Jeff, Don't know what kind of shape your top is in but I tell you what I did 35 years ago to a Comet I had. Vinyl tops were all the rage so my father and I decided to put one on the car. We just got some black vinyl like you cover furniture with and glued it on with contact cement. I was a lot younger then and I put a vinyl top dressing on it about every other week but the thing held up for at least 3 or 4 years. I have looked at a couple of Concords in the last couple of years and I thought this is what I would do to them but I didn't get the cars. This is just a suggestion. Take off the old top. Sand it the best you can and get you some spray adhesive and put it on. I think you would have a cheap way to fix your problem with the top. If you didn't like it you could still go with a professional job later on down the line. I agree with Doc I don't think you would ever get the roof slick enough to paint after you took the top off. Terry