Hot Rods 1958 Impala with a Vinyl Top (Pictures?)

I've got a weird request. In the '60s, a popular aftermarket treatment was to add a vinyl top to a vehicle that didn't originally come with it. They made these kits for almost any vehicle. The most popular one that had it was a 1957 Chevy G***er that ran by the name Shake, Rattle, and Run:



I can't find a picture from the '60s of a 1958 Impala with a vinyl top. Do any of you happen to have a picture of one?

 

Wouldn't be as simple since the '58 has contours in the back of the roof

 

Oh the humanity!!!

 

IIRC, those 'vinyl top' kits that were popular for a time didn't actually have any vinyl involved. They were just a paint kit with special paint that gave a textured finish similar to vinyl top material. The 'better' kits also included special tape that was applied to emulate seams and edge trim that you put on before painting.

More info here.... https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/spray-on-vinal-tops.954645/

 

I'll be damned. That makes SO much more sense.

 

I had a 57 Chevy 2 door sedan that I bought in 1971 when I was in the Air Force stationed in Wichita Falls, Texas. It had of of those painted-on vinyl-looking tops with the seams. A previous owner had either done it or had it done and it looked like the real deal. It looked good if a vinyl top was your thing. It wasn't my thing so I ground it off with what was probably a 36 grit sanding disc in an electric drill and then I had the car painted. That stuff was tough to get off!

 

You could add a vinyl top to the 58, I think I would have the seam down the middle or no seam at all.

 

The roof of Shake, Rattle and Run was painted gloss black.

 

Totally correct. My buddy just had to do one on his '61 Corvette. It was painted British racing green, and he
had a charcoal colored top sprayed on it. At the time we thought it looked sooooo cool. Bob

 

Nooooooo…….

 

I purchased a 56 Chevy Hardtop mid 70’s that had a vinyl top. It was blue and black checkered, small squares. Car was metallic blue. My Vo-Tech teacher was a purist and owned a dozen Buick’s - Pontiac’s - Nomads - Safari wagon. He convinced me to s****e it off and paint it stock. Sometimes I reflect back on how cool it was.

 

1958 IMPALA WITH A VINYL TOP (PICTURES?) not in this lifetime... unless of course...

Hello,

Why would anyone in their right mind put a ****py vinyl top on a perfectly great looking shiny top of any car, let alone a cool 1958 Impala?

My brother would roll over in his resting place, at the thought of me putting a vinyl top on the pristine black paint on our 58 Impala or any car. Yes, there were models of vinyl being put on tops of various cars from the factories. But, eventually, if not kept up, they started peeling on the corners and in some cases, bubbled up due to the extreme weather in various parts of the USA.

Jnaki

The last modification look by @themoose … thanks for the memories…

If I were to continue the custom accessories and modifications to our already fast 58 Impala, it certainly would not be a vinyl top. It would have been laughed out of any teenage hangout, let alone barred from any entry into a cool car shows. YRMV

 

around late 67/69 my slightly younger brother bought a 56 safari with a black vinyl top installed on it. i forget the color of the body… think it was a super dark coca cola body. it seemed well done. at that time i had my dads stock white 56 safari on 14’ chrome wheels . personally i prefer no vinyl.

 

What about the 70’s with the flower , paisley, denim etc vinyl top kits

 

Here's a better picture:

 

There was something about NASCAR using vinyl tops back in the '70s for better top speed, iirc.

 

My 55 T-Bird had a vinyl top on it from the 1960s, but it was an actual vinyl top. I want to keep it, but I want to add a 58 Impala roof scallop to the rear of the roof as well. The vinyl has to be redone anyhow. The spray on top is very appealing to me...

 

Same as that **** they put in truck beds…I p*** when I see it done..

 

Maybe it fell in line with the idea of a golf ball. The idea is the ripples on the ball break through friction created by the air to increase the speed of the ball.

 

Could always go paisley.

 

Don't do that.

 

Chrysler had all kind of wired vinyl tops in the late 60-70 time frame. Rattle snake, alligator are 2 I remember because my buddies had them on their dusters and darts.

 

You are right I forgot there were several different cars through the years. They went to the vinyl roof after the roof was damaged on a car and it was a quick way to fix it. My bad, I’ll take my demerits and quietly go away.

 

My fathers friend had a 57 Chevy with a spray on vinyl top and the tape seams. I thought it was the coolest thing in 1967. Blue car with black top. Not so much to my liking now. I would consider it if I found a car with a damaged roof.

 

Don't go away. I like your input.

I remember those Chrysler tops. Back when I was a kid, those tops were still on those cars. They were as Seventies as **** carpet. I hated them back them, but I dig them now.

 

Yep, that's a spray-on top. They were always shinier than a real one. FWIW, they were better than a real one in terms of vinyl failure. When that happened you'd often find swiss cheese metal under the bad vinyl.

Smokey Yunick experimented with vinyl tops in the late '60s. Certain texture patterns offered slightly better aerodynamics but the glue used wasn't up to racing speeds and IIRC NASCAR banned them as they were afraid of the loose vinyl blocking radiators or windshields.

 

I remember reading that it gave them something like 5 mph over a smooth top. That is until the glue let go at high speeds and then they had a huge balloon slowing them down. Don’t think they ever used it in any races, just practice.

 

In San Bernardino Ca. there use to be a dark blue 57 Chevy with a black vinyl top. Until you walked up to it that is. It had been Rhino Lined.

 

My 65 GTO had a fake vinyl top...Think they might have been better than the real thing,,, Didn't rust the roof structure as bad...

 

Wow! Your GTO had more than just a fake vinyl top. Look at those ladder bars and the straight axle. That's awesome!