Making a coupe into a convertible

[outlaw17]

Im working on doing the body work on a 67 convertible for a friend that purchased the car a few months back and now that the car is alomost completely apart it shows some signs of something strange , it looks to me like the rear section of the body may have possibly been changed , the welds are not original and you can tell it has been worked on , it has new quarters but it just seems strange, the front section around the windshield pillar seems odd too but the fenders are still on so until they come off I wont be able to see whats been done around the cowl area . Is there anything that is obvious to only a convertible that would be next to impossible to swap out if this type of job was done ? Something I can look for that is distinct ?

[ggtsvnv]

 I don't remember the measurment but the windshield on a convertible is shorter than a coup. Also the fourth digit in the VIN should be a 6 for a convertible. It should also be a 6 in the fourth digit on the trim tag after the "ST". Also a factory convertible should have an "X" brace under the car to stiffen it up. The "X" brace could be removed but most I have ever seen have not been removed unless the car was striped of its parts in the past.
Hope it helps

[jimbo67rag]

Although i have not been under many 67 rag tops, i have never seen an x brace. Is this feature for real?  All i have ever known as far as differnces has been the dampners or cocktail shakers.

[ggtsvnv]

Although i have not been under many 67 rag tops, i have never seen an x brace. Is this feature for real?

Yes it's for real, most parts houses sale a repo one; NPD has it as part # C-12806-1A. The unibody cannot handle the twisting too well without a roof, so the brace was used to strengthen the body up. I live in the dry west and most convertibles out here still have them, as did my matching #'s 68 SS350 I used to own. I do imagine that in parts of the country that are prone to rust they might rott out quickly being they are under the car.

[jimbo67rag]

Thanks     Anyone know where i can get a view of this x brace. I am curious as to what it looks like. thanks.

[Sauron327]

http://www.rickscamaros.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=CV%2D60&dept%5Fid=3261#

[rare396bronze]

Also should have extra bracing behind inner rear quarter trim panel. Also round cocktail shaker's on all four corner's of the car.

[jimbo67rag]

thanks sauron and rare, the shakers are long gone,i'll have to make a trip to the body shop and check for that x brace on the underside. I don't recall seeing it under there.

jimbo

[KevinW]

outlaw, To make a coupe into a vert takes a lot of work and almost every panel is a little different. He are some pics to help you compare.

windshield frame


inside rocker construction


qtr window and top hinge point (looking forward on the pass side)


rear corner, pay close attention to the opening for the qtr window guts (kidney pan)


Luck!

[JohnZ]

Here's the convertible X-brace as installed.

[william]

The VIN prefix is different for a convert:

12337 = 6 cyl coupe
12437 = 8 cyl coupe

12367 = 6 cyl convert
12467 = 8 cyl convert

[KevinW]

Just to be clear, the pics I posted above are from real 69 convertibles.  You can use them to compare to the suspected conversion car.

[jimbo67rag]

Thanks Kevin. The car we are looking at is a 67.

Jimbo

[RS3SDL2MG]

I have alway's kinda wanted a convertible but don't know if I would like one if I had it , I would NOT turn a coupe into a covertible if I was to one day try to obtain a 1967 camaro convertible the route I would take would be either to take a 1967 firebird body and put camaro panel's on it or buy the worst RUSTED WRECKED BENT POS SIX CYLINDER CAMARO CONVERTIBLE ON EARTH to build one out of , the coupe to convertible coversion would be out !

[KevinW]

Thanks Kevin. The car we are looking at is a 67.

Jimbo

Jimbo, the pics I posted (and Johns) are the same for 67-69 camaros.  Only the outer skins were different.  Real 1st gens Convertibles also had thicker metal than coupes (rockers, rear frame rails, hinge pillars too I think).  On Johns pic, please note the "H" re-enforcing ribs the "X" plate bolts onto, that is only used on vert. 

[outlaw17]

Ok now let me ask this , are there some welds on convertibles that are done after the fact with mig welders ? Like in the rear inner quarterpanel reinforcments , the rear seat support etc. ? The reason I ask this is because you can visibly tell that these parts look to have been welded after the fact , not spot welded from the factory , I can see that the front posts look original(with fenders on) but I can clearly see that at the bottom where they meet the rockers there is mig welds , so after I have the fenders off I'll be able to see if the cowl has indeed been tampered with . The vin tag is the same as the number stamped in the upper cowl section which tells me that the whole cowl is correct but is it from another car ? We will see when oit comes apart.

[jimbo67rag]

Hi Kevin
I went under the car and it does not have the x brace, but the factory threaded holes are there. I wonder if they put those holes on all the 67 coupes and rags or just on the rags? It does have the h re enforcing ribs.
Thanks for all your time and info, this is an excellent venue.
Jimbo

[jimbo67rag]

Thanks Kevin I looked and the x member is gone but the factory threaded holes and the h member are there.  Are these two features on only the rags.

[KevinW]

Ok now let me ask this , are there some welds on convertibles that are done after the fact with mig welders ? Like in the rear inner quarterpanel reinforcments , the rear seat support etc. ? The reason I ask this is because you can visibly tell that these parts look to have been welded after the fact , not spot welded from the factory , I can see that the front posts look original(with fenders on) but I can clearly see that at the bottom where they meet the rockers there is mig welds , so after I have the fenders off I'll be able to see if the cowl has indeed been tampered with . The vin tag is the same as the number stamped in the upper cowl section which tells me that the whole cowl is correct but is it from another car ? We will see when oit comes apart.

Yes, there are sections that were MIG or stick welded (not spot welded).  This was done either for strength or seperate part attachment at the factory.

[KevinW]

Hi Kevin
I went under the car and it does not have the x brace, but the factory threaded holes are there. I wonder if they put those holes on all the 67 coupes and rags or just on the rags? It does have the h re enforcing ribs.
Thanks for all your time and info, this is an excellent venue.
Jimbo

Jimbo, the H re-enforcements were only installed on verts.  The AIM does show the X plate as an optional thing (standard on verts), but if they bolted the plate to the floor of a coupe (with square nuts in the floor per the drawing) the exhaust would have NO ROOM in the tunnel.

[wagonman]

It is not a good idea to turn a coupe into a convertible!

There is a lot of structural integrity to a convert to prevent it from folding up...Also the windshield A pillars are stronger in case of a rollover.....

[KurtS]

Does anyone have a pic of a rocker cross-section for a coupe?

[jimbo67rag]

To clear things up. We are not intending to make a vert out of a coupe. We have a vert stripped and are restoring the car. The issue is that we came upon some welds on the vert components in the back seat area that do not look like factory machine type welds.  These are mig or stick type welds as Kevin has described. We were looking for some distinguishing features that would indicate a true vert and not a decapitated coupe.  We have now determined that the h member on the underside of the car indicates a vert.  Thank you Kevin for that info. I really do appreciate the interest from all the first gen freaks. ( as i am also one)  Does anyone have a photo of the underside of a 67 coupe. Thank you all.

Jimbo