A few years ago, I inherited a 1989 Cadillac DeVille from my grandfather. It had been sitting out in the open for about four years, undriven, before I got to it. Regardless of that, it runs pretty good and gets me where I need to go, but the vinyl top is completely destroyed. It really can't even be considered vinyl anymore, it's more of a sickly-gray fuzz. This ugly appearance wasn't even really a problem to me, I'm not entering any car shows here, but in the last few months, the roof has started leaking inside. When I first got the car, I could see watermarks on the passenger side where it looked like it had leaked previously, but never saw any actual water coming in. Now it's leaking fairly heavily on the driver's side.
In the past, I kind of kicked around the idea of replacing the vinyl, but it is really impossible for me financially, so I'm now considering removing the old "vinyl," repairing the rust that is there and then repainting it (which would be more cost effective for me, as my brother is well-acquainted with such things, and could provide cheap labor and assistance).
So I guess my question is, has anyone done this? Is there anything I should know? Any problems or complications you had, or better suggestions?? Should I just sell the old girl and get a Yugo?? Any input is greatly appreciated.