38" or 43" seam for vinyl top

plumkrazee70 · Nov 21, 2019

I contacted Dante's because they are a legendary dealer, inquiring, on which top to choose and here is his response. I thought you had to measure your roof?

You would need to measure your original top.
If you don't have your original top then there is no way of knowing what your car had originally but the 38" is the most common size we sell.

The roof has nothing to do with the seam distance of the top. The top is exactly the same for all Darts, only the distance between the seams varied depending on production and supplier. Most original cars that we have seen had 38" seams.

So should I just go ahead with the 38"?

1970 Dart Swinger 2dr originally equipped with a full vinyl top.

Red63440 · Nov 21, 2019

Like the response said, if you "DON'T" have the original top available...do you have any photos of the car before the roof was removed, if not then I would just go with the 38" seem.

plumkrazee70 · Nov 21, 2019

Red63440 said:
Like the response said, if you "DON'T" have the original top available...do you have any photos of the car before the roof was removed, if not then I would just go with the 38" seem.

Negative. Just seems odd, that would be a requirement. These cars are pushing 50 years old, who has the original? lol

MoparMike1974 · Nov 21, 2019

Mine had its original before I stripped it. Honestly I dont remember what width I put back on it or what it had originally. I do have some before pics that might show the seams. Its a 73 swinger.
Unless your going for a concours restoration it really makes no difference.

EDIT: Here are a couple pics. Looks like mine had the wider one originally and I put on the narrow one. Not sure, kinda hard to tell by the angle of the shot.