wulfgar, pm tpi-hearse, he'll hook you up and hes in CT too.

 

thanks, but unfortunatly due to some monetary issues at the moment i'm going to have to put this project on hold.

 

this is a fantastic thread, very well done! plus the car looks great! kudos on the body n paint, looks better than my first backyard job (im poor and do have a garage :P)

was curious, and all ive gotten is bad critique on the thought, but has anyone ever considered doing a targa top? ive thought about it often, but havent gotten around to attempting it yet. maybe if im lucky ill get to it this summer and have a thread half this good :P

 

Did you ever get this build finished, or at least get the windshield in? I'm curious as to how it fit.

If there was one thing I would have done differently on your build, I would have welded in the braces before removing the windshield.

The windshield on a unibody is a structural piece. I would have been worried about the whole car moving the minute I took that windshield out.

I'm assuming you took good measurements when you welded the new section in to make sure everything was relatively square and you should be ok.

Mathius

 

I think that the car may be done this year, i got the windshield in and it fit perfect. I already had SF connectors in so i wasn't really worried to much about it, I am heading over there to do a little work on it today, ill post some progress pictures later tonight

 

I did this the same way to a car about 6 yrs ago turned an 84 bertilinetta into a 89 rs. It was a project for tech school. I'm about to do it agian to this 88 firebird I need a hard top for my drag car I am building. Awesome job.

 

would the t-tops from a firebird work on a camaro?

 

yes, t-tops are different through the years, the sizes are the same its just the pins that are different, and they are easy to change out.

if you are talking about the roof, then yes that is also the same. the roof that i used is off of a firebird

 

ha so you SOMEWHAT have a Camarobird! not a firemaro cause the car isnt originally a firebird. it looks great, i watched this thread for awhile last year but never said anything. you did a great job as everybody has already mentioned.
did you get the hatch bolted up? guessing it fit like a glove to?

 

thanks for the info madhatter. it should make it a lot easier finding a donor car when you can use both. what years would work for an 84' camaro? i sence a future project.

 

Iv always wanted to do this to mine..too late now but badazz. Also are you running a fuel cell now?

 

Ca[maro]88
yes the hatch bolted up like a glove, it was a pain in the *** getting it there though. had nothing to do with the top really, it was more the semi truck that hit the passenger rear, the shop that originally fixed it before i bought the car really ****ed it up, so it took some time getting that straight.

aciddrop2804
any third gen f-body t-top roof will work. stay away from the concept t-top roofs. do a search on them, they are an aftermarket style t-top conversion, and the t-tops are way different. bigger opening i beleive. the only difference between the years, are the t-top pins, and hardware can be changed out fairly easily so don't ;et it disscurage you. mind you most off the conversion for my car took a weekend. in one day i drove out to indiana, cut the roof of the donor car, came home, took the roof off of mine, and had the other roof tached into place. it would have been faster, yet i started my rol cage at the same time and my floors were rotted out. anyways, if you are going to do your car and need help let me know, ill try to give ya pointers during the process. PM me and ill give you my number.

87_GTA_5.7
yes i am running a cell. ill get pictures up this weekend of where its at. i promise ill get to it. finally got the weekend to my self, and 3 five page papers, and work, and an intake gasket on the girls car, damn if only i had a few arms growing out of my *** the camaro might be drivable someday. oh well

 

i dont think this will be to soon though. im actually still working on just getting a car. i think i have a good one lined up but the guys selling it is kinda being a d!ck about it so its taking awhile. should be getting it soon. its an '84 hard top but i really want the t-top so im thinking i might just try this although it probably wont be till next winter or spring. i will contemplate it over time and decide when the time comes. its really good to know that the option is there though. if i hadnt seen it done i probably never would have thought it possible or very practical. thanks to you, i now know otherwise!

 

i did the cut the a and b pillar method, but i was careful and everything was fine. i really wanted to do a targa like someone earlier mentioned, no one out there that knows anything about that? im in chicago if anyone wants to hang out, smoke, and check out each others camaros.

 

What did you do under those widened quarters, in particular the rear ones, for a fender liner?

Are they wide open all the way up, or did you make a liner to shield from any rocks flying up?

 

why not just buy a t-top car and swap your stuff into it?
or add a sun roof from a honda accord?

 

inside the wheelwells there is a flat lip that extends in to the original width, so nothing is open. in the front the stock plastic wheelwells will fit back in place and fill the gap.

 

Can you buy those rear quarters still?

 

maybe, but for those interested, i have an 87 roller with the fenders, quarters, hood, and even fiberglass front bumper. the roller is a converted ttop car too, so i guess its not too far off topic.

 

Sticky, but then after seeing the second page i have to say

Are these pictures of the finished product?

 

nothing a couple kids can't handle...

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/fabr...onversion.html

 

when you guys cut the a-pilars did you stagger the cut, or was it a straight through cut, just asking because a few body guys i talked to before i decided to take it all the way down said that you have to stager the cut, or you risk ruining the structural integrity of the roof, hence why i just decided to take it all the way down, plus less room for **** up.

also sorry no pictures yet, have been busy as hell but ill try to get a few more up soon

 

the cuts weren't staggered, but we did weld on plates that overlapped the cut.

 

mine too, used straight cuts. also used leftover pillar peices trimmed to fit inside the channel, to add an extra lip inside. it helped with positioning the roof and it stays in place for welding. the new roof slips right over it and flush with the original lower pillar. the rear is the same either way, it has those 2 bolts that come out, and we cut it there. havent had any problems yet

 

dont suppose any of us will notice any problems with it until, "God forbid" some ******* t-bones us and we end up side down. guess thats the only way that we will know. but i guess the 8 point will help

jonnyboy, nice job on the car by the way, read that post before i started mine

 

add honda parts to a camaro? ya i would do that right after hell freezes over. i hope that you were joking. whats next instead of a sbc add a honda B12 motor to it too.

and why not buy a t-top car, idk felt like cutting the roof of my car.

thats like asking why guys restore their junkers instead of buying rollers. maybe some of us like to do things that others dont, i think its the guys that go the extra mile on their cars, have nicer rides. but really, i had alot of history with the car, it was my buddies car, you know the first sports car that anyone of your friends have in high school, the car that gets you into the car scene to begin with. i think that had a big part of it, i guess i wanted a t-top car, and didn't want to send this one to the crusher, it really did need it, but i brought her back instead

 

the honda was just a joke.
but if you just wanted to cut the roof off you car, well that is different that wanting a convert - you just wanted to make one.
i can go with that.

 

Wow, it looks amazing. I know its been said a lot already, but you made it look easy.

 

a B12 is a nissan chassis! - the old sentra's lol... anyway just throwing this little note out there, a t-top stock or converted will still decrease the rigidity of the frame (this pretty much just applies for anyone who drag races, cuz its not like its that important for daily's) but on top of that the glass adds an extra like 30 pounds or so to your already (approx.)3400 pound beast!

 

Excellent fab work. Later.

 

I dont think the structural integrity will suffer do to the roll cage, also the glass ttops could always be replaced with lexani for weight at the track.

 

im t topping my car o ill be selling my hard top if your interested...

 

Here are the pics of the windshield installed

 

heres the seats mounted in it and the inside painted. The motor is built now, and so is the trans, fully forged internals in both, and the 12 bolt is sitting pretty in there as well. 4.11 on a spool and 33 spline moser axles. this thing will be a beast one day. this weekend i am going to finish undercoating the car, and maybe finish the brake lines as well, converting to LS1 brakes at the moment. hopefully will have the motor and trans in there within the next month so i can start rewiring the whole car, then get into a custom interior, and some touch up paint. i got a ton of pics so if you guys got any questions or want to see something else just let me know. got summer vacation from school in two weeks so ill have more free time finally. thank god

 

what seats are those? and how do you like them?

 

ebay knock off recaro's.

love them very comfy about 400 a set

 

finally motor and trans are in. now to go through the cluster **** wiring thats in the car. with any luck she be started on the 4th of july. got to get moving so maybe one year i can actually make it to a car show.

 

looks really nice. think i need to start practicing on the welder, its been years... lol... planning on doing alot of cutting and welding this winter, all the wheel wells are rusted and behind the stupid limited slip one wheel wonder burnout tire, the bottom rusted through under the spare tire. so, this was just added to the list of things to do this winter... yay... i get t-tops

 

awesome info here

 

hate to bring back a dead thread, but you really have guts. I did a t top conversion of my 4th gen and people thought i had guts. Good job.

 

looks pretty easy to be honest..

Now if only i knew how to weld....

 

Ive been wanting to do this for sometime, but go all they way and convert it to targa top as well, my only real concern is structrual integrity and the amount of body flex I will get from converting to t tops or targa top. The way I would do it is convert to t tops and once i get sick of those convert to targa top. Im wanting to still be able to keep the the rear seats so an 8point cage is kinda outta the questions, Im sure I could find a way to make a cage that will protect but it wont be stip legal

 

Really why isnt this a sticky yet?!?!?!?!

 

A targa would have the same strength as a convertible with SFCs.

I'd love to take a t-top car & "weld" the center bar to the t-tops. Targa/T-top car!

 

Thank you very much for posting this I have a roll cage I have to install in my circle track car. It was cut out of another car so we have to cut the roof off to install. I will definitely be using this thread has a reference point

 

Trying this with a cage in place is going to really be tuff. there will be next to no room when trying to weld in the brackets on the b- pillars. my suggestion then is to place the cage in the car but dont weld it in place yet. put the top back on the car and get welded into place completely. then weld the cage to the car.

 

T-tops are for girls

 

I think i just came in my pants a little....lol
But its just so much more pleasent for me now that the girlfriend isnt bouncing her head off the roof any more..........From bumpy roads that is of course.

 

I will definitely post pics of it installed should be in within 2-3 weeks. What are the main points to brace when you cut it off. My car is on jack stands heres what it looks like now. Minus the windshield we took out last weekend.

 

[QUOTE=camaropurestock;4399508]I will definitely post pics of it installed should be in within 2-3 weeks. What are the main points to brace when you cut it off. My car is on jack stands heres what it looks like now. Minus the windshield we took out last weekend.


Do you have sub frame connectors, that will deffinately help. i have pictures of the bracing. you pretty much want to keep tha car from folding in half or twisting