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Im rehabbin a 78 Cutlass Supreme which has been in my family since April 1978 (vehicle originally purchased from Mossy Oldsmobile in Midtown Houston) and parts for the t-tops could not be located. The vehicle originally came with a vinyl landau top which was removed in 2001 after the seam joints were rusted.
The body shop which painted the vehicle did what is known as a BOR job (bondo over rust) and this facility did not bother to use a MIG welder to repair the vehicle right; at the time, my late mom was the one in charge of having the vehicle repainted where I had no say - all I did was drive the vehicle for her.
Sadly, there's no reproduction sheetmetal or t-top parts that I can locate - this model year is the only one which has the t-top grommets similar to 78-81 Camaros/Firebirds with the Fisher tops (not Hurst). The trim pieces (which are the first to rust out) - I gave up on searching for these parts and the only ones available is for 81-88 G-bodies (the grommets were eliminated in 1981 with a solid trim piece). Also, the roof panel for a t-top is unavailable and there are those who own a 78-80 (especially the 79 Hurst Olds and 80 442 W-30) who are restoring them.
Another note - the filler pieces for the front bumper for the 3 model years (78, 79, 80) - not all interchange directly since I salvaged a 79 Supreme coupe 4 years ago where the bumper fillers are different from a 78 (79s can be retrimmed to fit a 78) - especially the front bumper assembly (78s have a 2-piece setup where the trim strip hides the seam).
The last resort for those restoring these vehicles - hire a sheetmetal fabricator and score parts cars from the SW USA (Arizona, SoCal); the only other vehicle which shares sheetmetal (doors and roof panel) is a Buick Regal from the same years vintage.
The body shop which painted the vehicle did what is known as a BOR job (bondo over rust) and this facility did not bother to use a MIG welder to repair the vehicle right; at the time, my late mom was the one in charge of having the vehicle repainted where I had no say - all I did was drive the vehicle for her.
Sadly, there's no reproduction sheetmetal or t-top parts that I can locate - this model year is the only one which has the t-top grommets similar to 78-81 Camaros/Firebirds with the Fisher tops (not Hurst). The trim pieces (which are the first to rust out) - I gave up on searching for these parts and the only ones available is for 81-88 G-bodies (the grommets were eliminated in 1981 with a solid trim piece). Also, the roof panel for a t-top is unavailable and there are those who own a 78-80 (especially the 79 Hurst Olds and 80 442 W-30) who are restoring them.
Another note - the filler pieces for the front bumper for the 3 model years (78, 79, 80) - not all interchange directly since I salvaged a 79 Supreme coupe 4 years ago where the bumper fillers are different from a 78 (79s can be retrimmed to fit a 78) - especially the front bumper assembly (78s have a 2-piece setup where the trim strip hides the seam).
The last resort for those restoring these vehicles - hire a sheetmetal fabricator and score parts cars from the SW USA (Arizona, SoCal); the only other vehicle which shares sheetmetal (doors and roof panel) is a Buick Regal from the same years vintage.
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