I have a 1970 Coupe Deville. The roof has rotted in spots under the softtop. I was thinking on making it a removable hard top considering they made a convert of the same year. The lines where the roof is chopped on a convert look similar to the outline of the soft top. My big question is being this car is older would I need to stiffen up the frame or anything by chopping the roof. These old cars are alot more sturdy than cars today and since convert was an option is it already strong enough? Thanks for any input.

 

No opinions? any body guys here?

 

Are you going to just cut it off, or have it be able to take on and off at will?

If you are going to make a "roadster" out of your car, its not that big of a deal. The body structure should be fine.

As far as being able to take it on and off at will, that will take some engineering.

 

It shouldn't be a problem to cut it. you have to make sure the windshield is supported, and it's ALWAYS a good idea to box the frame if you're doin major body work... just remember measure twice, cut once!
As far as re-attaching it, you'll have to engineer brackets near the windshield and deck lid; and it will probably take at least 2 people to take it off and put it on(heavy!). Rad idea though; keep us posted and upload pics if you pull it off! I've been thinking about t-tops on my '91 coupe(from a cutlass or monte) and seeing yours would probably be enough inspiration.

 

I believe the convertible option had a re-enforced windshield frame and also had re-enforced doors, maybe even undercarriage supports.

Usually convertibles are heavier, something that surprises a lot of folks that dont know why. The re-enforcements tend to add poundage.


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i have a 1980 coupe deville. my roof was rusted pretty bad and i had a good amount of water coming in when it would rain. i removed the soft top to see the damage was a lot worse than i thought. the car needed a lot of work anyway so i thought hell ill just cut the top off. i got some pics from some online. apparently they made some from the factory convertible so i had some good pics to go by. anyway i cut the top off, did some quick padding and leather to look like its got a conv top tucked away. still need to shave a little off the windshield but it looks very good. i drove it like that for 1 summer. put probly 4000 miles on it and never had a problem. i even had the front springs cut to nothin so i rode it hard. didnt have any frame problems. the windshield feels solid but i am worried i will have to reinforce it somehow. if anyone has done this or have any ideas for me send them my way.