Got a good deal on a convertible rear clip, also got a deal on a removable hardtop, but still need to score some convertible door glass. I made room in the garage, so here I go, hacking the roof off my '72 coupe. Got plenty of cut off wheels and sawzall blades, got a good spot weld cutter and my heat gun is ready to go. Read every post I could find and took note of all the warnings, ignoring most of them. I plan on using as little of the convertible rear clip as possible. So I plan on making my own bonding strips from unused panels. Removed the spare holder and gas tank, and installed a half gallon tank under the hood, so I can still drive it around. Making that first cut was scary and I said to myself "what the hell am I doing". But as I go I'm feeling better and better. Unbonding panels is slow going but the heat gun does the job. I am finding that the coupe body has almost all the same indentations and rivet holes for the convertible parts. The hardest part so far has been cutting through the spot welds behind the door jams, some were at bad angels and had to use the nasty air hammer on a few of them. I'm at the point I know what to do, how to mount the deck hings, the latch catches, the guide pins, what to bond and where. I'm sure there will be lots of other issues as I go, but nothing seems insurmountable. This is where I am at after 3 days work.

 

An ambitious project for sure. I'm sure the purists won't like this much but I admire the creativity and talent you possess to do what you want. Good luck with the build!

 

Whew.......that's a relief!

Now there's someone else on the Forum who can't control himself with his jig-saw..........LOL!

You've done a lot already!

Save those "sails"/long fins that extend rearward from the rear glass of the coupe.......I WANT 'EM!

 

You're a lot braver than I am.

 

Do you need the removable rear glass as well, what ever is left over will be going on ebay

 

Oh yeah.......

 

I've been a fabricator all of my life and have done many major conversions on cars , but it still makes my stomach do flip flops when I see a perfectly good car cut up even though I do love convertibles. When I ran my shop a customer wanted me to cut the top off of his nice 56 Chevy 2 door hardtop to make a convertible. When you first start it always gives you that sick feeling to start cutting a perfectly good classic but in the end the 56 is now a beautiful show winning car. Good luck with your project and don't give up . That would be the only tragedy.

 

if I did it you could. Just some photos if you have questions please ask.




Lifting the top off.







Gone and the rear bumper too/










Just sitting there. The rear deck is new.

From here I decided to do a frame off.

 

Like I told doorgunner in his thread....
"ANYBODY can restore a car...
but it takes a REAL man to cut one up!"

 

Can't wait to see it finished, I remember when you did your paint job and a lot people had their doubt's but that turned out great, so keep working and keep us posted.

 

WOW good job , can't wait to see it finished.

 

Doorgunner may also want the rear deck piece. He is in the middle of fitting 70 taillight panel on his rear clip and the slope doesn't look right.

 

Thanks for your words of encouragement. Hey Frank, I do have a question. Before I bond in the top rear clip, I am planning on bolting down the the decklid hinges and latches and bolting and centering the rear decklid to make sure it opens and latches properly and centered properly, Then I will set the rear clip in place to determine exactly where to bond in, maybe drilling some small dowels or rivets to hold the position. Does that make sense? Also, did you install the windshield center hardtop clamp and if so, do you have a picture. Or does anyone with a convertible have a picture of the windshield center hardtop guide. Thanks, guys.

 

Wow that takes guts. I remember cutting th1/4 panels off of my 69 Camaro for replacement. Looked at it and read about it for several years before jumping in.
Good luck! We are watching.

 

What's the point of having a sawzall and all these blades if they just sit around collecting dust.

 

That is right. You will need make sure the rear deck lid lines up with the rear deck lid with the gas tank opening. i used sheet metal screws for lining up all the parts. I could not get the filler strip to bond the rear deck lid with the gas tank opening to the rear storage rear wall. So i had to create a bracket to tie the deck lid hinges. These pictures will help understand what I had to create.





I also had to build up the rear deck lid with the gas tank opening to the rear storage rear wall. This is a good picture of what had to do build it up to match the rear deck lid.

With filler strip added. it came off the old rear deck lid. And grinding and bonding material to match the 2 deck lid to match there heights.
.



Another thing are the rear door jams. Removed the old and

replace the with the new.



I do not have a good picture of the windshield center hardtop guide since i am not using a hardtop.

More questions ask away.

 

I guess my parents would have loved you . They always insisted I took the easy way out of everything ....

My brain doesn't work like this....Convertibles are not rare . I d just have traded cars .

Good luck with you project.

 

Hey Frank, thanks for the pictures, I like the bracket you made for the top bolts of the decklid hinge assembly. I have the original fiberglass brackets form the donor clip, which I intend to bond in place. I spent most of an afternoon removing bonding adhesive from them with my heat gun, and naturally, all 4 bolts snapped off when removing the hinge, so I had drill, easy out (not so easy) and retap. By the way, what bonding adhesive did you use. Also for any of you true convertible owners out there, the convertible clip has a rectangular hole on the upper part of the door jam, but the my coupe clip does not. Does anyone know what this is for?

 

I do not remember exactly what I used, but I think I remember using this? Grind both surfaces clean and apply. Use screws or clamp to hold in place. There are others that are maybe thicker in consistency that are better for building up thickness if you require it.

http://3mcollision.com/3m-panel-bond...ive-08116.html

 

I really, really want to do this to my '81...but I get distracted easily and have a habit of not finishing what I start and don't want to be stuck in the .......oh look... a shiny penny..