canadamaro

I'm looking at a fairly low mileage 87 GTA (35,000 miles) but it has C&C t-tops. I'm a bit of a factory condition nut so I'm having a hard time with it but it has everything else I've been looking for.

My questions is as far as collectability is factory/after market THAT much of a difference. From what I've read the after market ones seem to be less prone to leaking (if done right) then factory. If you were looking at keeping a GTA thinking of the future market is there a drawback to the C&C ones?

Thanks

58mark

iTrader: (3)

I LOVE my c&c T-tops. I feel like I won the lottery getting them instead of the factory ones. It s a huge positive

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

It will lower resale value to a collector, there is no way around that.

Operatinally? They are a little different to deal with. The water channels are better, but the adjustment for the fit is in the T-top, rather than the A/B pillar like on factory T-tops.

Often times the plastic bushings wear out on the pins and it causes squeaking. But they are cheap, and The Sunroof Doctor carries them.

Steve86TA

iTrader: (57)

personally...I would not pay as much for a car that has C&C tops..but if you plan to keep and enjoy the car its really your choice... I would think that if your buying it as an "investment" then keep looking

58mark

iTrader: (3)

I'd pay more. they are superior in every way. If I ever buy another t-top car, I'm not going to think about getting a factory t-top one

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

The H Brace that is built into the roof is simply insane. Its way beefy with way more rivets than you want to know.

The Water channels are nice, they do a good job.

The adjustment mechanisms are weak though, the metal is too flimsy. Course, one could easily fix that with some thicker metal, its just 3 holes in a rough shape. Could probably replace this with Delrin and get rid of the bushings all together. The main issue is the plastic end caps that go on the A and B pillars dry out over time and squeak like a ****. However, the piece is actually pretty simple. One could probably drill the hole out larger and insert a delrin bushing there too which should fix the squeaks.

But as far as value? It isn't factory, and as such the value to people who are collecting for "originality" will never pay more for a C&C car than they would a ASC car.

58mark

iTrader: (3)

From what I understand many c&c T-tops were done at the dealership to supplement the demand for ttop cars that the factory couldn't keep up with. People were buying new cars with ttops, and that's all they cared about. It might hurt the value a tiny bit, but you can make that back by pointing out that they don't leak.

Take 2% off for it not being factory, and add 3% back because it's a superior product. Unless you are dealing with a 100 point show car, it's not going to matter

92GTA

iTrader: (11)

My T-Tops have never leaked and the weatherstripping is still like factory new. Anyone who bashes the factory T-Tops I think has been looking at beaters lol.

Personally, I'd never consider a car with C&C tops. Who knows how hard it will be to get proper parts in 10 or 20 or 30 years. The factory stuff you know will be reproduced perfectly at some point by someone.

To each their own, if you like the car and the C&C tops won't cause you to regret the purchase, do it.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

Dealer Modified is not the same thing as Factory Modified. GM contracted ASC to do the conversions. There is an RPO code for ASC T-tops.

There is no RPO code for C&C tops.

So technically, no C&C car is eligible for a "stock" class when they consider stock to be "factory" stock. I'm talking about the shows that take points away for not having the factory battery.

if someone is looking for that, then a C&C car is the WRONG car.

If you just want T-tops, then C&C is fine. Most shows don't know the difference anyways. My car was bought, and then about 2 or 3 months later converted to C&C tops.

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

That was my thinking when I was shopping for these cars. Mine has the factory tops, seals in great shape, and no leaks. But having worked at a Chevy dealer in the late '80s, I saw some problem cars come back again and again for leaks. A low number compared to # of vehicles sold with them, but the trouble makers were just tough to make right.

canadamaro

Thanks for all the replies. So it probably effects the value of the car to some people but not all. I'm more buying this car for me rather then investment but obviously want to feel like the value is still there. This is probably the closest to all the items I wanted except the C&C tops.

58mark

iTrader: (3)

I'm thinking of buying a set of seals while they are still available.

eseibel67

There were probably 10,000+ GTA's manufactured WITH the factory CC1 T-tops, why not wait for the right one to come up for sale?

I'm no collector, but I fantasize that I am one when perusing cars for sale. I would never consider anything that was modified out in the wild after it left the factory. There's just too much room for human error, especially an apprentice wielding a sawzall.

Thirdgen89GTA

iTrader: (5)

Asc conversions are manual too. There wasn't any automated assembly line.

DesertFox

Buying a car as an investment in general in never a bright idea unless you want to hang on to it for another 30 years.
With a few certain exceptions, I don't consider these cars collectible to the point where the GM vs. C&C t tops will make a huge difference.
I have a car with C & C T-tops. In 1988, that was the only way you could have a 350 and T-tops on the same car. I believe 1987 was the same. GM later changed its policy I cant remember what year that was (its on this website somewhere).
I live next door to a guy who made a small fortune back in the day converting hard top cars to T-tops but he would take the roof off an original GM t-top car and weld it on in place of the hard top. To a certain extent, that leaves a lot more room for issues than the C&C tops. Consider the car itself, it it's 27 years old and doesn't leak, I'd say the install was good.

JT

iTrader: (1)

In 1987 and the Canadian market, where the OP appears to be from, you could order a 1987 GTA with the factory 350 with factory T-Tops while non-exported cars could not. Down here, if you wanted the 350 and T-Tops in 1987 on the GTA that meant aftermarket C&C T-Tops. 1989 was the year that we all could get the factory 350 with factory T-Tops on the GTA.

So that is something to consider. You have both options (factory or aftermarket) available in Canada.