BodyGeneral body information and techniques for restoration, repairs, and modification.
Sponsored by ThirdGen Ranch
Welcome to ThirdGen.org!
Welcome to ThirdGen.org.
You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, at no cost, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, join the ThirdGen.org community today!
I found this today & thought I would share... I know alot of you have been to this site for the Kitt Car, but I did not realize they did T-top conversions... They also have alot of other cool stuff too.
I also hear alot about converting your hard top to T-tops, so here ya go, prices & everything: This would be great to do to some 350 cars that did not originally come with T-s from the factory, just to throw the gurus off course....
$7,000 to turn your car into a tunafish can. What a bargain.
------------------ The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A> Custom Thirdgen Subwoofer Enclosures
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah
Lightly Moded:
Edelbrock Headers, Rebuilt B&M 700R-4 Tranny, Higher Stall Torque Converter, Airfoil, 3.4 w\posi, K&N's, Ported & Polished Plenum
-- Blue LED Bakelite Dash & Climate Control
- I am just some 17 Year old spending every dollar I make on my car.
If anybody bothered to look, it's only $1500 (that's not super cheap either) for the actual conversion. The rest of the price comes depending on how lazy you want to be & how deep your wallet is. Having others do all the work for you comes at a price...
i could get a cutting torch and cut t-top holes in who's ever car would like t-tops, charge them half (maybe even a 1/4) and still be making a hell of a profit.
You can deffinitely tell its quality work being done, and you can't deny that.
I wonder if they will do Convertable conversions
If I had the deep pockets, i'd pay them $7K to have it done. Its worth it if you have 20K invested in your car, and you deperately want the T-tops, but you don't want to buy a doner car, and replace the entire interior/engine.
------------------
Third Gen Project - Website now defunct because crosswinds sucks
1989 305 tbi Camaro RS Red/Red
Ram Air II Hood
Centerline Champ 500 Rims
Edelbrock Open Element
MacEwen White Faced Guages
GM's t-top cars have significant reinforcements in the unibody. Turn a non t-top car into one and the car will likely cave in after some miles.
Even their $1500 package isn't really worth it. It doesn't come with anything. You're paying $1500 for them to cut the old roof off and weld a new one on. While not exactly simple, that's not $1500 worth of work.
------------------ The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A> Custom Thirdgen Subwoofer Enclosures
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah
3rdgen cars must be pretty §hittily built than Jim. If my hunk of crap CRX could handle it, one would hope a well built piece of American craftsmanship could take it w/o caving in on itself.
[This message has been edited by deadbird (edited December 07, 2001).]
<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by deadbird: 3rdgen cars must be pretty §hittily built than Jim. If my hunk of crap CRX could handle it, one would hope a well built piece of American craftsmanship could take it w/o caving in on itself.
[This message has been edited by deadbird (edited December 07, 2001).]</font>
If your CRX weighted 3500 lbs and had 300+ ftlbs of torque, it would have ripped itself apart WITHOUT t-tops.
You also need to remember how old thirdgens are. Most have been subjected to salt and rough roads for many years, and that takes a heavy toll on a unibody structure. If you did decide to piss away $7k to put t-tops into a $3k car, it probably wouldn't actually cave in on itself, but the chassis would be weakened enough that it would be a rattle trap on bumpy roads, and the additional stress on the unibody would cause the entire structure to loosen up faster than it would have without the added stress.
------------------ The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A> Custom Thirdgen Subwoofer Enclosures
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah
[This message has been edited by Jim85IROC (edited December 08, 2001).]
I have seen no proof whatsoever on this subject, just theories. The changes GM made to TTop cars is very minor, you make it out likes its an entirely different structure. Also, it has been heavily debated on how much strength a top actually gives the structure of a car for some time now and it is not nearly as much as one would think. Some simple reinforcements around the t can make it stronger than it is now as a hard top. With a little work and some studying up, it can be done without giving away any strength of structure whatsoever.