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Comments
And the styling was pretty good for the '80s.
I still see quite a few of them around the midwest.
Mine lasted 192k although that required many repairs, usually several failures of a few parts.
I used to think the '78-88 Monte Carlo, Cutlass Supreme coupe, et al, would be a good candidate for a convertible conversion...until I actually saw one. It looked horrible with the top up, and with the top down it just didn't look right either. Part of the problem was that parts of the top still stuck up even when put down. And for some reason, on the Monte Carlo, they just did away with the rear quarter windows, so that with the top up you had a HUGE blind spot. At least with the Ciera/Century convertibles, they actually went through the effort to put in rear quarter windows that rolled down.
I wonder how much that conversion cost back when the cars were new?
Given how factory built American convertibles in the 70s were flexi-flyers in the chassis, I can't imagine how bad a conversion would be.
You know, a coupe body is like a pyramid structure. Think about what happens when you cut the top off a pyramid. I don't think a few gussets in the frame compensate for that.
I had a 1988 LeBaron turbo coupe for a few years when I was married, and it wasn't too bad until it got over the 100,000 mile mark. Then it's like everything under the sun went bad with it, but thankfully by then it was my ex-wife's problem and not mine! :P
On the plus side, I thought that thing was a gorgeous looking car. Probably the ultimate evolution of K-car style. That might be interpreted as damning it with faint praise, but I don't intend it that way. It had a comfy, roomy interior, too. One thing K-cars did very well was space efficiency. There was very little cheap, hard plastic in the interior. Lots of padded/soft touch stuff, nice carpeting, leather seats, etc. I do remember the turn signal stalk broke off, though.
On the down side, it only had a 3-speed automatic transmission, although that didn't seem to hurt fuel economy too much. I usually got around 20 mpg around town and 27-28 on the highway, although the wife could break 30 on occasion. Handling was decent, although torque steer could get pretty fierce. And when that car did die, it went in a major way. At 90,000 miles, we did the timing belt and it also needed something expensive done in the front suspension. I forget what, though...half-shafts or something like that? That was right around the time we divorced. That car lasted about 2 years after that, and was pretty much dead by around 115-120,000 miles. In those final two years, the power antenna broke, the a/c compressor seized up, it needed a new radiator, had a sensor to the catalytic converter fail, which made the engine rev at 2000 rpm even in idle, and at the bitter end it blew the head gasket/warped the head, and the turbo burned up. The transmission was still working, although there was a rusty spot on the end where it was leaking fluid.
I liked the Dodge Lancer and Chrysler LeBaron GTS. They were sharp looking cars, IMO. And I kinda liked the '88-93 Dynasty/NYer. I like the way that NYer's style is kind of like an impudent little tribute to my 1979 5th Ave.
The 77 Cutlass should have looked good with a convertible top. Ever seen one of those? I tried searching google for one. Does anyone else get tired of ebay pushing its listings into searches?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
So many aftermarket convertibles had very clumsy top designs, they'd stick way up when folded down, and would look heavy when up. Like they were too lazy to design something to fold flat.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
I've never seen a Cutlass convertible, or any '73-77 A-body conversion, but I have seen a couple of '75-79 Cordobas. Unfortunately, they weren't too attractive, top up or down. I think the Cordoba's problem was the way the beltline kicked up. Instead of having a fairly linear beltline or more of a "coke-bottle" shape like many 60's cars, the Cordoba's beltine seemed to dip down slightly as it went toward the back of the door, but then kicked up abruptly at the end of the door, and then kind of went up the front of the B-pillar. I didn't really have a beltine in the classic sense, where it ran from stem to stern.
GM's A-body coupes were like this as well, and perhaps even a bit more exaggerated, as they had B-pillars that sloped forward more radically than the Cordoba.
Now something like a 70's Torino might have made a better convertible conversion, because it had a beltline that sloped up more towards the back, as opposed to dropping down and then abruptly kicking up. But even here, the beltline seemed to blend into the front part of the C-pillar, and just follow the window line. The quarter panel itself was smooth from the C-pillar on down.
I think one of the best aftermarket conversions I've seen was of the 1980-83 Mirada/Cordoba. These cars were sleek and linear, and just begged to have the top removed. Unfortunately, they were pretty awkward with the top up. This generation was a fake hardtop with no B-pillar, but the back windows were too large to roll down, so in the conversion they just did away with them and made a horrible blind spot.
I dunno, maybe I'll try photoshopping a '73-77 A-body and see how it looks with no top. It just seems like the B-pillar and roof are such an integral part of the styling, compared to previous cars, that it's kinda hard to lose them, unless you do some major re-shaping of the quarter panels and perhaps the doors, as well.
Oh, now that I think about it, about 10 years ago, I saw a 1975 Cutlass sedan at Carlisle for sale, that had its top removed. When I saw it from a distance it really got my attention. But then as I got closer, I saw that all they did was chopped the top off. It wasn't a real convertible. At first I wondered how they re-engineered it to make the back windows roll down, as on these cars originally the rear windows only went down about 3/4 of the way. But when I turned the crank, I found the answer...they simply removed the glass! It also had some tubular steel bracing in the back seat area to beef it up, which made it pretty tight back there. This thing was strictly a fair weather car, and meant for parade-type stuff, I guess, where you could let your presidential candidate, Miss Dairy Queen, or Mr Leather Daddy 2007 sit up on the top of the back seat.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I think another problem is that the area of rear quarter panel that was between the door and rear wheel started shrinking, and that helped to make the convertible versions look like they had big butts. And this Imperial is really messed up because some of those creases that were associated with the C-pillar now just become random, stray marks. Actually, this thing makes me think of big-butt convertibles like the Solara, or the 2007 Sebring.
He is looking to sell it to someone who has the time & resources to do it justice. Any suggestions?
Cheap
Really cheap.
Pictures help.
james
If he sells it "as is", yeah, craigslist is PERFECT.
I also saw a 70s vintage Porsche 911...these can be dicey in the dry I thought...
I think as long as you didn't put extra-wide, low profile tires on these big cars, they weren't bad. They were heavy, but traction was fairly good because they didn't have such a large contact area with the road, which works to your benefit a bit in bad weather.
Plus, depending on how deep the snow is, those bigger cars might get through it better because of the higher ground clearance, and their greater ability to just push it aside, as opposed to "snowbanking" themselves on it like low-slung FWD cars often do.
I've never had a truly massive car that I drove regularly in bad weather. But back when I first got my Intrepid, when the weather got bad I tended to drive my grandma's '85 LeSabre, which is downright petite compared to a '73. It still did okay in the snow, although I did get it stuck on ice a couple times (once in my grandmother's driveway, and once when I was dumb enough to park with the rear wheels on it). My rationale back then was that I wasn't so much worried about myself wiping out in the snow, but all the other idiots out there. And I'd rather have them bounce harmlessly off a paid-off '85 LeSabre, than total a brand-new Intrepid with almost 5 years of payments left on the books!
Now my '79 NYer, I imagine, would be pretty bad in the snow, but that's more the tires than anything else. I have a set of 235/70/R15 Firestone Firehawks on it that are pretty worn down. They started off on my Gran Fury, and probably have about 40,000 miles on them. And I don't remember my '79 Newport being bad in the snow, but when I drove that car it was also a fairly mild winter.
I've driven my fintail in the snow...it didn't do too poorly, save for being hard to get going from a stop on the ice...but I think all cars have that issue.
We got a lot more snow in Western PA then than now, too. But my recollection is that most people actually had snow tires back then.
I'm sure this is a nice drive
"no fake"...thank goodness, I keep on running into reproductions of these
Kinda neat thing that Canada got and USA didn't
Of all the cars to survive like this
Nice and pricey
Japanese Mustang
This seems worth it
Lots of work...interesting way to use it
"Collectible Econo Car" - yeah
Andre/lemko mobile
The only way to travel is Cadillac style
Gettin every penny out of the K car platform
Looks nice
Poor thing
Of all the mediocre things to save...why??
The 1984 Supra? That seems cheap, if it is as nice as described..
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2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Then deep in text the guy explains he just did that so more people would view it? Why doesn't EBay take listing off since it's misrepresented???
I know the answer to that one--EBay does no control; just briing in the money...
118 miles? But has a dent in the door that's been boosted out?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Knowing how my mom and grandma drive and store their cars...I can imagine the dent.
If that Supra is really as nice as it looks, it would easily bring at least $1000 more than that.. Usually Ebay isn't the place for bargains.. I'll ditto the probability of hidden issues..
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That's a lot of money for a car accurately characterized as "a lousy car and a worse boat".
I used to see one regularly during my days in the marine salvage business, I wasn't much impressed then once I got over the initial "hey, a car that you can drive in the water".
Do these bidders/buyers have any idea how corrosive salt water is? :surprise:
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
ZAZ--remind me to call the Latvian chamber of commerce to make sure this is a reputable seller.
LADA NIVA--seems to have a good reputation.
68 Datsun Wagon----that $15,000 Datsun would be a nice $5,000 Datsun to own.
Fiat Strada-- crush it before it kills again
LANCIA B24 Convertible-- one sold at Monterey last year for $143,000 or so. These are GREAT cars to drive but this one...I don't know...you'd be totally NUTS to bid on this car without seeing it. Sounds like all the money already.
84 Supra-- not to be confused with REAL Supras of the 90s. Nobody much cares about these old ones---just another old japanese used car. But worth the asking price nonetheless.
1904 Cadillac--this car looks wrong to me for some reason.
Lebaron -- another one for the crusher.
1983 Honda Accord -- bidding is all the way up to $302. Seller worries that buyers won't know "what they are bidding on", but looks to me like buyers know exactly.
Benz 300SE--not worth restoring. $50,000 to make the car worth $20,000? Yeah, I'll get right on it.
76 Ventura--who cares?
I'd buy the Trabbi, I always liked those but I bet the dude wants a few grand for it.
The Supra is nice as well, I always wanted one when I was younger.
As for the Datsun wagon, I think that's a bit too much for something that's pieced together as nice as it looks.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
I kinda like that Ventura. I guess you can tell that it definitely was a northwestern car, by the fact that even though it looks fairly well trimmed (V-8, rally wheels, that awful landau roof), it lacks a/c. Back in college I had a friend who moved here from Washington State, and he brought his Civic. His non-A/C Civic. He couldn't deal with it in the DC area, so he got another car pretty quickly.
I think those '75-79 X-body coupes are pretty sharp looking, without the landau roof. Unfortunately, it seems that most of the Venturas and Phoenixes, as well as the Omegas and Skylarks, tended to get the landau option.
But still, a '76 Ventura isn't anything I lust after enough to go find the nicest example of and preserve for all eternity.
Oh I'm well aware of that, I spent some time at various auctions in Phoenix-Snobsdale this week. They're really getting silly money at Barrett-Jackson. :surprise: :surprise:
Still, we're talking about multiples 0f $50k, XKE or Dino money for a freakin' Amphicar! :shades:
Am I the only one who thinks Craig Jackson looks as crooked as a County Road in West Virginia?
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
If it was largish and fairly sleek it was a 164, the last Alfa
Berlina imported here. The previous Milano (nee Alfa 33)was a little smaller and the Alfetta before that dates back to the 70s.
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93