2004 Newbie Tonneau & hardtop stand question

[ChairMan]

Hello all. Brand new to Thunderbird ownership and to this forum. I pick up my one owner 2004 Thunderbird Premium, 34,000 miles with hard top on Friday. Platinum/Black. Sold my awesome 1998 Corvette to buy this Bird.. just thought it was time to try something new. Pretty excited!
Hoping to find an OEM Tonneau cover in Black at a reasonable price. Don’t really like the look of the aftermarket cover that closes into the trunk. Also, any recommendations for a good aftermarket hard top stand?

Thanks. Looking forward to this forum as well.

Moderator Note purchase hardtop stand here- https://amzn.to/3cUeg89

 

[stevedaphotoman]

Welcome Chairman, the people on here are mirical workers when it comes to info on our T-Birds.. And if you are at all mechanically inclined and still young enough to crawl under cars, stand on your head in a seat well or do the nose dive into the engine compartment, thier info and thoughts will be immeasurable...

Wow, turned in a Vette for a T- Bird... I love to hear that! Enjoy, your new love affair.. It's the closest to having a mistress with out your better half getting mad.. Matter of fact it my lead to a ménage à trois, you your better half and your T-Bird.. Hope you enjoy many miles cursing down a country road, topless, with the sun in your rear view mirror..

 

[tbird]

When you post to the forum, please choose a subject that is meaningful & includes the model year of your car.
Changed "Newbie" to
2004 Newbie Tonneau & hardtop stand question

 

[Pelagic]

and I'm still looking for an OEM black tonneau cover too....for a reasonable price.

 

[ronwc]

I would keep an eye on ebay and your local craigslist.

 

[tommyc]

Hello all. Brand new to Thunderbird ownership and to this forum. I pick up my one owner 2004 Thunderbird Premium, 34,000 miles with hard top on Friday. Platinum/Black. Sold my awesome 1998 Corvette to buy this Bird.. just thought it was time to try something new. Pretty excited!
Hoping to find an OEM Tonneau cover in Black at a reasonable price. Don’t really like the look of the aftermarket cover that closes into the trunk. Also, any recommendations for a good aftermarket hard top stand?

Thanks. Looking forward to this forum as well.

ChairMan

Congrats on your purchase!

I had similar feelings about the aftermarket vinyl cover, but seeing the scarcity and price of OEM, I went ahead and bought the aftermarket one:

http://www.roadstersolutions.com/product147.html

After I installed it I liked it better than the pictures I had seen before. Of course my bird is silver so anything black looks good on it. Plus it fits nicely into the recess in the trunk.

Having said all this, I've yet to use it. Haven't made any long journeys, and with rain in Florida I like to be able to act quickly to get the top back up. LOL

 

[Xssive]

One like DrSarabi posted came with my car. You can have it for 250 if you pick it up. I don't want to ship. I already had a top holder for my car.

 

[tommyc]

Something else here I can share that might be helpful . . .

In all my preparation and research for purchasing this car, one thing that completely slipped my mind was what I would do with the hard top while it was off. I don't have an enclosed garage; only a carport. I have room to store it, but the carport can be damp and dusty with lots of bugs. The car came with the folding rack, but there was no storage cover for the top. I had seen such covers with other cars.

Short of stashing it inside the house somewhere, I went to Target and bought a vinyl full-size mattress cover with a zipper so I can seal it up. The full-size cover just fits over the top--queen-size isn't necessary. Got someone to help lift the top off the rack slightly to slide the cover on. Hung a Damp Rid bag inside and sealed it up.

Might be a good idea for anyone who's car didn't come with a cover. Even inside a garage it can help keep dust off and odors down.