Well somehow the top on my chevelle has gotten a rip in it. It started out small, about 3" long, but has slowly grown to about 6-7". The rip is on the pass. side towards the rear, right on the spot that gets creased when you put the top up and down a lot. I can't afford to replace the top for a while and am looking for a way to temporarily patch the rip so that it stops getting bigger and keep the rain out. Anyone know of any good ways to do it? Thanks!

That's weird. I was practice sewing on a top last night. I have a top that I'm not going to replace, but want to fix so it doesn't get any worse.

I've never done it before, but here's what I did.

I had some Tandy Leather needles and some of their waxed (sinew?) thread. This thread, I'm not sure of the name, is sort of thick like twisted stranded wire with a wax coating. I also had some leftover vinyl covering which is pretty heavy with a fabric on the back. I cut a piece of vinyl larger than a tear, like a Band-Aid, and buckstitched around the perimeter of the tear. I haven't tested it yet because it's off the frame, but I feel good enough about it that I ordered some black waxed thread from Tandy afterwards. I was using brown thread (I didn't have any black)on a black top with a black piece of vinyl behind it.

I think they have white, black, brown, tan, and natural. It was $5 for 25 yds + 7.50 shipping, but I figure it'll be well worth it in my case.

Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try.