracked.
as i will never restore this car, the next caretaker will have to decide what to do about this issue.

Survivor 69RT being trailered (by me) from 1st owner to 2nd owner in 2010. The RT was always garaged in SOCAL, so the vinyl top has 40yrs of somewhat natural aging.



2nd owner found a stash of NOS vinyl somewhere in Michigan and had the top redone in 2012. Here's the RT with it's 3rd and current owner (my daughter) in 2015.

You mean I can make my GTX and A12 Runner worth a minimums of $5,000 more just by removing the vinyl roofs..........sold, I mean the GTX for sure would look great without the vinyl roof and I would rather put the Lift-Off-Hood on a painted surface to add some character to the roof. An added benefit would be the increase in top speed with less air drag from the textured vinyl.

I see no loss or gain with vinyl roofs, comes down to first, owner's choice, and then MAYBE color or trim or as in an A12 a place to put the hood at the gas station to check the oil or race track to tune or cool down the motor more quickly.......looked at NADA, Hagerty's and KBB and couldn't find a value deduction or value addition for vinyl roof. Purely a personal choice.......and no one "back in the day" was worried about the roof rusting with or without a vinyl roof, shoot my lower quarter panels and wheel well lips started to go within three or four years from the darn salted roadways in southwestern Pennsylvania way before any other area of the Road Runner. My 50 year old A12 RR with a vinyl roof has a little rust push at the C-pillar where the lead is for the full quarter panel. $5,000 less value is also a personal opinion.

BTW IMO that white Charger above would look terrible without the vinyl roof........looks great to me ........and the owner too, if I can say that

I do believe that both ov us meant OUR value. I've never seen a + / - placed on vinyl roof in any value calculator. I dont think it matters. If anything... collectors like options... vinyl is yet another option. If anything, it adds value... i mean, in a collector sense. We meant... that buying a nice car with vinyl adds $5000 to OUR cost... because we'll be paying to remove it.

BUT... i think you should peel that sh!te off all the same... you know... just cuz... A12's are sexxxxxxxxxy beasts...

Not sure why that would matter... but SADLY... nope. Well, maybe i shouldn't say sadly... because if i was, then i'd not be sitting here on Moparts kicking myself for the umteenth decade for selling my 63 Fuelie Split Window and my 71 Hemicuda for $5000 in the 80's... (because you KNOW i bloody would have...). Heh... i'm spared that hell anyways...