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Old 08-19-2012, 08:43 AM
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airdave airdave is offline
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Hurst was creating "Glass Roofs" for quite some time, on any car.
It was a custom thing offered at their shops.
I looked into it for a Ford Capri back in the mid 70s.
I remember getting a quote of about $1200 for the conversion.

Hurst would cut up your roof and install removable metal framed Glass panels.
(Keep in mind, removable roof panels were already common on many sport cars...Corvettes, Fiats, etc)

Pontiac hired Hurst to modify Transams and Grand Prixs with the glass panels.
They were absolutely awful.
The panels didn't fit well and they leaked liked crazy!
The center roof strip was very wide...so wide in fact that
I remember a GrandPrix with glass panels that weren't actually above your head.
You had to bend your head towards the door to get under the roof opening!

I always preferred a nice large sunroof or landau roof.

Eventually GM designed their own panel roof and called it T-Roof
...the center strip was much narrower and the opening was more T shaped.

But the early ones still leaked.
And they were heavy.
My 81 Camaro had T-roofs...very heavy, I never bothered removing them.
My 85 Z28 had bigger Troofs that were much lighter but still awkward to stow.

Another issue was the lack of proper strengthening when the roofs were cut.
Without reinforced windshield pillars, the car flexed way too much.
Like those scary aftermarket convertible modifications.
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