Cowl code Top color code "A"

[rrielley]

'72 Cutlass Supreme Convertible. The cowl tag shows the convertible top is color code "A". Year One shows a color of "Buckskin" available and that kinda sorta sounds like what it ought to be. Currently, the top is a dirty old tan in poor condition. Maybe that is supposed to be "Buckskin". I want to to be certain I replace the top with the original color. I've looked on the 'net but I can't find what top color code "A" represents. Any ideas? Part of me thinks the bronze body would look great with a black top (interior is a saddle brown) but I also want to be true to the original heritage of the car.

Ray

[rocketraider]

I'd have to look it up for 1972 to be absolutely sure, since sometimes they changed things one year to the next, but A and B were generally the standard white and black convertible or vinyl tops.

[rrielley]

(I'm secretly hoping it turns out to be black)

[rocketraider]

1972 CSM shows code A or AA is white vinyl or convertible top, and white was almost always the convertible top default color unless the car was ordered with another color.

1972 convertible top colors per CSM:

A- white, B- black, G- green (!), T- Covert Beige

But there's nothing stopping you from putting on a black or tan ragtop if you wish.

For whatever reason, black and white tops seem to hold up better than the colored tops. I had a 73 Delta ragtop in triple cranberry, and the maroon vinyl fabric would separate leaving long striation marks in the top. Those would eventually split.

Since I don't like the look of a ragtop patched with duct tape, I was replacing tops on that car every three or four years, and a scissor top ain't cheap to replace. The last top I put on was a black one with a plastic window. After 6 years, it was still in good shape.

[rrielley]

I'm not familiar with "CSM", but does that mean that cream, tan, beige or buckskin were not available factory colors for the ragtop in 1972? A buddy of mine (who alleges to know of such things) says the color of the top typically matched the color of the interior "back in the day." The top is now a dirty beige color, but it is very possible is what white a long time ago OR a previous owner installed a beige top.

[don71]

CSM==means Chassis Service Manual. Its a great resource to own.

If the factory offered it, it would be in the CSM, but stranger things have ocurred.

[rrielley]

If anyone has a CSM or other resource, could they please check to see if there was a beige-ish convertible top color offered in '72 on the Cutlass?