replacement convertible top

rkinnear · Post by **rkinnear** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 2:35 am

i have a 1989 ascmclaren mustang and was wondering if anyone knew if the 1989 mustang gt convertible top would fit the car rather then having to buy and actual mclaren replacement top

GQ 1949 · Post by **GQ 1949** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 4:01 am

welcome rkinnear, a mustang gt top will not fit, you'll have to
get the mclaren top.

GQ.

tfs2121 · Post by **tfs2121** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:17 pm

welcome to the group! like GQ said you will not beable to use a regular mustang top you must order a ascMcLaren top. their are lots of places to get them from you might want to ask around here many people have replaced their top on this board

shelbyscarab · Post by **shelbyscarab** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 1:42 pm

Not just the top, but ANY ASC mclaren part should be replaced with the ASC part.

Why buy a McLaren, if you replace parts with GT stuff, you might as well of bought a GT.

Sandy · Post by **Sandy** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 2:05 pm

Purchase your top here. Any other source will sell you a "wrong pattern" make believe fake ascMcLaren top. In the end, you'll be buying your next one from here, so do it right the first time--

http://www.ascmclaren.com

rkinnear · Post by **rkinnear** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 3:05 pm

i know the top isnt exactly the same as far as the windows are and all both i thought since the body was the same the the convertible top would still fit the reason i ask is cause i can get a normal convertible top for like 300 and the mclaren one is 750 which i think is a bit much, is their any place less expensive to get them

red390gt · Post by **red390gt** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 3:18 pm

Sandy wrote:Purchase your top here. Any other source will sell you a "wrong pattern" make believe fake ascMcLaren top. In the end, you'll be buying your next one from here, so do it right the first time--

http://www.ascmclaren.com

Does anyone have some pictures they could post showing the difference between the correct and wrong tops? I would like to know what to look out for.

75coug · Post by **75coug** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 5:49 pm

Sandy wrote:Purchase your top here. Any other source will sell you a "wrong pattern" make believe fake ascMcLaren top. In the end, you'll be buying your next one from here, so do it right the first time--

http://www.ascmclaren.com

Has anyone done a comparison of the real and fake tops, with side-by-side photos and the like? I know that Sandy has explained the differences on previous occasions, and those differences are important to owners who would never dare put an aftermarket part on their car.

I am in the middle when it comes to authenticity. While I oppose modifications generally, I would have no problem putting the fake top on my car as long as it looked good and was of sufficient quality. The odds of someone unassociated with this site seeing my car and recognizing that the top was not of the stock variety are remote.

Getting back to my original point, is there a significant difference quality-wise between a top from ascmclaren.com and one available from another source?

shelbyscarab · Post by **shelbyscarab** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:05 pm

Gee, do I have a fake top??? I don't know, probably do.

I think it was from Electron top. It is identical to my original except that it has blue thread not the white thread (which looked terrible anyway).......

And, I paid alot less, $350. The rod shop that did it did an excellent job installing it.

red390gt · Post by **red390gt** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 8:52 pm

75coug wrote:
Sandy wrote:Purchase your top here. Any other source will sell you a "wrong pattern" make believe fake ascMcLaren top. In the end, you'll be buying your next one from here, so do it right the first time--

http://www.ascmclaren.com
Has anyone done a comparison of the real and fake tops, with side-by-side photos and the like? I know that Sandy has explained the differences on previous occasions, and those differences are important to owners who would never dare put an aftermarket part on their car.

I am in the middle when it comes to authenticity. While I oppose modifications generally, I would have no problem putting the fake top on my as long as it looked good and was of sufficient quality. The odds of someone unassociated with this site seeing my car and recognizing that the top was not of the stock variety are remote.

Getting back to my original point, is there a significant different quality-wise between a top from ascmclaren.com and one available from another source?

Exactly my question, I would love to see the differences lined up side by side to compare. Most people probably wouldn't be able to tell anyway, so if mine is fake or incorrect I'm Ok with it as long as it looks good and does it's job.

Sandy · Post by **Sandy** » Wed Mar 21, 2007 10:09 pm

The original tops used a much stronger stitching, the stitching was color-keyed to the top, rather than off white (one color fits all ~), and were made of more pieces, therefore, more places for it to come UNstitched. The original has smaller rear side wrap around windows that fit in nicely, when the top was lowered. The aftermarket ones all made them with larger wrap around rear plastic windows. Because of their size, the will wrinkle up much more. The plastic is also noticeably thinner, and can easily be damaged unless the upmost of care is used and the top is very carefully lowered.a little bit at a time, and the operator constantly checks what he / she is doing.
You DO get what you pay for. Since it's costly to have an installer do a quality job, I would think it's not a job you'd want to do again in 3 years.

Regarding using a stock Mustang top, forget it. TheMcLaren's windshields are angled back an additional 10, (or it it 20 - I 4-get) degrees and there is NO WAY a Mustang convertible will ever fit. They are 2 totally different animals.