Vinyl Roof - when and why?
Discussion
A recent thread got me thinking - who the heck first thought, 'this car just needs it's roof covering in a contrasting layer of textured plastic to finish it off'.
At the time of max popularity it was very thing. It denoted a high spec. It was the S Line of its day
But where did it all start?
At the time of max popularity it was very thing. It denoted a high spec. It was the S Line of its day
But where did it all start?
swisstoni said:
A recent thread got me thinking - who the heck first thought, 'this car just needs it's roof covering in a contrasting layer of textured plastic to finish it off'.
At the time of max popularity it was very thing. It denoted a high spec. It was the S Line of its day
But where did it all start?
Probably when someone cocked up the paintwork and needed a quick fix ? At the time of max popularity it was very thing. It denoted a high spec. It was the S Line of its day
But where did it all start?
Or This
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_roof
A
Edited by Andrew Gray on Sunday 1st November 08:06
Irrespective of the material used, a contrasting roof colour can be very effective in changing the appearance for the better. I can only speculate that a roof covering was perceived as somehow upmarket compared to a contrasting paint job.
Personally I think that some cars look very good with them.
Modern cars with panoramic roofs achieve a similar look and I wouldn't have considered my current car without one (white E class coupe).
Personally I think that some cars look very good with them.
Modern cars with panoramic roofs achieve a similar look and I wouldn't have considered my current car without one (white E class coupe).
mph said:
I can only speculate that a roof covering was perceived as somehow upmarket compared to a contrasting paint job.
It goes back to when Weymann and others built fabric-covered bodies, or just the upper part of the body of fixed-heads.
Last car to do that, structurally, was probably the Riley RM.
So, from there on, it's only a small step to a cosmetic covering.
Andrew Gray said:
swisstoni said:
A recent thread got me thinking - who the heck first thought, 'this car just needs it's roof covering in a contrasting layer of textured plastic to finish it off'.
At the time of max popularity it was very thing. It denoted a high spec. It was the S Line of its day
But where did it all start?
Probably when someone cocked up the paintwork and needed a quick fix ? At the time of max popularity it was very thing. It denoted a high spec. It was the S Line of its day
But where did it all start?
Or This
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_roof
A
Edited by Andrew Gray on Sunday 1st November 08:06
My Dad had a Hillman Avenger (BDB696L) new which was blue with a white vinyl roof, sure we thought it looked very Starsky and Hutch, well I would have been 6. Sure if I saw it today it would look awful, from memory the vinyl didn't cover all the roof, stopped maybe 6-8 inches short of the back windows.
Oliver.
Oliver.
The reason was simple. It looked cool back then. I think the height of popularity was the early 70s.
My dad had a Ford Cortina 1600XL. Tawny Brown with a beige vinyl roof specified from new and on extended delivery because of the vinyl roof.
He was the envy of the village.
You could even get a special cleaner for the roof that you stippled on with a brush and then washed off.
The trend carried on into the 80s.
Yes we look back now and think WTF but those were the days when flares were in first time round (did they ever come back?), porn came from hedgerows rather than the internet and women would appreciate a pat on the bum if they did well at work such as bring you a brew when you were gasping for one.
I wonder what there is today which is commonplace which will make us think WTF were they thinking in 45 years time.
My dad had a Ford Cortina 1600XL. Tawny Brown with a beige vinyl roof specified from new and on extended delivery because of the vinyl roof.
He was the envy of the village.
You could even get a special cleaner for the roof that you stippled on with a brush and then washed off.
The trend carried on into the 80s.
Yes we look back now and think WTF but those were the days when flares were in first time round (did they ever come back?), porn came from hedgerows rather than the internet and women would appreciate a pat on the bum if they did well at work such as bring you a brew when you were gasping for one.
I wonder what there is today which is commonplace which will make us think WTF were they thinking in 45 years time.
I remember my father aspiring to the vinyl roof thing back in the day.
I know he spent quite a bit of time getting a vinyl roof fitted to one of the cars he owned.
I do think the whole vinyl roof thing is very car dependant. Some cars suit them others not.
A mate of mine owned a 1300 dolomite that didn't have the vinyl applied to the rear pillars.
To emulate the look from distance he painted the rear pillars black.
Saying all that when the sunroof craze hit my father was also drawn into that one and had to have a aftermarket glass pop up sunroof installed.
I know he spent quite a bit of time getting a vinyl roof fitted to one of the cars he owned.
I do think the whole vinyl roof thing is very car dependant. Some cars suit them others not.
A mate of mine owned a 1300 dolomite that didn't have the vinyl applied to the rear pillars.
To emulate the look from distance he painted the rear pillars black.
Saying all that when the sunroof craze hit my father was also drawn into that one and had to have a aftermarket glass pop up sunroof installed.
I remember my Dad having a black Webasto sunroof fitted to his copper(!) Opel Manta, and having a vinyl roof done "so it all matched".
Most Range Rover Classics have black vinyl C-pillars. The very early ones didn't seem to, so no idea what made them do it.
Rumour has it the last of the line Alfa 2000 GTV coupes sold in this country in the 70s had a vinyl roof fitted by the importer, as the roof was already rusting. It was called an "SE" and also featured such bolt on delights as a rear fog light. Different times!
Most Range Rover Classics have black vinyl C-pillars. The very early ones didn't seem to, so no idea what made them do it.
Rumour has it the last of the line Alfa 2000 GTV coupes sold in this country in the 70s had a vinyl roof fitted by the importer, as the roof was already rusting. It was called an "SE" and also featured such bolt on delights as a rear fog light. Different times!
While displaying my car at a show a couple of years ago, I got talking to someone who worked on final inspection at the plant, as I'd found a hole I couldn't explain. He suggested that the car must have had a dent in the front edge of the roof (where it's double-skinned and no access from inside), so they pop the screen out, punch a hole in the windscreen surround, stick something through the hole to push the dent out, fill the hole with mastic then put the screen back in.
"Too many dents in the roof to fix", he said, "customer gets a free vinyl roof".
"Too many dents in the roof to fix", he said, "customer gets a free vinyl roof".
Coo, am I the only one who loves certain cars with the vinyl roof option then? I particularly like the ones with a proper padded "underlay" giving the appearance of a fabric roof, especially with dummy "hood irons"... then again I just like old cars and what comes with them - strip speedo's (normally useless for telling your speed), crossplies (wheeee... wet road), Rostyles ( hmm, a "sporty" wheel that weighs more than a standard steel, mesh headrests (need I comment?. I shouldn't try and analyse the reasons behind fashion, that's definite head ache territory - next, who on earth thought imitation alloy wheel clip on trims would look good?
As for the "S line" of their day, I'm not sure what an S line is but given a few years and folk will probably be laughing at its ridiculous oversized alloys, daft metallic silver paint and citing its abundance of driver aids as a motoring blind alley...
As for the "S line" of their day, I'm not sure what an S line is but given a few years and folk will probably be laughing at its ridiculous oversized alloys, daft metallic silver paint and citing its abundance of driver aids as a motoring blind alley...
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