The cowl tag on the Buick indicates that the car had a green convertible top, but clearly it had been replaced long ago with a white one, which is now again in need of replacement. Of course, I’d like to replace it with a green top like it had originally. However, up until yesterday I had no clear idea about what shade of green it should be. SMS Auto Fabrics sent me a sample of a medium-green vinyl that they have in stock which is a little bit lighter than the green used in the interior. As luck would have it, I was able to dig a few scraps of original green top vinyl from the header bow underneath the replacement white top. The original shade is significantly lighter than the sample sent by SMS, but is of the same texture.

Green convertible top sample. LEFT: SMS Auto Fabrics sample. MIDDLE: Original factory top remnant. RIGHT: Original edging remnant of different vinyl texture, but matching color.

The bottom of the original sample shown in the center above has a piece of green fabric attached to it. I’m not certain if this is just a piece of the original pads, or if it was part of a liner that covered the entire inside of the vinyl top.

Back side of original convertible top vinyl

The original top boot is fortunately still with the car, but it has shrunken up a little and has some tears, so it will need to be replicated. It’s made of the same vinyl color and texture as the interior. Somewhat unique in design, this original boot has hidden snaps, a feature I’d like to retain in a reproduction.

Original 1960 Buick convertible top boot

Also interesting, were two factory installed decals that were located inside the glove compartment. One decal, stuck to the bottom of the plastic glove box tray gives instructions about copying the numbers from the keys onto your drivers license, engine oil and transmission fluid change interval, and tire pressure.

Glove box decal

The second decal, I really don’t know where this one should go… when I removed the plastic glove box tray to get access to some other fasteners, I discovered it loose under the tray.  This decal explains why the paint job on the car is a new gloss lacquer of improved durability, and that it requires special new techniques for repair.  Cool! I love this kinda stuff! I only hope that a copy of the build-sheet will turn up somewhere in the car. I’ve looked inside both of the rear seat cushions, but no luck yet!

Exterior finish decal