Originally Posted by Stroh

Hi Richard,
This was a good long while ago. I have since sold my 2001 convertible and gone back into the c3 world with a 1970 coupe.





I did not ever do the FRC top to a spare tonneau cover conversion, but I did find a c5 top in Michigan, supposedly made to fit properly with no modifications. The owner of the top said it was "factory" and to my knowledge the factory never made these. I didn't argue, the $500 price seemed fair so I drove down after measuring the inside of my SUV and asking the owner for the outer dimensions of the top. By sheer luck, one of us measured wrong and the top didn't fit. The owner of the top really seemed shady and the top wasn't in as good a condition as described, so I passed and drove the two hours back home. At the time I was pretty bummed, but soon after I got an offer on the 01 and sold it without ever having purchased the top or having to go through the trouble of having it paint matched and tweaking the fit..

I believe the one I looked at was a Carravaggio top(sp) mentioned earlier in the thread. From those I spoke with who had them at the Corvette's America car show in the Detroit area, there was a reasonable amount of modification work to get the proper fit and seal without damaging the paint/deck of the car itself. Those factors contributed in abandoning the project.

The pic below is from an ad for another top, converted from a FRC. I do not know Dave and suspect he probably sold this top within the last 5 years, but it's a potential lead.







I will say this: my motivation to get one in the first place was to provide greater security, better highway travel with reduced road noise, and for the option of the other look. My convertible was babied; never saw rain, so that wasn't really a consideration. In short, the c5 soft top was so good (on that car anyway) that the road noise wasn't really an issue and never leaked (not when washed anyway). The problem with the hardtop for long trip travel purposes was that I figured my little wife and I would have to pull the top and take it into a hotel room if we wanted to explore wherever we were topless (the car, not the wife). Taking T-tops or a Targa top off and stowing them/it in the trunk or back of the car is pretty easy and convenient. Removal of these hardtops, for whatever generation vette (or Jeep or whatever), usually require 2 people and and a place to store them off the vehicle when not in use. Kind of a pain.

That said, they do look cool and are more secure (if you ever park in a place where the car is vulnerable). Best of luck in your endeavor.

Originally Posted by Unworhty-

https://www.westcoastcorvette.com/pr...0and%20weather.

Originally Posted by grinder11

AFAIK, Smoothline made the vast majority of these. As for "factory," no. GM never made a hardtop option. Smoothline went under years ago. One reason was the price; it was rather exorbitant, at around $2,500, in 2003 $$$$. Another was probably fitment issues. There were some tops that fit better than others, but from what I remember, none of them fit really well......