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ConvertiblesDiscussed here are problems and solutions to convertible specific questions, including difficult to find part numbers and other convertible tech help.
X2 Try and remove the seals and the badge and write down VIN to document it for the future. I'd see if the yard would let you remove the top material and buy it and weren't the trunks different and header where front of top attaches. I 'd buy lots of parts to sell to Matrix convertible owners. Car looks really good...
I'd ask to buy whole car
Last edited by TRANSAM82-92; 10-20-2014 at 03:43 PM.
I have a 1991 Z/28 convertible that I am in the process of rebuilding. I have the engine, transmission and rear axle out of the car at the moment, in the process of painting. I see where the re-enforcement rails were installed using large rivets. Is this how these frame rails were installed? Any help or info would be appreciated. Also how would I tell which company did the conversion on this car?
I have a 1991 Z/28 convertible that I am in the process of rebuilding. I have the engine, transmission and rear axle out of the car at the moment, in the process of painting. I see where the re-enforcement rails were installed using large rivets. Is this how these frame rails were installed? Any help or info would be appreciated. Also how would I tell which company did the conversion on this car?
Yes, All of the ASC cars the sub-frame connectors were riveted into place... I imagine the most obvious reason was it would have made a mess to weld the pieces into place, it would have required more paint and prep, and I imagine the risk of fire was a concern....
I have an 89 iroc with an aftermarket top. It was done by a shop in NY state near Rochester. Am looking for pics of the frame without the top on. Thanks
I just bought a 1983 z28 autoform conversion. no registration numbers in the door. Just trying to figure out how many 1983's are out there... I might buy another one soon. Mine is not matching numbers has a fresh build 350 small block with dual quads. Just gone over everything to get it on the road before snow flies in NE Ohio.
Is Buffalo Conversions from the Buffalo, NY area and do you have a interior picture of the top attachment brackets.
I just got a 88 Convertible and the top is shot. I have a 91 ASC which is much smoother set up.
I'm thinking of going just English style tonneau cover and put old top on shelf until a later date.
I believe that yes the Buffalo conversion was NY... Not sure tho, they are kind of unusual.
The ASC tops are as follows: 86-88, 89 they were made wider and were improved, 90-91 same as 89, but with the headliner, 92, they changed the mounting brackets behind the doors.
Is Buffalo Conversions from the Buffalo, NY area and do you have a interior picture of the top attachment brackets.
Yes, it was a Buffalo, NY converter. I am betting that they used the same top kit as several other converters. I have only seen one car from this converter, but do not have any detailed photos of it that are helpful.
Hello! Its been awhile... 7 yrs to be exact... Instead of repling to a thread that is 7 yrs old, i thought it be apropriate to start a fresh here. I want to narrow down out of 4 manufactors to 1 company to determine who did my conversion. Please review the thread Information on my 85 Z28 convertible? HERE: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/conv...my-85-z28.html
And post results here. We have narrowed it down to these 4 companys:
1. National Coach Engineering
2. Coach Builders Ltd: (1982)
3. AHA Manufacturing: (1983)
Or 4. Buffalo Conversion Corp: (1984)
Its been 6 (six) long years since we last researched this; and i still have the car and dont know who did the conversion. Thank you for your help.
My 1988 Firebird is a aftermarket conversion, and the mechanism looks very similar to the top system in this post I noticed my 91 factory backed ASC convertible looks like the process started as T Top. The exterior distance is 2 inches from the rubber edge of the windshield and header rubber. My 88 Firebird after market distance is 3 inches. My 88 trunk is 13 to 14' inches and my 92 heavy metal trunk is 24 inches deep.
Hi, I am in New South Wales in Australia and purchased what I thought was an 87 Trans Am convertible 2 weeks ago. It has a 4 speed auto gearbox and a 305 TPI engine.
I am hoping to gain some knowledge from other owners as this is my first Pontiac and they are not the most common of cars in Australia.
The seller had it listed an 1987 model and the government registration papers say its an 87 model.
When I have checked the VIN code it indicates its an 86 model.
It was converted to RHD in 1994 in Queensland Australia and the engineers report says he believes it is an 86 model based on the fact it has a 4 belt pulley system not the single belt as found on the 87 model. He has it listed as a factory convertible, I am unsure if he has just assumed this or had other information.
It has a digital dash with the taco/revs counter in a gentle rounded curve not the wave style that most 86 models with the digital dash seem to have pictured.
I am trying to find out the following information.
1) Did any 86 models have the 87 dash with the rounded taco fitted.
2) From what I can find out it seems ASC only converted 3 1986 Trans Ams to convertibles as a trial for Pontiac. If this is the case how would I find out if it is an original car or if it was converted later on?
3) The 86 models i have seen so far all have a different set of rims to this car, again would that have been an option to have these fitted.
Thanking anyone who can help in advance.
Kind regards Pat
I am guessing the gauges are aftermarket digital. There was only one type of digital gauges from the factory. Take a picture of them and someone can probably identify them.
Looking at it, the rear spoiler setup is incorrect, it looks like it came off of a Camaro, but it's a really nice looking example. It probably has been repainted as I don't think the blue was offered without the silver ground effects, but I could be wrong on that.
Those rims are the "PW7" rims and were available in both 86 and 87 as an option.
I am guessing the gauges are aftermarket digital. There was only one type of digital gauges from the factory. Take a picture of them and someone can probably identify them.
Looking at it, the rear spoiler setup is incorrect, it looks like it came off of a Camaro, but it's a really nice looking example. It probably has been repainted as I don't think the blue was offered without the silver ground effects, but I could be wrong on that.
Those rims are the "PW7" rims and were available in both 86 and 87 as an option.
Thanks for your detailed reply. I will take a picture of the dash and post it. I am excited to learn more about the car as I go along.
Cheers Pat
Keep in mind that these cars were all converted to convertible. It would not be a stretch to get a convertible that was say rusted out, or damaged in some way, take those parts off and then convert either an existing T-top Firebird or a Camaro to a convertible.
Based on the few pictures you posted, that is what I think has happened. Someone converted the car. 1) the spoiler appears to be Camaro, and 2) in 1986 & 1987 the top of the doors at the rear there were extensions that you would see.
There is no difference to the dash from 1986 & 1987. The only difference that I am aware of is some of the early 1986 cars did not have the metric KM segments marked on the Speedo.
Hi John, in regards to the trunks being the same from a Camaro to a Trans Am. I have an 86 Trans Am and a few people have commented that the spoiler looks like a Camaro rather than a trans am. I am wondering if you know whether you know if this would be the case for an 86 model, perhaps someone has just substituted a trunk they had for the original.
Regards Pat
For the 86-87 Firebirds The caps on the quarter panels are different too...
This is an 89, all of the firebirds from 1986-1989 used this type of setup. Actually the middle wing is a stock spoiler from a base Firebird with the ends cut off. The caps on top of the quarter panels are very different. THe picture below does not show the correct 3rd brake light. I do not have time to find a better pic right now.
There is a chance that your car may have been damaged, and they could only find Camaro pieces to put them on the car. Very possible.
Look at the Left door jamb, there should be an ASC sticker there.
Here's an odd one that's for sale out on FB. It's in pretty bad shape. The best clue might be the piece of moulding or decoration under the rear window (if the top is even original)?
Rough would be a step up!
Amazingly, looks like the dash pad is not cracked?
I'm just jumping in here after I registered a moment ago.
I just bought a '82 Pontiac Firebird convertible with a V6 automatic.
Here are some photos from it.
From what I heard is that the V6 is rarer then the V8.
Diante, Great looking car!! Appears to be a Hi-Line convertible.
Just as a note to everyone, This thread was really not intended to be a show & Tell. If you could please tell us who did the conversion, that would be great!
I'm just jumping in here after I registered a moment ago.
I just bought a '82 Pontiac Firebird convertible with a V6 automatic.
Here are some photos from it.
From what I heard is that the V6 is rarer then the V8.
Not trying to be a Grump, Just read the very first post in this thread, which it seems some people have not... At this point It has morphed into something that it wasn't intended, which is fine, this is a members based forum. Please understand I am not angry or upset, just trying to keep some order, However in the future it would be beneficial to have a list of cars and such that wasn't cluttered up for future owners to help learn about their car.
I have a feeling I will have to start over with a new thread sometimes in the future....
Is your '87 ASC car have the "20th Anniv" pouch on the dash or is it a pre-production ASC convertible without the pouch that has the limited edition number on the dash. If so, what is the number?
Was wondering how many 84 Camaro z28 convertibles by matrix3 were made for 84?
That information is probably not available, we are not even sure if they kept records like that. I am not sure if Matrix3 was supplier so other companies could convert cars, or if all of their convertibles were done at their factory, someone might want to help me with that one. I got really really lucky when doing research for my 89 ASC and got a copy of the ASC printout for Firebirds. I would be delighted if I could find an 86, 87 & 88, but at this point, 31-33 years later? I do not think that will ever be a reality.
Was wondering how many 84 Camaro z28 convertibles by matrix3 were made for 84?
No one knows the answer to that and it is lost to history. Matrix3 did their own conversions and also did conversion vans and a few other conversions. An interesting one was on the Nissan pickups to make them an SUV. Based on the number of survivors of Matrix3 survivors compared to other convertibles of the era with known build counts, I would estimate that they built about 50 to 75 f-body convertibles per year from '84-86.
No one knows the answer to that and it is lost to history. Matrix3 did their own conversions and also did conversion vans and a few other conversions. An interesting one was on the Nissan pickups to make them an SUV. Based on the number of survivors of Matrix3 survivors compared to other convertibles of the era with known build counts, I would estimate that they built about 50 to 75 f-body convertibles per year from '84-86.
ok thanks another question where would a good place to find out one would be worth?
ok thanks another question where would a good place to find out one would be worth?
My opinion: Same as a same year/condition/optioned hardtop Camaro/Firebird. They are not worth more because many people don't consider them "factory correct", but not worth less, because they are well built convertibles built to a "factory correct" quality.
No one knows the answer to that and it is lost to history. Matrix3 did their own conversions and also did conversion vans and a few other conversions. An interesting one was on the Nissan pickups to make them an SUV. Based on the number of survivors of Matrix3 survivors compared to other convertibles of the era with known build counts, I would estimate that they built about 50 to 75 f-body convertibles per year from '84-86.
Funny you said 50-75, I thought maybe 50-100 per year, but not many either way...
Hello everybody; Please excuse my poor english. I live in France... I'm new here. I have a 1984 Z28 convertible from Amerian Custom Coachworks. It's mine since more than 20 years. If someone knows about those convertions...
Hello everybody; Please excuse my poor english. I live in France... I'm new here. I have a 1984 Z28 convertible from Amerian Custom Coachworks. It's mine since more than 20 years. If someone knows about those convertions...
Information I have is limited. They were located in Beverly Hills, CA, and I have a note stating that complete cars were in the $20,000 range new... They apparently specialized in stretch limo cars, and apparently dabbled in convertible conversions.
As for numbers... Those are probably lost to time, unfortunately there were several builders who did convertible conversions on these cars, I would be surprised if it is over 100 as I think this is the first one I have seen a picture of. But that means nothing.
I'm very surprised you'd never saw a picture of an ACC Camaro. It was a big compagny and in my mind, I thought that there was a lot of cars like mine...I'm going to take some pictures of details of construction.
Price is also a surprise: 20000$, It's the price of two Z28 in 1984...that's maybe the reason of the small numbers
10-20-2014, 03:33 PM
