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ConvertiblesDiscussed here are problems and solutions to convertible specific questions, including difficult to find part numbers and other convertible tech help.
OK... so you may have seen pics of the red 89 IROC vert i recently bought in one of the other threads.... This is the third 3rd gen i have owned... but the first vert... is it just me or is there less head room in a vert?... Mine has the powered driver's seat... even with it all the way down, i can barely get in the thing.. my hair rubs the roof. I have had to lay the seat back quite a ways in order to drive it with the top up. I feel like i am sitting up higher too...Could the roof support structure have been bent down in the past? Are there specs on high it should be?
My other cars have been t-top cars which gives my head a little more room.. I am only 5'-11" so its not like i am really tall.... how is it for anyone else?
For real though, I think I drove my RS twice with the top up, once was the trip home from the dealership, the other was driving through the SD badlands in August (120* heat).
Putting the top down in western New York is about 3 days a year.... In 9 years with my 92Z I have only taken the T-tops off..maybe 6 times....
Just wondering if the top bows got bent down.. or if there is something not right with the way it goes up... doesnt seem right that someone under 6 feet is struggling to drive the car with the seat in the fully down position... my head rubbing on the top.
T-tops get old really fast. REALLY REALLY fast when you've had a convertible thirdgen. Think of the top on a convertible as an emergency shelter from the weather. The default mode is top down, convertibles make lousy hard tops. Kind of like how T-tops make lousy hard tops. If you want a great hard top, buy a hard top.
You're going to give up a bit of headroom going from a T-top to a hard top, because a steel roof with supports and a headliner is thicker than a pane of glass. More still a convertible frame is thicker than a hardtop, add the stock convertible headliner that droops a little, and it's going to sit a little lower.
All that said, it's entirely possible that you're too tall, the seat is adjusted wrong, etc but ultimately if you're driving the car with the top up you're simply doing it completely wrong. Like taking your jet ski to a business meeting, on land.
Maybe your headliner is sagging. It is just a thin piece of fabric to cover the bows. There maybe a small difference between the hard top and the vert but the bottom line is they literally just cut the roof off a hard top car.
I'm 6 foot and have plenty of head room, same as any of my t-top cars. I don't sit straight up and down though. I had a 4th gen convertible, and that car had zero head room. I had to fold myself in half to get in and out of it.
Putting the top down in western New York is about 3 days a year.... In 9 years with my 92Z I have only taken the T-tops off..maybe 6 times....
Just wondering if the top bows got bent down.. or if there is something not right with the way it goes up... doesnt seem right that someone under 6 feet is struggling to drive the car with the seat in the fully down position... my head rubbing on the top.
I'm 6' and don't notice any issues with head room. I've only ever had a vert so can't compare vs hard top or T top
hmmm... there is supposed to be a headliner?... The top was replaced by the previous owner...(a shorter Puerto Rican fellow...)
When i look up, i see the bows and all the top linkages... and the bottom of the top material.
I have the seat leaned back.. but much more than my T-top car.. so much so that its uncomfortable driving... and the power seat is fully down (i know, i just rebuilt the entire seat). Hard to believe 5'-11" is too tall....
The forecast for the next is 50-52 F.... It might get to 70.... in June. Agreed T-tops are a pain... but WNY gray and cold don't work either...
That's what your hardtop daily driver thirdgen is for. A full complement is roughly three or four thirdgens, or a non thirdgen daily, but where's the fun in that.
Later thirdgen verts have a headliner. Not sure on the earlier cars.
Yeah... I am only allotted 2 spots in the three car garage.... and one goes to my 69 Camaro SS... I keep either the 92 Z with Ttops or the 89 Iroc Vert at the house.
Can anyone measure something to try to figure out if i am low? Like maybe top of the console to the top bow or something like that?
[QUOTE=erik69&85;6368342]Yeah... I am only allotted 2 spots in the three car garage.... and one goes to my 69 Camaro SS... I keep either the 92 Z with Ttops or the 89 Iroc Vert at the house.
Can anyone measure something to try to figure out if i am low? Like maybe top of the console to the top bow or something like that?[/QUOTE
Here you go. 26.5" from top of console llid to bottom of bow. 35.25" from where my **** sits (lowest part of the seat).
You should have plenty of room. I'm 5'-10" and have no clearance issues. Maybe the seat is mounted high for some reason?
I just gutted the Interior this winter and recovered the seats...rebuilt the power seat rack....it's fully down. And it's mounted to the normal floor studs...I plan to measure the car tomorrow...will get pics of where and how....
In my experience, The power seat tracks are taller than the manual seat tracks. SOme power seat tracks seem to be around 1/2" taller, which might not seem like a lot, but in a car that is barely tall enough...
The reason why I say this is my original seats were fine, the Ultima "GTA" Seats were fine, but when I put power seat tracks in with my "GTA" seats I noticed it was just ever so slightly higher and my head brushed on the T-top cover... (I made a special bracket for the controls)
I never had an issue with this in any of my manual seat cars, just the ones with the power 6 way seat.
I've never seen the utility of a power seat in a thirdgen. Half the thirdgens with the power seat I've been in, have had problems with the power seat. I'm completely comfortable with even the base forward/back seat tracks, so always considered it as dead weight.
I've never seen the utility of a power seat in a thirdgen. Half the thirdgens with the power seat I've been in, have had problems with the power seat. I'm completely comfortable with even the base forward/back seat tracks, so always considered it as dead weight.
If my memory serves the only reason why I went with the power seat in my car is it came with the seat. I am with you they are useless, unless I was 5'6" there is no reason to raise the seat.
My 91TA has the AQ9 seats and have never been a cause if insufficient headroom. Maybe I'm just lucky but at 6'4" I fit quite nicely in the front seats. Maybe my long legs are the issue and my torso is shorter than others, IDK. I had an 85 hardtop and I also fit that car in its day. I keep the drivers seat in the 91 as low as it will let me and tilt it slightly back. Hope you figure it out on your car.
My 91TA has the AQ9 seats and have never been a cause if insufficient headroom. Maybe I'm just lucky but at 6'4" I fit quite nicely in the front seats. Maybe my long legs are the issue and my torso is shorter than others, IDK. I had an 85 hardtop and I also fit that car in its day. I keep the drivers seat in the 91 as low as it will let me and tilt it slightly back. Hope you figure it out on your car.
Do you have the power seat track? I think the point is, the power seat sits slightly higher than the manual seat.
Yes, mine has the "articulating" power seats. I think it is just how my body is distributed between legs and torso. Leg room is tight but head room is not a problem.
yep... Occam's razor.... to close this up... i had taken the seat out to rebuild/recover it... one of the power seat actuators had failed.. needed to replace it and the torn seat cover.
I cleaned and rebuilt the power seat apparatus... bench tested all good using the switches hooked up to a battery...straightened the seat frame.. new covers.. reinstalled....
i put the seat up to max height to make installing easier... then i lowered the seat all the way down... or so i thought... i used a mirror and looked last night... the back actuators were still up!!!.. i jiggled the wiring connector.. then used the switch and the back lowered!.. Now i have 35 inches from seat to top bow.... and i can sit in it properly....
I thought it was all the way down since it didnt move when i pushed the switch down!.... glad i had that mirror.... but i did find the bow over the driver's head bent slightly down... someone has put stuff on the roof... .but only a fraction of an inch.
Now... looking at this joint.... is this right? Should there be rubber here?.. This is the part of the frame to the left of the driver.... it controls the height of the bow over your head... seems like something is missing... i added that felt pad....
04-26-2020, 02:05 PM
j/k
