lowellmstevens

by now we all know that the new z06 is "supposed" to be a fixed roof. but please explain to me why there are seals in the roof for the targa top. or why if you look at a picture of the bare z06 chassis w/ the "fixed roof" on... you can enlarge it enough to see the mounts for the targa in the front. and even the latch to fully release the targa in the rear! c'mon, why would gm go through the trouble of magnesium parts,hydroformed chassis,cf fenders.... and not seal the roof if it is infact a fixed roof coupe? sorry to spoil it GM,but we've gotten all the major improvements we've wanted and this targa is one of them. i'm looking forward to cruising in my c6 z06 with the targa off


ps.can anyone host a couple pics for me so i can point out what i'm talking about?

Trustym

This has the pictures you are wanting. I see bolts everywhere though.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...4&forum_id=100

John Wiz

You mean these kind of hex shaped things that I call bolts.... and these brackets that are welded in... that even if you removed the inner portion of the roof and removed these bolt things,,,, you would still be left with these brackets sticking out...

Not having a targa is not that big a deal, I like it on my '01, but would not miss it on the Z06.....

LTC Z06

GM has said that they would have to add 44 lbs of bracing (if memory serves me) to make the car a targa.

Do a search, believe it or not, it has been discussed a lot here.

lowellmstevens

k.well now looking at those pics im feeling pretty retarded,lol. but hopefully the aftermarket can come up pretty quick w/ a kit to remove the roof. who knows,maybe gm did the roof that way so that it would be possible to remove it anyways. as far as the weight of bracing goes... i wouldnt think that its that big of a deal. the car would handle the exact with the roof on whether its fixed or not. add a harness or roll bar and you could probably get most of that rigidity back. besides, how many of you would race your Z with the top off anyways?

LTC Z06

My memory was old news, read this thread, it will tell you all you want to know.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...1&forum_id=100

Bottom line, the Z06 will be a fixed roof for marketing reasons.

JJayzX

you want targa see how theres no framing in the middle cut it out and there ya go.

Bill Curlee

Just rip out the head liner and roof trim parts, remove 10 13mm bolts and the roof will be off! Somewhere down the line some aftermarket company will offer a kit to make it easier. With a corvette tax the kit should be around $3000.

BC

LTC Z06

You will need to cut the welded bracket off.

Mr Mojo

It can be done. My buddy has a C5 vert that he put a Z06 roof on and then cut it so the roof can be removed as in a regular coupe.

It's pretty neat.

yellow01

It's entirely possible they are bolting the roof to the frame like that so that they could develop an Al frame for use in a removable roof configuration in the future...i.e. the coupe.

lowellmstevens

thats true too. maybe GM is just trying to keep a surprise(lol,wishful thinking) you could look at it this way: after all they've put into this car they would probably weld the new roof on. after all the chassis is only the same layout, the hydroformed process is completely different so working the fixed roof in couldnt be hard. being hydroformed the chassis would also be much stiffer than one peiced together,cut,and welded. those 10 bolts wouldnt provide to much more rigidity either i wouldnt think

Bill Curlee

GM uses the EXACT same molds and hydroform process for the aluminum frame as they do for the steel frame. There is no difference. That is what they reported at the C6 Tech Lecture. It allowed them to save a ton of money.

TTRotary

GM marketing wanted a Targa, Dave Hill said: "never while I run the program". The compromise is what you see here: fixed for now, but designed so that they can offer a removable targa panel in the future...presumably when DH is outta there or to offer some additional appeal in later years.

99 WS-7

I don't miss a targa on my Viper GTS.

lowellmstevens

i understand that it is is the same mold. basically i menat in my post that a different machine makes it. so eventhough it is the same mold, the roof could easily be mated on to the existing chassis for a onepeice frame. but like someone else said, DH wont allow the targa to be on the z06 but it seems like they were able to compromise and allow some buyers to find a way around this.

sorka

When GM offers the Z06 with a targa, I *will* buy one but not before then which probably means never.

Actually, small chance I'd buy one if someone came out with an affordable conversion kit that only requires minimal change.

OdinsRage

reminds me of the f-bodies, all of them were built the same, the hardtops just got 2 metal pieces and a roof cover instead of t-tops. If you look at one with the roof off, it has all the weatherstrip tracks and cutouts.

burtonbl103

It is welded
Dave hill said himself that you would have to do damage to the car to remove the bolted/ welded targa roof from it !

BuckyThreadkiller

The seals remain only as evidence that they saved tooling costs by using the skins and b pillar from the coupe rather than retool specifically for the Z06. But it is and always will be a hardtop.

If you cut into the welded frame you might as well save the money and damage to the car and just modify a Z-51 coupe. Same money to LPE could probably get you Z06 performance levels with a factory targa.