From all the research I've done, GM had a contract with Hurst that had to be filled before they could go strictly to their Fisher tops. I think it was in a HPP article from a few months back. From what I read if you walked into a dealer and ordered a firebird and wanted a T roof the salesman pushed the Hurst top simply so GM could fill the orders to get out of the Hurst contract. They went to the Fisher top in '78 but I've seen alot of '78s with Hurst tops. A friend of mine has a survivor '78 that was bought new in Greenwood SC which is about a 15 minute drive from here at Johnson Pontiac. He has a ton of paperwork including the build sheet which did disclose Hurst Tops. His cousin has a black '78 which also has Hurst Tops. Most of the black '78 SEs I've seen have Hurst tops. If a '79 had a factory T-top roof it would have had Fishers. I found an '81 Firebird in a junkyard not far from here with the American Tops and I know of a Martinique Blue 78 with the Cars and Concepts style.
PS. My '78 Gold SE with Fisher tops absolutely does not leak. I've shot my garden hose at full stream at the seams and nothing came through. Only water leaking into my interior is from the front and rear window channels. Either rust or the seal is bad but the T roof is fine. I got caught in a BAD storm last summer in the car. The front windshield leaked on me but the T tops was dry as a bone.
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