My car has gone from this in September 2010:
To this June 2011:
Paint alone was $3K, plus new door seals, window sweeps (parts where the window drops into the doors, window channels and new trunk seal which added another $5??.00 to the bill.
To remove the vinyl top you need to pull the trim molding off of the windshield, rear window, roof drip rails, door jam trim, and the strips along the seam between the paint and vinyl material. Using razor blades, glue remover, plenty of rags or good paper towels and lots of arm strength you can remove the top. Now you will find at minimum bare metal for these cars were not painted where the top was glued on. Most often if you live in the southern states you will find some mild surface rust and mild pitting. If up in the northern states that use salts on the winter roads you may find much pitting and even small holes in the metal. Worst case I have seen is a rust holes so big that no shop would touch replacing the top after pulling the old one off. That car you could wave at people just above the windshield. That particular car had to be scraped.
You will have much sanding to do and you may have to replace some body filler where the roof and sides meet and were wielded at the factory. If it looks ugly in those areas don't be too worried for it is normal. You may even need to replace the molding clips that holds the windshield and rear window trim on. Be sure to clean the metal real good and use primer and then paint to finish the job if you are doing this yourself.