ConvertiblesDiscussed here are problems and solutions to convertible specific questions, including difficult to find part numbers and other convertible tech help.
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Did ASC convert cars before '87? Here is a link to an '86 on ebay.
I think this would be a highly collectable car. It really looks nice and different without all of the gfx. Put some period correct rims and you would have a real headturner.
Just my 2 cents.
For the record - my 86 is identical to an 87 ASC, but the conversion was actually performed by Choo Choo Customs. Being that it is identical, Im assuming CCC had some kind of deal with ASC, buying the parts from them - odd as it may seem..
Can anybody explain this one? Is this factory? If so ... somebody grab it 'cause I've never seen one like it. I think its a chop job, though (but it looks pretty good for a chop job)
Can anybody explain this one? Is this factory? If so ... somebody grab it 'cause I've never seen one like it. I think its a chop job, though (but it looks pretty good for a chop job)
i asked the seller if he knew the convesion company he said its
probably "Coach Builders Limited in Florida" but he is not sure,
i also posted question about it in the History board but no one
seems to have info about it
Thanks for the research! I will keep an eye on the history board. I'd say this wasn't a conversion that the factory comissioned, but it doesn't look too bad. I just wish there was a tonneau cover, boot, or something over the top when its down.
It is not an ASC (factory conversion). Coach Builders of FL was one of the companies that was doing conversions in the early 80's according to Camaro the Third Generation by Michael Lamm. There's no picture of their conversion, just a description and price for the conversion (6K).
Lon
__________________ 90 RS Convertible "cruiser"
88 Firebird Formula "racer"
88 Iroc-Z Resto-Project car "paperweight"
It is not an ASC (factory conversion). Coach Builders of FL was one of the companies that was doing conversions in the early 80's according to Camaro the Third Generation by Michael Lamm. There's no picture of their conversion, just a description and price for the conversion (6K).
Lon
do u think there were good conversion before ASC and r they worth buying?
And as you can tell by what this one brought (although it didn't sell), yes they are worth buying. Most owners are asking too much for them now, but there might be a steal out there somewhere.
Third gens are not going to get any cheaper. Every day the supply of good cars is dropping via crashes, rust, mods, miles, etc. Every day, guys our age are getting our financial milestones accomplished, student loans, credit cards, home down payments, cars paid off, babies paid off, etc. Supply of good cars going down + supply of guys with cash going up = higher value third gen cars.
Think about it, when a person who grew up in the '80's and early '90's, finally 'arrives' and has money to get a car that he couldn't afford when he was in high school, what does he have to choose from?
I never said they were going to get any cheaper. I know they are going to climb in value steadily over time. That's why I have one ... exactly like you said, I couldn't afford it in high school, but now I can. Of course, my car is not as nice as a brand new one right now, but it will be before I'm finished with it!
I own an 84 Z28 that was converted by a company called Matrix3. It was done in 84 when the car was new. The story I have been told was they converted 500 cars in an attept to get a contract with Chevy to do the 87s. I have found 3 other owners on CarDomain. They have all been altered, mine is stock except for tires and radio. I currently have 68,000 miles on it. A company named Choo Choo Customs produced 743 convertibles in 1986.
Last edited by gregwagner; 05-12-2006 at 04:20 PM.
Reason: Correct spelling, add pic
I'm not sure, looks like ASC from other info. I'm finding on here. I hope I didn't over pay for the car, I gave 4500 for it and spent 300 going to get it... Oh well, it looks good on the outside! I need to do something with the interior though... somebody combined tan and green leather...
Yikes! It's a little wild for me, but not bad looking.
__________________ 1986 Z28 ASC McLaren convertible SE #0041
1989 Rally Sport
2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT
2007 Harley-Davidson VRSCDX "I like work; it fascinates me; I can sit and look at it for hours."
I like the car. It definately has the potential to just ooze sexiness. I think I would definately see about either having the interior recovered in the tan leather and/or put in 4th gen tan leather seats and just have the door panels recovered in tan leather. I think I would also do something different with the steering wheel. I really don't think that you paid too much for it considering what you have to start on from. Keep us updated on what you decide to do, I am interested to see how it turns out. Please keep those wheels though, because they really set the car off well. Are they 17's or 18's?
Hello.......long time lurker, first time poster. All are nice looking verts. I really like that 84...something about that latching header for the top instead of the snaps for a pre-87 vert really makes it look right. The luggage rack is just icing on the cake.....kinda like the luggage racks on the old stingrays. I'm in the process of redoing three verts....a 1988, a 1990, and a 1992. I'm finding it hard to find restore forums and/or information for our third gen verts. I'll see about posting pics as soon as I can. The 92 needs floorboards....does anyone know the best way about going about changing them...or better yet, a how-to guide anywhere on line? Thanks for sharing!
Well if you guys like those ASC convertibles than I guess you guys might be able to help me out. I am a fortunate owner of a 86 ASC convertible camaro most all original. I kept it that way because I thought it was a really cool car for it's time. I had some one contact me when I had first purchased it he told me of its coming about and that it was a is special car.It is / was # 141 indicated by the badge on the dash as well as had the engraved markings on the convertible cross members. Sad to say that not only a week ago I was crashed into by a old guy . He was fully at fault. They are coming to check out the car tomorrow morning witch would be 5/8/07 at 8:00 am if any one reads this before then and has some help full info I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT. I would hope that the car is fixable and not considered totaled for obvious reasons. As well as any ways to show the adjuster the cars TRUE value.
Thanks Jeff
O for a real pic here you go
and I don't know if I want to post the pics of the aftermath. Its only the front end but looks like some good damage.
Last edited by 86asc camaro; 05-08-2007 at 01:00 AM.
I'm looking at a 84 2 seater, any body got any idea's about parts etc, or should I stay away from it????? THANKS P.S. It runs and looks pretty good, it needs new top rear window, rubber seals that go above windows,and the interior light is missing its cover, also it looks like somebody welded (2) pieces of flat stock steel to the back of the hatch swivel points????? Should there be a nice (s) type of swivel. Get Back to me asap!!!!!! Thanks
it needs new top rear window, rubber seals that go above windows,and the interior light is missing its cover, also it looks like somebody welded (2) pieces of flat stock steel to the back of the hatch swivel points????? Should there be a nice (s) type of swivel.
I'm no expert on these cars, but this is my input:
1) The rear window should be no problem for any auto upholstery shop.
2) Rubber seals (I guess you mean weatherstripping?) might be a problem. You might have to have some custom made if possible. I'm sure custom weather stripping is possible, but it's probably expensive.
3) Interior light cover I know nothing about. If Autoform used the same dome light as the stock Camaro/Trans Am, then you can probably find a cover at any junk yard. If they used a different dome light, then I'd say you're pretty screwed on that one. Unless you can find the company that manufactured the dome lights and contacted them ... there might be some info somewhere inside the light.
4) The pieces of "flat stock steel" might be the stock hinges. They kinda' look like they belong on a boat rather than a car. Do they have ANY shape to them (like a taper towards the ends) or are they just squared off. If they are sqaure on the edges, they might be make-shift replacements. If they are dull, they were originally shiny chrome and could probably be shined up with some elbow grease if they really are the originals.
Although nothing was official through GM as there were several companies bidding on the project to get the conversion, ASC eventually won, there were several companies who did conversion of 3rd gens.
Autoform is probably the most notable pre 87 vert, probably because it was unique to make the car into a 2 seater.
Matrix3, Hi-Line Kustoms, Stramman, International Coach and ASC all made pre 87 verts... Choo Choo customs may have produced 743 camaro verts in 1986 as well, because the cars are so similar to ASC I wonder if they were not done by ASC, or CCC may have sold the tooling to ASC...
John
__________________ 87 FORMULA - 5.1 LB9/A4 T-tops 3.73 Modified (Yellow/Black)
87 FORMULA - 5.0 LB9/M5 T-tops 3.45 (Yellow/Gray)
89 FORMULA 350 - CONVERTIBLE 3.27 All original (Red/Gray) www.3rdgenformula.com
Years back my brother and I each bought an IROC convertible - his and '86 and mine an '87. We didn't realize at the time that only one was an 'official' convertible because they were so similar and each had an ASC tag showing who did the conversion. Only real differences I remember are mine has the anniversary edition leather pouch on the dash and there was something different about the latch handle releasing the top from the tonneau cover. I can't compare any more since his has been sold off so would have to see if he can remember any other little changes.
Hello everyone. I've been reading the posts and trying to get some info on an 1986 Firebird that I just bought. It's a convertible but a 4 seater. It's not an Autoforms or ACS. The car is in good shape for a 1986 and runs well. It could use some top repair and a crack in the dash. Other than its a v6 it's a nice car.
There were a handful of car companies making verts prior to 1987, but it seems that any aftermarket work went away once Chevy offered it as an option... ASC seemed to get the remainder of the work for the Pontiacs as well as I have never seen anything other than ASC after 1986.
Post a pic, someone probably can identify it... a pic with the top op and down will help because everyone seemed to have a different top.
You might be hard pressed to find an original Black Vinyl piece. Your best bet may be to remove it and remove and replace the Vinyl. I am not sure how it comes off, someone stated that it is glued down so you have to be super careful removing it.
As for the Battery... A Delco battery from that era is probably no longer available. YOu will probably have to replace it with a newer Delco and call it a day.
To all who are interested, Mike Antonick's Camaro white book, 1987 facts states: ASC did build convertibles for customer-owned Camaros (also true for 1986). This was actually an explanation of how some 1987 350ci Camaros were built.
well not sure if you all are checknig this still but here is an 83 2 seater on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1983-...QQcmdZViewItem
says This car went from the assembly plant to Stiletto Company in Indiana to be made into a convertible.
My husband and I just bought a 1986 Camero Convertible from my sister. She bought it in 1989 from a a chey dealer and was told at the time it was a courtesty car to GM employees and that there was only 200 made. ASC did the convertible top there is an ASC emblem on the dash along with a Special Edition tag #67.
We are wondering how much we should put into it. It needs paint and there is some rust. Seats are faded. 69,000 orginal miles. It also has a carburator, which we have been told is unusual.
It's hard for me to say how much to invest. First look at the cost of the car, what you paid for it. Then how much it will cost to make her a clean car... not a show car but clean. I would keep it under 10k. I've heard some of these cars can be worth up to 15k. But the final thought on any car is how much you like the car. You know what they say, one mans junk and so on...
What I have found interesting is that ASC kept records of cars they sold to GM. I have a spreadsheet With the production figures this is actually from ASC as of a few weeks ago.
The most interesting thing about this list is that they list the 1987-1989 Firebird convertibles but Pontiac does not consider them Authentic. What is further interesting is that there were obviously ASC convertibles in 1986 but they do not list the production of such cars.
There is probably a few things going on with the pre 1987 ASC verts. 1) I suspect that they may have been prototypes for one reason or another. They were not officially sanctioned by GM, much like the 87-89 Firebird convertibles but they do exist. 2) GM and ASC may have had an agreement to make a few cars prior to 1987 as to work out any problems or bugs before full production went into effect. The cars could have been customer owned cars which were not dealer ordered. But historically speaking I have found few cars which may have been non dealerships ordering an ASC convertible.
I guess probably one of the biggest possibilities is that ASC started to make Convertibles in 1986, Since they made just about every other convertible for GM, GM decided to contract them to do the F-body.
What Ever the case may be the non production convertibles have something going for them that many of the production cars also have going for them. Parts are reasonably easy to find, since they are essentially the same as a factory authorized convertible from 1987+ there would be nothing to distinguish them from the real thing except for the VIN, which would indicate coupe not Convertible. I know from talking to owners of non-authorized convertibles that all work pertaining to the convertible top and pieces and parts were done by dealerships when they were new, they were treated as if they were originally made by Chevrolet or Pontiac.
Are the cars worth fixing up??? I would think so considering everything they are essentially a part of the history of the 3rd gen. Whether or not they were a prototype production run, or they were a special GM order they have a place and a niche. Whether they will hold value as well as a convertible with a 3 in the Vin instead of a 2, God only knows. My opinion is for cars made in 1986, and the 1987-1989 Firebirds since they were not technically made anyways they would have as much value as the real thing JUST because they are much more rare.
My 1986 Firebird has a vin number ending in 2. The first 3 numbers are"1G2" and no 3's anywhere in the vin number. My title also says convertible. Bad news is that nowhere on the car has any info about who did the convertible.
Its not the END of the VIN and I mistyped myself. I forgot that in 1986 they had a different designation. From 1987 & up all Hardtop cars VINS would start with 1G?F?21...
1= USA
G = GM
1 = Chevrolet; 2= Pontiac
F = F-body
S = Base Firebird; W=Trans Am; P=Camaro;
2 = 2 Door Hatchback; 3= 2 door Convertible
1 = Seatbelt system
In 1985 & 1986 it was similar but not the same
1 = US
G = GM
1 = Chevy, 2 = Pontiac
F = "F-body"
S = Base Firebird or Berlinetta; W=Trans Am; P=Camaro; X=S/E Firebird;
87 = Coupe - 2 Door plain back Special
67 = Coupe - 2 door Convertible
All F-bodies in 1985 & 1986 should have been 87 as the convertible did not appear until 1987.
I wonder if you can take a picture of the dash emblem.
My 86 convertible just says Z28 Tuned Port Injection / Special Edition #0041
The ASC logo on my car is on the door..
__________________ 1986 Z28 ASC McLaren convertible SE #0041
1989 Rally Sport
2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT
2007 Harley-Davidson VRSCDX "I like work; it fascinates me; I can sit and look at it for hours."
Did ASC convert cars before '87? Here is a link to an '86 on ebay.
I think this would be a highly collectable car. It really looks nice and different without all of the gfx. Put some period correct rims and you would have a real headturner.
Just my 2 cents.
It's a little wild for me, but not bad looking. 
