Roadster vs Convertible?
 

Hi all. I see a number of C2 cars referred to as roadsters. Being curious I started checking different sites and publications.

Everything i find lists a coupe or a convertible but not a roadster line. Are there really roadsters with different spec or trim items that make it not a convertible?

Is roadster just a term some guys prefer to use instead of convertible? Was it the term used for a car that didnt have a hardtop (but the car was still a convertible)?

Thanks,
Curious George

As someone new to this forum from end of December the first thing I noticed was all the lingo.

It took a little time but by reading many posts I caught on.

Like SWC, took a few and then it hit me:D Split Window Coupe

Roadster is just a convertible, pretty sure

I could be wrong, but I thought a true "roadster" did not have roll up side windows.

So while 1956 and newer Vette's are "convertibles" I prefer the sound of roadster.

:beatdeadhorse:

While the term is used to describe a convertible, a roadster, by definition doesn't have a top.

What say we have some fun and throw "drophead coupe" into the descriptive mix.

I like roadster, whether my car is a real roadster or not.
I'm surprised you did not include the term vert, which is a term most of us grey hairs really hate.
That is a kid's term, and should be reserved for rice burners and BMWs and VWs only.

happy midyear roadster owner.

If you spend enough time on this forum, you will read many discussion/arguments about terms used about our cars. Wait till you get into C1/C2 vs Solid axles/midyears. Some people get all worked up about it. I personally don't care what you call your car, I have a 65 Convertible.

This is not quite accurate. A roadster has a top but does not have roll up windows. Often the windshield frame is chrome or stainless and not sheet metal like the rest of the body. A convertible has a top of course but has roll up windows. Often the windshield frame is a continuation of the cowl. My 54 is a roadster, my 62 is a convertible. Some years there were both, for example a 36 Ford. They made a roadster (last year) as well as a convertible. That being said, many of us old guys incorrectly refer to Corvette convertibles as roadsters, even though they are not in fact true roadsters. I won't even discuss "verts".

Who cares Tomato-Tomata. I change what I call it daily. Roadster,convertible,Drop head etc...:rofl:

:iagree: Not sure if technically correct but I consider my Cobra replica a roadster due to it's lack of side glass and lack of permanently attached top (side curtains and an erector set and fabric top). At least after 55, I would consider the Corvette to be a convertible. My 2 cents which may be wrong.

I thought the term was drop top.

:cheers:

Right On
 

Whatever trips your trigger, call it what u will, but again by difinition (Webster) a roadster is "open" & a convertible is just that "having a folding top". The OP asked what the differance was. .............Right on with the verts thing & the Tomato/Toematoe thing. Another thing that cracks me up is the worn out term 63' SWC. GM's term on that model was "Sport Coupe" or as the seasoned Vette guy's like to say '63 coupe. Who doesn't know that if u have a '63 cpe, that it's a split window, Really !...... Unless of course the bar was removed to make it look like the '64's when they debuted or because of the saftey issue that center bar created................Regards, enjoy your Vette should it be a roadster, convertible, (ragtop, droptop), hardtop or a coupe...................Rock on & save the wave.

1955 Corvette was the last Corvette being a true Roadster, because you had to install the side windows . 56 up Corvettes because the windows were made into the doors then became a Convertible . :cheers:

Heck........as long as we're dropping names, how about 'rag top'.

Using the standard term convertible seems to be a spelling challenge for many as I've seen 'convertable' way too many times. Now before you brow beat me, I know you've seen it as well. :hide:

The definition of a roadster is, An automobile with an open body that seats two and has a folding fabric top and often a luggage compartment or rumble seat in the rear.

But the correct definition on here is just "vert". :D

I once owned a '63 Morris Minor "Drophead Coupe".

The top folded down. The window frames were affixed to the doors and quarters and remained in place.

Don't think that applies to a Corvette.

IMHO people who use the term "Vert" when referring to a Corvette should be hanged, drawn, quartered, and blood eagled.....for a start. :D

will there be a test after?

Which model had seats on the running boards?? I've got to see that! :eek: Perhaps that was an option used on the verts :leaving:

Russ

Roadster,.......http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f.../DSC00031k.jpg

Convertible.......http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...uda/cuda12.jpg

Roadster..........http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/f...dster/23t6.jpg

:thumbs:



.

As defined the term "Drophead coupe" applies to to automobiles with a top that folds back or down be they two seat only or four seat vehicles.

Regardless having a car that you can enjoy with the top up or down is a wonderful thing and I love it. I don't care what you call it.

I still prefer MPP to decribe and Corvette that has no fixed roof.........

It seems to me it would be a body style and not a window style. With my Vette (1 row of seats) it's a convertible but if I take the windows out it's a roadster. With my 51 Chevy (2 rows of seats) it's a convertible but if I take the windows out it's still a convertible. Hmmmm, go figure. But for some reason Chevrolet chose to call Corvettes convertibles.

Roy,
By your definition which I agree with and is correct, I have a '54 Corvette CONVERTIBLE.

What ever we call them you have a great Corvette.:thumbs:

Roy,
What I was saying to you was that my '54 has roll up windows, so by the normal definition, it is a convertible.
Mike

How come I got the cheap model with side curtains?:D

The additional modifiers roadster, convertible, GT, SS, GTB, GTS are all marketing terms to distinguish optional variations within models. These typically branded a better version of a base model. A full sized car (4-6 seater) that's a convertible cannot be called a roadster, but a roadster with a folding top can be called a convertible. Back when, a roadster was branded to sell a car as a runabout, around town mostly a few miles or so, which differed from a full sized car. A roadster typically could not accommodate a large number of luggage and storage. It was just to run around.

Vert Vert Vert. I can't get enough of the term...it's so easy to type.

I get really tired of the same old lingo, when a fresh new term like vert arises, it makes the forum seem young and hip. I hope to see much more of it in the future here. Let's ignore the curtain/window debate and agree they're verts, makes life easy, like plugging your car into a computer and having it tell you what unrepairable part to replace.

:hide:

I've always preferred topless

ain't gonna happen bub. You young and hipsters need everything to be quick and easy. We don't.
by the way, what brings you to the C1/2 forum? We're slow and old fashioned here. Cars don't get plugged into computers here.
Don't forget to wave. We're waving at you.

Rest easy, my friend, it's all tongue in cheek. I'm always on this side of the forum, 12 years ago I bought a '69 coupe sitting on blocks in bare fiberglass and brought it back paint body and all, I swear it wasn't quick or easy. Thought I needed to try a new one. Heading back to old car land as fast as my feet can carry me. I'll always be caught waving at you enviously...:thumbs:

I did stir the pot though:D
http://i50.tinypic.com/15zgqs8.jpg

PC or not terms like 'vert', 'roadster', 'SWC', 'hardtop convertible' - guys know these refer to. ..

Let's see.....I got a '64 vert roadster hardtop convertible.. ... or some such.

Car is a pretty good term.:leaving:

I agree with thread #4

Ragtop is favorite!

Ragger, droptop, ragtop, roadster, convertible, call it any of those, but unless you're wearing gold chains and corvette insignia clothing, using Zaino weekly, and belong to a nerdy Vette club, don't EVER call a classic a VERT!! :smash::smash::smash:

i too can't stand the word VERT... :toetap:
Bill

:iagree: I've often thought that those who can't spell convertible, instead mistakenly spelling it convertable, just take the easy way out and condense it to vert. :)

fixt: Guys, if you get bored with this one, go to search, whole bunch of threads on this.

Ragtop.

NCRS types like the word "roadster" because it suggests exoticism and reinforces their misconception that their prized possession is worth more than the Hope Diamond.

Most normal, non-OCD afflicted and non-delusional people use convertible, droptop, 'vert and ragtop almost interchangeably.

Landau, cabriolet and drophead are also permissible.

'drophead'... ???? :rofl:
Bill

You guys that feel so strongly against the word "vert" are being a little picky. I admit to stirring the pot when I said I had a predilection FOR the word [I don't], but c'mon, are you really going to disparage a fellow Corvette nut if he uses the word "vert" but accept him if he likes the time-honored phrase "ragtop" or some such thing? They are all, after all, colloquialisms, are they not? I'm not sure anything of this sort should divide old Corvette folks into "Ok versus not-Ok" enthusiasts... hopefully you know it's true, too.

When I order a Coke, I don't ask for a "pop" nor do I ask for a "soda," but my wife will ask for a "soda" because she went to school in E. PA. He folks will ask for a "pop." It's cool with me, and I don't think they need to be drawn and quartered for it. :lurk:

yeah, but when i order a Coke at Pizza Hut they ask if Pepsi will be allright...
Bill

I like this as i`m a Roadster person and I think I have enough seniority in Vettes to make that statement......I could add my pet peeve is the word beside 'vert, is 'fuelie!

Uh, I'm 64 and use the term vert. It never was just for the young uns.
But if you consider me young and a hipster, well......thanks!:cheers:

This is getting pretty childish...Kerrmudgeon has said, in a nutshell, you can used any litany of terms I like and you're OK, but use another word and you fall into an undesirable group of Corvette people. Those people must be undesirable because of their shirt and choice of...wax. Yeah?

Really folks?! I am wrong to be surprised where this thread has gone, should have been obvious. It seems the old Corvette world is like High School where you can be in and out of a group in a moment because you fail to say the right thing in the right way at the right time, wear the right thing, or be friendly to the right folks.

When we start talking Corvette seniority, we are taking ourselves way too seriously indeed. I'm guess at 32 years old and a new and old Corvette under my belt, my accepting attitude is probably about to get me run off from here. If it has to be that way it's a shame. But remember, I'll still be waving when I drive by in the 2009, just like I was in the 1969, just like I plan to do in the '65.

I notice you don't hear GrandpaulZ or Garrett drawing and quartering people for saying "vert" or "fuelie" or "SWC" etc. Yeah, they have seniority, but they also have enough class to know better, it seems.

VERT!!

VERT!!

VERT!!

:flag:

suggest you drive your corvette roadster immediately to your nearest BMW dealer and trade her in on a shiney new bimmer vert.
you are not worthy.

OK, listen up youngster,
someday you too will be old like us, and you will find the ways of your younger generation at that time to be irritating at the least, and often times offensive. It is the way it is.
second, unless someone is offering some kind of technical advice concerning a C1/2 vette, most of what is bantered about here is nonsense. Don't get your panties all twisted over it. We're just having a little fun with your post. It doesn't mean squat. You're welcome here, just put up a C1/2 as your avatar, and try to remember how much we hate the word vert when describing your soft top vette. We offend easy.

:thumbs: I can appreciate that.

I like a room-for-everyone attitude, and I generally believe that's what's going on here on the C1/C2 forum

I'll still be wavin'.

-b

P.S. I've only ever bought and shopped for coupes, including the present search, so doubtful I will draw any ire when I haul an old car home. Hard to mess up the "coupe" term... but will I be allowed to say it coup-eh in a British accent from time to time?

What I always understood was that; a roadster can have a top but does not have roll up side windows.
I refer to my '65 convertible as a roadster all the time ...
:lurk:

Geez - you youngsters probably don't remember when "flip top" cigarette packs came out in the late '50s. That also became a name for convertible cars for a decade at least (probably longer). I distinctly remember our neighbors '57 'flip top' Chevy BelAir.

I now use 'vert' a whole lot.

Get over it - it's the cell phone/texting millennium.
OMG WTF? ROFLMFAO

Oh and I DO know what a roadster is!

Royt mate.
This apployes to sofabeds as well.
Seriously.
Cheers, and keep it bonnet side up.
Cheerio lad!:thumbs:

I use vert a lot in print, never in conversation. It's easier to type than convertible and anyone with a smidgeon of sense knows what is meant by vert.
I think I'll call my coupe a non-vert.

Frank: is that an "A" model MG of late 50's vintage?

Yup 1959 MGA. With pop out side windows.

My brother had one of those. IIRC you had to assemble the top support frame from a bag of tubes, lay the top over it and snap it down front and rear. Was a great car though.

Great little roadsters, unless the sun goes behind a cloud. Or the likely event that the smoke gets out of the electrical components ....

I have a coupe. :cool:

Ragtop is too trashy/cheesey for me.
A Landau is typically a simulated convertible with Landau bars, like in a Model A that has a soft top looking set up with Landau bars but does not fold down - Don't know what the purpose was except for looks. Hard top T Birds etc sometimes had Landau bars.
The Mid Year Corvette is a Convertible.
Drop head, bits, bonnets and boots are tedious British terms best left to those guys .... :hide:

:D

how about a hardtop convertible...
Bill

BTW, for you noobies, we thrashed the crap out of this topic a couple of years ago!
:beatdeadhorse: :beatdeadhorse: :beatdeadhorse: :beatdeadhorse:

I tried to find it but couldn't....pretty funny thread. :D

A British classic and if you look closely you can see the hole in the middle of the front bumper where you could hand crank the motor to start the car in an emergency. The crank handle was stored in the 'boot' ('trunk' in English) and they are highly-prized parts now.
The floors of the car were wood so when it did rain in this true roadster and you weren't quick with the top or bolting on the plexiglass side windows you might have to go to '84 lumber' to get some body parts:thumbs:
Plasticman on here also had one.

There must be hundreds of meanings for the term, "roadster", since it originally was the title of the man who drove the team in front of a carriage or wagon.

Corvette convertibles are generally called roadsters in the factory advertising text. All the arguments about windows and tops do not apply.

Errrr.
1) I don't know that folks are arguing, and,
2) I think they 'debates' apply surely as much as the roadster being a horse-drawn wagon driver. (I believe the term was 'teamster' anyway: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/teamster )

When you want to know where a term originated, try an etymology website instead of a dictionary of recent and current meanings. I did.

I tried to find a photo but I could not locate it.

I remember watching a TV show on antique cars and one of the cars had a seat on the running board. It was only used for the mechanic to sit in.