midyear hardtop decklid dilemma

[Craig O.]

My car has the holes and hardware installed on the sides behind the seat, but no sign of holes ever been drilled in the rear decklid and I believe the decklid is original to the car. were all convertibles equipped with side hardware installed from the factory regardless of hardtop option? also is there any other way to tell if the car came with a hardtop, trim tag, protecto plate or other hardware that might be installed from factory?

[John H.]

Re: midyear hardtop decklid dilemma

My car has the holes and hardware installed on the sides behind the seat, but no sign of holes ever been drilled in the rear decklid and I believe the decklid is original to the car. were all convertibles equipped with side hardware installed from the factory regardless of hardtop option? also is there any other way to tell if the car came with a hardtop, trim tag, protecto plate or other hardware that might be installed from factory?

Craig -

No holes were drilled, either for the two rear hold-down bolts or for the two front/side attach bolts unless the car order specified a hardtop; those holes were drilled at St. Louis. If it's a '67 and you have the tank sticker, the C07 hardtop option will show there, or if it's any year midyear and you have a St. Louis body with other than a black interior, the trim ECL code on the trim tag will indicate a hardtop.

[Gene M.]

Re: midyear hardtop decklid dilemma

Craig -

No holes were drilled, either for the two rear hold-down bolts or for the two front/side attach bolts unless the car order specified a hardtop; those holes were drilled at St. Louis. If it's a '67 and you have the tank sticker, the C07 hardtop option will show there, or if it's any year midyear and you have a St. Louis body with other than a black interior, the trim ECL code on the trim tag will indicate a hardtop.

Hey John,
While we have your attention on this post, one question. On the AO Smith 67 cars delivered with a hardtop only, were the four mountings on the deck already there from AO Smith? (Possible assuming only the front latches retained the top). Or done at the St Louis plant? thanks

[Wayne W.]

Re: midyear hardtop decklid dilemma

The tops were delivered from AOS on the vehicle, so the mountings would have been there.

[John H.]

Re: midyear hardtop decklid dilemma

Hey John,
While we have your attention on this post, one question. On the AO Smith 67 cars delivered with a hardtop only, were the four mountings on the deck already there from AO Smith? (Possible assuming only the front latches retained the top). Or done at the St Louis plant? thanks

As Wayne noted, A.O. Smith hardtop cars were delivered to St. Louis with the hardtop in place; this was true whether they were hardtop-only or 2-top cars. The link below will take you to an article that describes the A.O. Smith operation in detail, including exactly the state of completion of the bodies as-shipped to St. Louis.

http://www.lbfun.com/warehouse/tech_.../A.O.Smith.pdf

[Tim G.]

Re: midyear hardtop decklid dilemma

Great article, did they start building Shelby fiberglass components at the same plant later on?

[John H.]

Re: midyear hardtop decklid dilemma

Great article, did they start building Shelby fiberglass components at the same plant later on?

Tim -

Yes, they did - the stock Mustangs were shipped in from Detroit and went on a disassembly/assembly line on the second floor of the plant where the stock pieces were removed and all the Shelby pieces were added to create the KR500 convertibles.

[Tim G.]

Re: midyear hardtop decklid dilemma

Talk about ironic, building Corvettes one year and building Shelbys the next year.