Re: Caribbean Hardtop Vinyl Roof Material

Posted by BH On 2011/2/5 14:11:19

fred -

Thanks for the additional insight.

Yes, the material on my car does remind me of some that Cadillac used back in the 1970s. I've also heard that Chrysler used a "Crush grain" on some of their vinyl tops in the 1960s, but haven't looked into that.

After all this good discussion in this thread, I can now say that I've never seen a '56 Caribbean Hardtop with a correctly-grained, let alone original, top - though I haven't seen all of the surviving examples. That tells me authentic-looking material must be awfully hard to come by.

Now, my Carib Hardtop is by no means a show car, but merely a survivor, and has been out of circulation for the past decade due to other priorities. I know the replacement roof covering on my Hardtop is not an exact match (and never said it was), but it's closer than than the many other replacements that I've seen. I suppose I could have this top recolored for a closer match, but it will do for now.

While I have no interest in subjecting any of my Packards to club judging, know that my goal in restoration and preservation is to be as authentic as is reasonably possible. Ultimately, I would like to strip the top (along with the rest of the car) and restore with more durable top material of an exact grain and color. However, I'm a long way from that stage.