92 ext questions

Just bought a 92 riv w/ 70k miles on it. Mechanically, it's in great shape. No leaks, no problems, no nothing. Cosmetically, it's in rough shape. I think it's been sitting outside for a few years, as the clear coat is either worn off or blistering in several (large) areas. Furthermore, the vinyl (landau?) top is all cracked and peeling. In one area where the top is peeling back, it looks like the roof is painted underneath, but there's some kind of adhesive on the paint. Does anyone have any experience with removing the vinyl top and just painting the roof? Do I need to sand that adhesive down? What about the holes left from the trim?

I think your best bet is replace the vinyl and padding. The vinyl is not that tough to get you just have to know what you are looking for. The foam is polyurethane upholstery foam (not foam rubber).

To get the vinyl top off and repaint you have to take the paint down pretty much to bare metal and then repair the holes left behind by the trim.

There is probably more than one shop in your vicinity (more likely towards Ann Arbor or Detroit) that will replace the vinyl top and reuse the trim.

Albertj

Any idea how much it'll cost to replace the top?

If you are considering removing the vinyl top permanently you would have to strip it from the roof, clean as much of all old adhesive you can with 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover (available at some auto parts stores in quart cans) then sand remainder off, weld fill all holes left from trim and grind / sand smooth, then bring car for a complete paint job or do it yourself.
As far as replacing the top, I don't know what they get for those anymore. Will have to contact a shop (find in yellow pages) they should be able to give you an approximate cost over the phone.

You *can* do the vinyl top yourself - it requires a combination of upholstery and auto body skills. JCWhitney used to sell kits for this but don't anymore I think. A landau top is not that bad, you need a couple running yards of marine-grade vinyl fabric in the color you want, some 1/4" or 1/2" polyurethane foam (if you want a padded top), the best grade 3M spray adhesive, scissors, shears, and all the good hard trim and new clips if you can get them. Again - you're in Macomb. You should be able to find shops that will do the work at a fair price, especially closer to Ann Arbor/Detroit.

Albertj

The landau top on this era riviera is actually a free standing formed cap that can be easily removed from the roof. It is not glued to the roof like the older traditional vinyl roofs. Therefore, there is no peeling back/ripping off, scraping, or sanding necessary.

1) Remove the chrome reveal moldings that run broadside on the roof (held by expansion clips).
2) Slide the retaining clips that are underneath the molding from their studs.
3) Remove the screws at the trunk line.
4) DO NOT attempt to pry off the opera lights from the exterior or you'll just break them. Remove the interior sail panels to gain access to the opera light retaining nuts and remove them (11mm 'deep' socket needed). Electrical wires are disconnected at their inline break connections. You're then clear to pull the opera lights from the exterior sail panel.
6) Now, just lift the landau top off the car.

Hey Dave - Could that free standing cap be reupholstered at, say, an upholstery shop and then reinstalled?

Albertj

I think so...although I believe the vinyl is heat-shrunk molded to the poly pad cap. In removing the vinyl, it might take chunks/pieces of the poly pad cap with it. You'd have to mold in ploy fill wherever you ripped a chunk out. Dooable by a weekend warrior but no problem when done by a professional. I don't know what grade vinyl GM used on this style cap but it surely has held up on the vast majority of this era rivieras that I've seen....just some occasional sun bleach....not total UV disintegration. I also believe they might have been clearcoated.

By the way, I noticed you have a 4-note horn on your riv. I had a factory optioned 4-note on an 85 riv I once owned....excellent sound...miss it. My 92's have these little dinky factory ones.

Thanks for the info! Not sure what I'll end up doing here...but this top HAS to get fixed one way or another. Btw, the horn on my 92 is puny, too. Sounds like a bike horn or something.