RCswish

There has been conversation about this recently. I have seen a kit for the C4 that allows a coupe's top to be lifted off to be a convertable. I've also heard people say that the FRC's top is held on with only 7 bolts and adhesive. It's awsome that people with convertables can now buy the hard top to look like an FRC, but can us FRC/Z06 guys go topless? Has anyone looked into this? I can see how the rear of the hardtop unbolts but not how you would unbolt the top from the top of the windshield :confused: If the top can be unbolted, then modified to come on and off...only a custom Tonneau cover would be needed. Any thoughts or ideas on this subject?

VETTE2k

Lets hope that his thread will go somewhere!

WALLstAL

John Caravaggio will convert it for you, about $10K.

Black_Magic

For starters you need the convert lockdown bar at the top of the windshield and also attached to the FRC/Z06 roof. Not to mention weather striping. You also need roof molded into tonaue cover. I forget what else.

Here's my vert with a FRC/Z06 roof added.






[Modified by Black_Magic, 2:30 PM 5/16/2002]

Duck916

It can be done, but it's not that easy. There is a fair amount of cutting involved, and then a lot of fabrication work to make the edges of the top and the windshield head look good. All in all, if you want a ragtop, you're almost certainly better off just trading in your FRC or Z06 on a Vert. If you gotta have a true Z06, then this is perhaps your only option, but a modded Vert will probably be the better choice for most folks.

If you're looking to have a removable hardtop, then converting an FRC might be cheaper than, or at least close to, the cost of buying a used Vert and an aftermarket hardtop. Wall Street Al ought to be able to help you with the latter end of that equation.

RCswish

I personally am not refering to making an FRC/Z06 an all out convertable with retracting ragtop and OEM look like Caravaggio does. Just wondering about removing the fixed roof and altering it to come on and off.

RPO_Z06

I've made a '97 coupe a Vert, it was some work but I couldn't see how this would be half as hard.
I'll admit I've pondered making my Z06 a vert but I just can't bring myself to do it.
As far as I know the only problem area would be the windshield header, the rest should be easy.
I'll look into the windshield header thing and see what I can find out..

RCswish

RPO, you would then be the leading expert thus far. Any light you can shed on the subject awsome.

jonstr

I'm not sure this is possible. I had my Z06 converted by Caravaggio, and before I sent the car up there I asked him about salvaging the old roof and making a hardtop out of it. He told me that it wasn't possible to salvage and convert the roof after it was removed, and that for their own hardtop they had to essentially start from scratch in the fabrication. Maybe just a sales pitch to sell a $3200 option, but my gut feel is that it isn't. If you look at the pictures of my conversion (see the link in my sig), you can see that after the top is peeled off, there is a halo-bar of sorts (roll bar?) that remains. I don't have any engineering background, so I'm not sure if that bar provides any support for the fixed roof that would need to be retained (meaning you would have to remove that bar with the roof and devise some attachment method). I'm guessing here, but it seems like any fabricated top would need to have strength and rigidity of it's own, and the roof on the FRC might not have that without the bar.

RCswish

Jonstr,

I noticed the picture where they removed the Fixed roof and only the built in roll bar was remaining. How much work did it take to get to this point? Did the fender have to come off to get the roof off? At this point what was required to put the roof back on? Did they have to cut or destroy anything to get it off?

wamara

Swish, there was a forum member from Tennessee who I believe did what you're talking about - cut the roof off his Torch Red FRC, and could have it on or off as he chose. Workmanship was very impressive. Perhaps he was just being modest, but he downplayed how complicated it was to convert (although trust me, I wouldn't have dreamed of doing it myself in a million years). Unfortunately, I don't recollect his name - I did see his car and speak with him at MidAmerica's funfest, and recollect he was involved in a vet club or some organization down there. I also don't recall seeing him lately on the forum; maybe someone else remembers his name or can help????

jonstr

I'm afraid I can't answer your question about how much work it was or what they had to cut/destroy to do the job. I'm in Arizona, and I shipped the car to Caravaggio in Ontario for conversion so I wasn't there to watch the process. I asked John Caravaggio to send me pictures of the process, and those are what you see posted. I didn't get any pictures of the actual roof removal. To tell the truth, if they really did have to cut it off, I'm not sure I would want pictures of someone taking a SawsAll to my Z. :)

I asked about the fender removal, and was told that this was for access only and the original fenders were put back on. As far as why they would need to remove the fenders, the only thing other than roof removal I can think of would be the electrical connection for the tonneau release, but that would have only required a fender removal on the left side. Removal may also make installation of tonneau hinges easier.

I can tell you the whole process took about 4 weeks. It took only about a week to a week and a half to send me the disassembly pictures, so the work was done within that time.

Ilhan

Ok maybe its a stupid question but what is an FRC :confused:

wamara

Fixed Roof Coupe - the precursor to the Z06.

Jim 47

Ilhan, a FRC is a Fixed Roof Coupe (or the Hardtop) or the body style of the Z06. :D

Ilhan

Thanks guys!! :cheers:

RCswish

I think there is a little progress going on in this thread. Does anyone know who this member from Tennessee who did the conversion is?

Black_Magic

I believe the member you are talking about is XPORTC5 (Jeff). However his Vette also started out as a VERT and the top came from a donor Z06/FRC. The top you seen is now on my Vert and he has combined a Z06/FRC and a targa top and added to his VERT.








[Modified by Black_Magic, 6:47 AM 5/18/2002]

RCswish

Black_Magic,

How does the top fasten down? Regarding the top of the windshild connection...did you mount to the hardtop the connecting piece that is usually on the ragtop? For the rear section near the trunk...how does that part of the hardtop come off and on? I think your as close as we have now to a method. :cheers: Could you post more pics of the connectivity? Thanks so much...sweet Vette by the way :cool:

RCswish

ttt