Re: 1955 Caribbean top material

Posted by Leeedy On 2022/3/16 12:47:46
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West Peterson wrote:
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Leeedy wrote:
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Leeedy. I appreciate all the information that you have provided through the years on '55-'56 convertible tops. You are certainly a wealth of knowledge.

I am ready to order a top for our 1955 convertible. At this time, because of cost and complexity, I'm not so interested in having the inner liner being correct (blue). Black is fine for our use. However, I certainly want the outer material to look as correct as possible.

Which supplier would you recommend ordering from?

Thank you!!!


Understand about cost and complexity. Normal fabric most accurate in appearance, with light color, dye-able inner face I would use today for 1955 Caribbean costs over $300 a yard. And is still tough to get even at that price.

But even if you don't care about having a color inner face on your 1955 Caribbean top, it is still best if you don't default to black inside. While black is the most common inner-face color for convertible tops, Packard never, ever intended for these top insides to be black. Their stated intent was for the Caribbeans (and other postwar convertibles) to be as light and airy inside as possible. Thus the reason why Packard's convertible top bows and top-stack framework were painted white instead of black as other car makers did.

If you do a bit of looking, there are convertible top fabrics with a tan or beige interior facing. Far better than using black.

As for recommending a supplier? As I've stated, I have not been involved in the industry for a lot of years and so much has changed. And remember... there are fabric suppliers... and then there are convertible top suppliers. Somehow you need to marry the two and come up with the best solution for you. This is the best I can say. Know what look you want and then approach a supplier.

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