HARDTOP

[2005 EquinoxLS]

Actually you bring up a good point...the big C and B pillars of todays cars are wide enough to support the Brooklyn Bridge. It is MUCH easier to see out of an older 50's or 60's era car.

Chris

Or a 1977-90 B-body. It isnt a huge problem on the Equinox but the illers are quite a bit thicker than on the B-bodies. In the 14 years I have been driving I have NEVER once came close to rolling a car and I have did some pretty out there things. Like I said, my only thing about a hardtop that I have to ask since I havent ever owned one is how well do they seal out water from a carwash or a very heavy rain? I hear horror stories about that. Still I would someday if the millions come in get a 1975-76 4-door Caprice hardtop.

[balthazar]

>>"Like I said, my only thing about a hardtop that I have to ask since I havent ever owned one is how well do they seal out water from a carwash or a very heavy rain? "<<

Vintage cars are fine- they have rain gutters / slight overhangs and they were engineered correctly. Some cars, later on (can't recall which I'm thinking of - '70s) had more flush glass, and instead of the seal being on 'top' of the glass, it was more 'behind' it - I could see there possibly being problems with this later down the line. But I personally have never heard of hardtops leaking in a car wash as being a design problem - it would be more of a condition thing. GM always used to do a leak test as one of the final inspections (my '64 GP's paperwork lists this, handwritten, as 'OK').

[HarleyEarl]

I've been exposed to countless hardtops in the family and had the pleasure of driving them and washing them as well. I don't ever recall a leaking problem. I had an Oldsmobile sedan with pillars and it leaked from the top of the driver's door in car washes. So there you go.

[XP715]

Every hardtop I've ever owned (5 so far) has never ever EVER leaked from the weatherstripping between the front and back windows, but I think three out of the five have leaked through the rear window, which is incredibly common for GM's from the 60's and 70's; it's the reason they all get water in the trunks and get that trademark GM rear window rot at the bottom corners as they age. Seems to me like they over-compensated for potential leaks between the side windows and put garbage seals in the back.

[balthazar]

>>"...I think three out of the five have leaked through the rear window, which is incredibly common for GM's from the 60's and 70's; it's the reason they all get water in the trunks and get that trademark GM rear window rot at the bottom corners as they age. "<<

This is primarily an A-Body scenario. Don't forget, the A-Bodies were de-engineered from the B-Bodies- some details fell thru the cracks. None of my 7 '60s GMs had this issue.

[Sixty8panther]

Hhaha... the green Monster's trunk leaked horribly through the rear window...

(the '71 Murder Cadillac)

[balthazar]

Of course, now that car over 35 years old.... rubber out in the elements / atmosphere isn't guaranteed to last that long.

[XP715]

Of course, now that car over 35 years old.... rubber out in the elements / atmosphere isn't guaranteed to last that long.

All of my cars in question have lived similar lives; it seems to be hit or miss on rear window leakage, but the side windows seal every time. My '67 Eldorado and '71 Coupe DeVille were absolutely water-tight through all windows, but my '70 Sedan DeVille, '71 Sedan DeVille, and '67 Eldorado parts car have all leaked through the rear window, but still never any side leakage.