Hello everyone. I have seriously been considering into making my Testarossa rebody project a convertible. I'm just beginning the planning/design so I don't have much information yet. But if you guys are seriously considering chopping the top off of your junker cars I would love to start a new topic of conversation regarding topless conversions. There are quite a few people here on the forum who have already started on their own roadster, targa or other type convertible projects.
80's boy is building a Targa, and he has posted a few descriptions here on the forum. I believe 80's boy is close to completion. Spyder is building a 355 spyder Ferrari replica; his is already topless. I believe Coyote is building a roadster. I'm sure there are others here who have a convertible.
I have an 86 convertible notchback sitting in storage, I'll probably resurrect it in a few weeks. And as I said, I have a Testarossa project that I'm considering making topless. My convertible has quite a bit of frame strengthening underneath (and no, I did not do the conversion). It is not an X-frame style so that means I can still drop the gas tank when fuel pump replacement becomes necessary. For the Testarossa I think I will place 2x2 box tubing where the coolant lines are currently running. I'll simply rerun the coolant lines inside the box tubing afterwards; I got this idea from Phil Huff over at FOCOA (who will be having a convertible kit available around September). Or, I may build a new subframe underneath where the seats are. I don't know how I will do this exactly but someone I know who has built lots of kitcars througout the 90's said he'd come over some time and sketch out the design for me. I suspect his technique would be extremely solid and strong but I'm not sure I will need that much reinforcement. We'll see.
My notchback convertible has a full rolldown convertible top frame, unfortunately the piece that attaches to the header broke and it has sorely been neglected. I'm thinking of ditching the top frame and just making it a roadster. Strangely enough, the car looks great with the top up. I find most convertible fieros don't look so good with the top up. For the Testarossa I'm thinking of making it a semi-hard top. The roof section would be a targa like top, while the targa section would fold back. This way I could retain all of the original Fiero window seal rubber to help ensure a leakproof top.
Coyote described a process where he pounded 2x2 into the rocker panel, this is adjacent to the coolant tubes. His technique sounds pretty good too.
I still have a way to go in planning all of this. I don't have much time to devote to my projects right now so progress is quite slow. But I would definitely enjoy and value any discussion about convertible conversions.
