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Anthony, I have replaced one Vinyl top on a 66 Chevelle
for a customer. Vinyl has ratings and depending on where you live that might be
a concern. I live in Alaska so used one with a minus 40 degree cold crack
rating. It was a full top and required two French seams. I left plenty of
excess material to be trimmed later. After prepping the roof with the chrome
trim removed, I drew two straight lines on the roof with a magic marker that
represented where the seams would be. Then with a large curved needle
and upholstery button twine attached the twine to the end of seams at
the front and tied off to the front bumper. I did the same at the rear, pulled
it tight, and checked to make sure the seams were centered and lined up. I used
a heat gun to stretch it tight. You will want a good glue. I forget exactly what
I used but NAPA or another reputable auto parts store can help you with that. On
subsequent upholstery jobs when attaching fabric to metal I have used Con-Bond,
an excellent glue that has never failed. As I applied the top I glued the front
edge first and let it dry completely, making sure of the lateral stretch, again
using the heat gun. The idea being to work form the front to back
pulling it tight as you go. As I installed it I followed the lines with the
seams, heating the material as I went. When I got to the back window is
when I really needed the heat gun. Use tack points instead of
trying to glue large sections at a time. I had to do a good bit of
readjusting and would have been in trouble if I committed myself too soon. The
reason is I was installing a 2 dimensional material onto a 3 dimensional
surface. That can be tricky. The only way to do it is to get the vinyl soft
and pliable with the heat gun. (You might want to practice with a scrap piece
first as you can accidentally melt the vinyl with a heat gun) Glue along
all edges and as far down into the groves of the trim as you can.
One more thing, when pulling the top tight during installation I pulled mainly
on the seams as they can tend to bunch a little during sewing.
I hope this helps.
Dan
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