I suspect the orthodox approach to this problem is replacement of the window regulators. Sometimes you know rain’s coming in time to plug a hole, but not in time to get to the shop. In fairness to the Camaro, it’s much better looking from the front, rear, and nearly every viewpoint other than this shot. But I do quite vigorously disagree with the mirror-to-cowl protuberance. No!
I never liked that mirror to cowl thing either at the time. But now I don’t mind it. It doesn’t look that bad and gives it a unique look. I’ve seen a lot worse design elements than that since then. And a lot of them.
As for the towels that are clamped between the door and roof and hanging down inside, I’d bet they are not keeping things dry.
It looks better than the 2016 model. 🙂
Agreed
“….gives it a unique look.”
Sorta like a first-gen Ford Probe. Guess we’ve all forgotten about them!
Not going to lie, I really wanted one of these when I was about 4 or 5. Those headlights were so cool!
Leaky Rag Tops suck ~ more so when you’re young and broke and your G.F. or Wife hates the only car you have because it’s leaky & damp inside….
.
-Nate
That mirror-to-cowl thing would look so much better if the mirror was the same color as the rest of it. But why do that kind of fairing when the pieces are different colors? Agree that you have found probably the least attractive angle from which to photograph this car.
I’m having trouble figuring out the garbage-bag weatherstripping. Looks like it’s on both sides. I would think water would get inside where the bag goes inside the window. But maybe not. Having never had one of these, I have no way of knowing if it is a window issue or a roof weatherstrip problem. Too bad, in either case.
The garbage bags probably worked for about ten minutes, but water, as my old friend used to say, finds a way.
My guess is that the top is old and cracked along the seams at the windows.
Ah, yes garbage bags do make more sense than the towels I thought it was. Somewhat.
Maybe it’s a theft-deterrent system.
I remember Motor Trend used to do an annual convertible issue, and these F-body convertibles were always ranked very high for the quality of the convertible top, and weatherproofing.
MT would take them into high pressure washes and note any leakage. I seem to remember one year them saying only the Mercedes SL had a higher quality top. I would guess it’s an ASC job then?
Well keep in mind this car is 20 years old, the drying out of weatherstripping and general wear and tearafter that many years aren’t factors a magazine test could really predict, nor is it really relevant. Plus even old Mercedes aren’t impervious leaks, rubber components like seals, regardless of make, have a limited lifecycle.
To my untrained eye, the roof on this car looked fine, it just looked like the windows couldn’t muster the last eighth-inch necessary to make a good seal with with the top.
I speculated it was window regulators, but just looked for complaints on owner’s forums. It seems one of the gripes about these cars is that the power window motors were the same part used on the Cavalier, even though the F-body windows are bigger and heavier.
That said, considering the looks-performance-cost ratio of the best of these cars, I wouldn’t begrudge one a few blown window motors, if I had space to keep it.
These, unlike the 3rd-gen F-cars, were built totally in-house and were quite a bit more solid than their predecessors. I owned a high-mileage example for a few years and would definitely consider another convertible before a T-top or plain roof example.
My car leaked in the LF upper corner in heavy rain & would drip on the very tip of the driver seat….which of course wicked up copious amounts of water. the T-top car I owned previously to the convertible literally never leaked a single drop in the several years I owned it. Ever.
A friend had one of these and I got to ride in it. I’m 6’4″ and the top of the windshield was level w/ my eyes! I had to recline the seat back to an uncomfortable (for me) position in order to avoid the wind buffeting, and to be able to look THROUGH the windshield!! Needless to say, ownership was not a consideration! 🙂
Hefty garbage bags and duct tape. That`ll do it!
Apparently car makers don’t make convertibles for use in the rain; otherwise they’d have better rain leak protection.
I owned a 2000 Firebird for 5 years. The top ,and window fit looked great. You could drive it in a pounding rain, you wouldn’t see a drop of leakage.
Now if you just happened to park it on any sort of slope , or uneven ground ? The drivers side, would leak and drip onto the left edge of the drivers seat . If I backed it into my slightly slopped driveway, it would leak like a sieve. If I drove it in ,nose first. It would make for less water on the seat.??
The same Firebird had a nasty habit of eating , the right side motor mounts, shearing off Aircraft quality bolts. I always figured that it had been hit hard, at some earlier part of its life, and repaired on the sly. I think they might of screwed up the K member.?? I will never know , because I dumped it and bought a Mustang. The Mustang is 7 years old, and I have never, had to put a towel on the seat…….yet
The mirror protuberance is another reason I much prefer the Firebird of this generation, at least pre facelift. Definitely not the most flattering shot but I still think these look better at more angles than the 5th gens do, this really showcases the massively long dash and windshield these cars had. Sort of a cab forward look without actually moving the cab lol
I like to ’98-’02 Z28/Trans-Ams best of all. They’re great donor cars…filled with LS1 goodness!
Yes you can slide that into my ’57 Handyman!
To me, these Camaros and their Firebird “sisters” look like gigantic arrowheads. I think they look pretty good until you get directly behind them. I would have preferred a tail end that didn’t need that wing (spoiler?) to look….complete.
As far as the “fender” mirrors go, I can take them in black or body color, and let’s face it, there are worse looking solutions. When I look at vintage tv shows like Mannix or even Route 66, I am amazed at how clumsy or just plain in-elegant rear view mirrors have been on older cars. It seems like it’s only in the last few years they really started to look integrated.
I so disagree with your second point. Modern designs are often too gigantic(they seem to be that way because people suck at adjusting reasonable sized ones) and in terms of integration the OEMs just can’t seem to decide whether they want to mount them flush between the beltline and A pillar within the greenhouse, or with a traditional pedestal on the door skin. In the case of the latter the flip flopping between those mountings has resulted in the necessity of a cheezy black triangular filler panel at front of the side windows to retain the greenhouse shape, which to me is way more clumsily executed than anything in the 50s/60s.
It’s fairly easy to make a gutter-like structure with ductape. It’s not permanent but it lasts a year or so between remakes, and would work and look better than the plastic bag.
Its the top of the windshield thats murder on these F body converts–I got stabbed in the chest getting into one at a car show once. Don’t forget all the composite panels on these cars don’t rust–making the car look better than maybe underneath
End of the day, most people do not have the long nose, 1/4 inch T- Rivet, pop rivet tool needed to change window regulators and motors. I do.
I am thinking that the window motors(at least on the side that I can see) are fine. the window looks like it is fully up(if you look at where the window meets the mirror, there is a black rubber triangle where the window goes up. There is no gap there)
I am thinking ether the window is out of adjustment(you can adjust the angle of the window by loosening a couple of bolts (labeled E and D if I remember correctly) ) or the material on the top has aged and shrunk leaving a gap.
On my 1999 Firebird, the driver’s side window was out of adjustment due to the idiot that replaced the window motor on it before my ownership(they ignored GM instructions to drill out the motor rivets and remove the window motor in favor of removing the entire regulator) It took forever to adjust the window back to spec