Hi
I am looking at a 70SS color Red with no vinyl top. After doing some digging, I was able to trace the car back to a guy who had it for 12 years before selling it in 1999.
He said that when he owned it, it had a black vinyl top.
It now doesn' have it and the car has been repainted. It looks good and from what I can see on the outside, you tell that it once had one.
BUt, my question is, will I encounter problems down the road with the fact that maybe the bondo that was used to fill in the trim holes will start falling out ?
Should it be a concern ? The car really looks good and its about the only thing that is keeping me from buying it.
SO, should I or shouldnt I. thanks

It should be easy to check to see if the trim holes were filled with bondo or welded. You'll have to get in the trunk with a flashlight and a mirror. Use the mirror to check for holes at the rear corner of the back side window. And lay on your back in the trunk and look under the rear deck filler panel between the rear glass and decklid and see if you see any bondo sticking through where holes used to be. Usually you can tell if the metal has been welded, because you should see a small puddle on the back side of where the holes were, unless they ground them down and painted the area.

Thanks
BUt I do know that it was a vinyl top and that the holes were bondo filled. I am concerned it this is bad, meaning will it start to crack. I thought I remember reading a long time ago, that a car that comes through with factory vinyl top, that the roof is not prepared by the factory that good because they know they are putting a vinyl top on it.
My concern is, knowing that it was a vinly top and holes bondo-ed, should I be concerned about it. I dont want to be driving along and under acceleration if the there is any torque or twist, that the bondo will crack.
Any commnents ?
Thanks

The roofs go through the same prep work as the rest of the panels. Paint then glue, then vinyl top.
I restored mine and it HAD a vinyl top. Theres nothing wrong with your purchase.
As long as they grinded the rivets down instead of drilling through them. Just check to make sure it isn't bondo in their. You gotta look up in the trunk.

If you really like the car and you plan on repaiting it, I would not worry about it. However, depending on who did the repairs you might have problems down the road.

These cars are 30 years old, so unless they were garage queens, they are gonna have a little rust here and there unless you cut it out. My camino had severe rust by these rivets, I ground it down and put some Por15 over it and it seems okay now.The question is what did they put down under that paint?

so you are saying the holes were just filled with bondo and never welded. eventually the bondo will pop or crack, bondo doesnt adhear well to air. the way the roof was prepared for a vinyl top from the factory is with brushable seam sealer. it was brushed where the roof meets the quarter and the windshield posts. all of that seam sealer needs to be removed and i mean all of it or it will crack there too. bottom line is that it is an ss that came with a vinyl, buy it and put one back on. do that or spend the time welding the holes up, digging out the seam sealer, and spraying the roof and quarters. i would also inspect for further rust damage. to me if bondo was a quick fix for removal of a hat what else did they quickly fix. you might be looking under the car only to find yourself reading the funnies from 12 years ago too if you know what i mean. something to keep in mind if the price is not right. good luck