VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1949-1954 49 & 50 Convertible Top Kits

A member of one of the local regions in Ohio wants to know if the 1949 Deluxe Chevy and the 1950 Deluxe Chevy convertible tops are the interchangeable?

dtm

Yes they are... it changed in '51 with the addition of the plastic rear window.

Thanks. This VCCA member does not want to buy a convertible top that doesn't fit correctly. He has been told that 1949 and 1950 Chevys are the same as far as the convertible top kits go.

dtm

If you are refering to the top material they are different. The back part of the top snaps to the belt moulding in 1949 and is fastened inside the body in 1950. Some of the side rails, weather strips and other parts are 1949 only.

I was under the impression he meant the top frame bolting to the car, and the look of the top. I knew the 49 had fewer snaps along the belt moulding for the boot to snap to, but it never occured to me that the top material also came over the lip at the rear quarters instead of under like the '50. So is the top the same material, just fastened different, or is it a completely different top?

I guess that the the $64,000 question. If the 1949 and 1950 tops are attached differently at the rear of the convertible top, then purchasing a 1949 convertible top sounds like it would not be a direct replacement and match for a 1950 Chevy ragtop. Is this true?

dtm

I wouldn't take a chance unless its free.

The top, "fastening differently" is enough to make the situation a go or no go situation, in my opinion.

Folks should examine questions and research applications closely.

Bob

Thanks for posting all of the great information. I called the VCCA owner of the 1949 convertible. After explaining all of the points that you guys have posted here, the owner choose to not purchase the convertible top from a major vendor. The vendor had told him that he sells 1950 convertible tops and that the 1949 top was an exact match to the 1950.

Thanks again to everyone for the help.

dtm

When we get inaccurate info from "vendors" or whomever, we, the consumer, are left hanging out to dry with an empty wallet.

A solution may be to talk to someone that has installed a correct top on a 1949. It could very well be that the kit is the same, it is just up to the installer to fasten and "hem" it different at the belt line. If the major distributor is having trouble sorting out the facts, it is unlikely you would find a smaller maker that has a 49 specific top, as the '49 is a much more rare car. If you do a google search of '49 convertibles, you see that most of the tops are installed as the 50's were. If you go to someone custom making the top, you run into the problem of them not having the correct materials or info that the major manufactuer had, and making it inacurate at some other point.

Does his car have enough of the factory top left to pattern something off of?

I'd advise the owner of the car to have a custom built top from a very competent top shop. One of our local members had a kit top installed by himself on his '50 Olds 88 convertible and it looked awful. He's a very competent craftsman and he took the car and had a custom top put on it. I did that my my '48 convertible and have had no regrets.