villare

What do you think about a C3 Conversion from TTOP To Targa, has anyone seen one modified to a Targa? What would it take to make it safe,,,,,I photoshop my vette to look as a Targa and did not look bad :-)

Shark Racer

Severe bird cage reinforcements. The car was designed from the ground up to have that bar in place. It's a structural piece.

You can buy aftermarket one piece panels. They don't fit particularly well, but they exist...

jnealg

there was one for sale locally recently. i think it ruined the resale value cause it was for sale forever.

RedRedRed

What kind of structural reinforcements are in the convertibles, and can they be added to a coupe?

I'm not sure what the attraction is to make it a targa intead of T-Top, though. It will be unique, but not in a good way, value-wise, and the only difference functionally would be no bar when the tops are off. Not much of a difference for what you'd have to go through in my opinion.

richard emmanuel

The only difference I see is that you might have less leakage, but by the time you construct this piece and get it to latch properly , ask yourself this--Where will I store it because it will be bigger and not 2 pieces now. Just my 2 cents.
Richard

loup68

68's Were originally suppose to have a targa top. There was too much twist and flex between the halo and the windshield header. I read that if the car was on a slight grade, that they could not get the top pins to line up. Lou.

HOOAH

I was going to mention the same thing. I had a C4 (1995) that when the targa top was off one time, I stopped to talk to anther soldier in a parking lot. After getting back into the car, I started rolling down the entrance ramp (to the parking lot) at an angled approach with the door still open. When I tried to close the door, it bounced back open due to misalignment of the striker and door latch. After backing up on level ground, the door shut fine.

Point being; I think without proper reinforcements, there is going to be a lot of structural flex. That's not to say it can't be done though.

Terry

540 vette

Did you ever have one? I have one on my car right now and fits and seals just as good or better than the T Tops.

7d8

I dont see why the t-bar would effect the structure. I have a convertible that started its life as a coupe with no problems.

leadfoot4

The center bar is indeed a structural piece. However, 'verts don't have as many critical points for the top to line up to, as the T-top cars do, when you want to put the tops in place. So if you have a 'vert, you just live with the additional chassis flex

540 vette

I have to agree. I had a 94 and you could feel the windshield frame move when you hit a bump with the roof out.

The only problems would be finishing the areas that were cut to make it look stock. You could get an astro top instead of modifying the t tops.

Shark Racer

I'd thought about it. You sound like the exception.

esierra

I have a 74 that the t-bar was cut out and the two t-tops where fiber glass together to make a Targa top, I'm putting back to stock. I also have a 75 Convertible currently up on jack stands. The door gaps are quite different when siting on the ground then when jacked up. To say they don't flex is not being honest

540 vette

So how can you voice an opinion. If you do a search there are quite a few that have no problems with it. Believe me I am not the exception. I had one on a 76 I had and I have one on my 80.

Shark Racer

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-t...ss-t-tops.html

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...lacements.html

If you're using a vendor other than Astro, I apologize and am curious as to who it is.

What I can say is that the *external* fit pictured in the first thread looks better than what I've got on my car, but mine seal.

bluegtp

I thought about going this route a few years ago. I did a quick photoshop work and I didn't like how the car looked as much as I had expected. From a side profile the back hatch window part looked like it was sitting higher then the top of the front windshield.d

I can search for the photo I did if you want to seee it.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-g...with-no-t.html

Ryan

540 vette

Most of the people in the first thread seemed to like it. The second thread is for the t top replacement. Never used those.

I have the one piece and I get no leaks and it fits just as good as the t tops.

Shark Racer

Here's my summary of thread 1:
palmbeachvette76: likes it, doesn't seal well, is a win "for the price difference"

qwank: fitment issues, but is dealing with it because it's a good deal. Huge gap in the front of hte window. doesn't seal well.

682xlr8: liked it a lot, "sealing is a joke", "be careful when washing the car"

7t9l82: not a bad product, as the others have described

texasbaehr: uniformly positive review

superbuickguy: poor communication (well, GM doesn't like to talk much about the glass tops either ),
1) terrible customer service and terrible delivery
2) poor manufacturing tolerances
3) poor quality control

rosslato: uniformly positive review

So 2 positive reviews and a lot of "good for the price", assuming you can deal with sealing issues.

I already have a pair of glass tops that seal well, so clearly I'm not their target market. I am vaguely interested in the acrylic tops though. It'd be nice to have something lighter to put on the car.

So perhaps my original comment is too harsh, but I definitely think this is an instance of buyer beware - or at least be prepared.

Easy Mike

Yep. GM discovered too much body flex for targa top fit. Going to the t-bar and t-tops solved the problem.