Just wondering if anyone has converted a coupe to a convertible. My brother just got a 66 coupe nothing special so he wants to make it a driver. He would like to convert it to a convertible but im not sure how to go about this. Anyone Know of a kit, or anyone who has done this?
Just wondering if anyone has converted a coupe to a convertible. My brother just got a 66 coupe nothing special so he wants to make it a driver. He would like to convert it to a convertible but im not sure how to go about this. Anyone Know of a kit, or anyone who has done this?
This topic comes up about twice a year (for at least the last ten years).
1. The Ronster is a topless, windowless roadster. Good luck when the weather goes foul. At least a leaking cowl is no longer a major issue.
2. Whacking off a lid and building a homemade convertible top usually ends up looking (and working) pretty goofy. At least when you go to car shows it will look different.
3. The cost and effort to turn a coupe into a real convertible is far more than actually selling the coupe and buying a vert. By the time you add all the structural reinforcement, internal bracing, convertible top, windows, trim, etc., you coulda had a real one for the same or less money. And it wouldn't have taken as long.....
OTOH, converting a solid, not-rusty coupe to a fastback is relatively easy by comparison.
on the first two point i generally agree with jack. i do believe that if one pays close attention to what they are doing the conversion will be nearly the same as an original convertible though. as to point number three, jack is spot on. the ronstar roadster kit is $1300, and the labor is likely going to top $500 minimum. so for just a simple roadster you are at a minimum $1800. add the cost and labor to install all the convertible parts, and you are looking at something like $5000 minimum. if your coupe is in decent shape, and a convertible is preferred, then sell the coupe for about $4000, and take the other $5000 and buy a convertible in reasonable shape. then take your time restoring as you like.
this is probably the way he's gonna go... (sell and re purchase) but he asked me about so i wanted to give him all of the information.
so the way i understand it is this kit converts the coupe to a roadster. Meaning no top... it says teaneau cover so is that a crappy top or a cover for the open area when your car is parked?
Me and some buddies did this about 20 years ago in high school. Back then we were able to find all the glass,top,stainless trim,seat, panels etc from junk yards and it was pretty cheap back then(maybe 1000 bucks). The conversion we did looks good enough to fool a lot of people since it has all the supports in the truck and the door sills.. My neighbor started piecing together all the parts so we can do it again. So far he has spent upwards of $4,500 for just the glass, rear seat,top and trim around the windshield and where the boot snaps.Next we have to reinforce the floor and the factory subframes that run under the door sills.
I dont care for the "Ronster" kit because you lose a lot of the chrome and you can tell from a pretty good distance thats its a conversion.