1957 vinyl vs canvas soft top

[Dave H]

What are the pros and cons of vinyl soft tops vs canvas tops? Is one any easier than the other to raise and lower? What about durability? Also, am I correct that vinyl was the original soft top for 57s?

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[CSPIDY]

I believe it is an appearance choice
No difference raising and lowering
Mine was vinyl and I put a Haatz fabric top on
It has a more elegant look

 

[knuckle47]

My white ‘57 has a black fabric top and just keeping it super clean is like rolling a lint brush on a black suit when you have a shedding dog. It does look elegant however as @CSPIDY said

For clarification: I haven’t worn a suit in 35 years !!

 

[Ward 57]

Mine originally was Coral Sand with a white hard top and white vinyl soft top and tonneau cover. It would be interesting to know how many of which combination of cloth or vinyl were built.

 

[JRH]

Mine's black canvas on a 55 tbird blue it's shot want to change to white vinyl in the future way down the road. Too much to do for now to deal with it.

 

[Frankie the Fink]

If you actually drive the car and use the top then a Haartz Stayfast top is the way to go, hard to tear or puncture, nearly impervous to mildew or stains, creases come out easily after its raised a while....