Rustbucket2

I have 72 cutlass, with halo top, will I need to remove rear window to replace vinyl top? Old top was removed and roof is in great shape, so I want to put the top back on.

Olds64

When I took the rear window trim off of my 71 98 I found that the rear window needed to be removed in order to properly repair the rust that started in the window channel.

My 71 98 never had a vinyl top and the body had little to no rust on it but the window channel did need a repair (as well as the passenger's side fender skirt). I sugget removing the window to prep the window channel for vinyl top replacement; otherwise, you might be doing it again in a few years.

joe_padavano

The window isn't supposed to need to be removed, but I've seen vinyl top installations where the urethane window adhesive flowed over the edge of the vinyl. In that case, you may be able to carefully trim either the urethane or the vinyl to avoid widow removal, but be careful not to loosen the urethane seal.

Of course, as Olds64 points out, it is sadly not uncommon to find pinchweld rust under the urethane.