cherokeepeople

http://omaha.craigslist.org/pts/5862589514.html

svnt442

That's interesting if nothing else....

joe_padavano

So it's a hardtop Supreme that someone cut the roof off of. Wanna bet it still has the hardtop frame under it? Wanna bet the doors don't open and close very well?

wr1970

You buy the car and we will find out. Joe i can't see how that would effect doors at all. Care to shed some light on this please.

joe_padavano

Convertible frames are boxed to make up for the loss of stiffness when the roof is cut off. Hardtop frames are not boxed. Cut the roof off a hardtop and it will eventually sag and twist. Door fitment is one of the first things to go.

Fun71

I discovered that opening a door on my convertible when the front end is lifted off the ground is difficult. It's amazing how much fllex there is even with the boxed frame.

4speed455

There is also extra bracing on the body behind the door, under the cylinders. And the wedge shims on the inside of the door jam. Both help keep the body from flexing.

redoldsman

I looked at it and I suspect it just a piece of junk. If it is not a convertible frame it is a piece of junk for sure.

wr1970

What i am getting at nay sayers is all of Joe's concerns could be addressed without a convertable frame. Boxing a frame isn't that hard and adding supports. I guess what i am saying is it could be done if the right guy did it.

joe_padavano

Of course it could, though it would be even easier to just swap in a convert frame. Every time I've ever seen one of these "cut the roof off" cars, however, no work has ever been done to reinforce the frame.

Koda

Only way I would do it is to start with a convertible and a donor hardtop shell, and even then it would be dicey.

One of the neatest things about the 70s C3 Corvettes, maybe other years too, is that they had a properly designed hardtop that would be an accessory to the convertible and it would use the convertible attachment points on the windshield frame and the two latches on the back deck.

joe_padavano

Lots of convertibles came with factory removable hardtops. My Allante was that way. The point is, these were all designed from the start as a convertible. The hardtop wasn't intended to be structural.

Koda

I agree.

vette442

Years ago, Bryceman (442.com founder) had a picture of a Sienna '71 Supreme that he owned on 442.com with the top newly cut like that, but the car was fully intact and did not have any white paint on it. His car was in Kansas if I recall correctly, so it could be the same car. Looked a lot better then.

Terry

Olds442redberet

I almost bought a car like this one. I had it on a short list during a road trip to pick up another Cutlass. I figured if the deal fell through on the car I was after I would buy the frankenstein convertible. Both were destined to be donor cars.