Looking at new top frames and such, I thought I read somewhere that the frames are different between manual and power. Is this the same for 66 convertibles?

Rick,

Yes... My 66 originally had a manual top, and I wanted to convert to power... I had thought of just buying the lift cylinders, etc, but luckily someone I had dealt with before mentioned that they were different...

I was a little unsure, as this person also happened to have a Power top frame he could sell me... I figured he was honest and I had dealt with him before, so I bought the frame and had it shipped... It sat for another 5-6 years...

In comparing the two frames, side-by-side and piece-by-piece, it was evident that the two were indeed different.

All the main pieces and attachment points were the same. The difference was in the smaller "linkage" bars... They are different. Apparently this is because the Power top Pushes throught some of this linkage, and supposedly if the power cylinders were attached to the manual frame, the linkage would simply bend...

As I recall, all bows were the same, the front frame protion was the same (I think), but the middle and rear side pieces are were the differences were... I recall some of the linkage pieces were not detachable from the frame portions...

The good news is that the top frame should be the same for 66-67 A-bodies (mines from a GTO?), and the other models (Skylark, Lemans/GTO, and Cutlass) seem to be better equipped, so more power tops (don't know for sure though)...

Thanks thats what I thought but someone selling a Manual was telling me differently..