I am trying to invetigate turning my Coupe into a Cabriolet similar to the picture of the one on the website.

Anybody got any ideas where to start?

Is this a good or a bad idea?

Any advice welcome.

start by sawing the roof off <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I thinks it's a COOL idea!! don't know where to start.. but i think you need a good pair of siscors...

cheers

coen

You would probably be better off going for something along the lines of the F575 Superamerica.

my advice would be to give up mow tbh. as nice as a mock up looks, i think it would drive like a pig/twist like a snake/take money like a whore. i do wish tou all the luck in the world though as i would love to see one <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Please do it.
Then we can all point and laugh at the idiot in the wobbly coupe <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

If you want a convertible, buy a convertible.

Bit harsh <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

I have no objection to somebody making the coop into a convertible. I'd love to see it done, but surely the costs involved would outweigh your child like curiosity? But if you're rich, do it! Why not?!

you are going to need to add some serious stength to the chassis.

would be nice though, worth trying if you have the time/money/ know how

Hmmm. I did read somewhere that the floor, and chassis on the Coupe was actually a lot stiffer than most of the previous Fiats.

That said, with the roof removed, it's gonna be a pretty wibbly-wobbly experience without some serious bulstering.

Another potential hiccup. The doors have a frame for the windows, this would need to be looked at to create that true open cab deck.

But remember no-one has done it, so we cannot say for sure how it would go or end up.

A few years back there were only 1 or 2 people with 300 bhp and 500 bhp was never heard of, but now its normal, but it still needed the first few brave people to get out there and do it.

So whats to say that if someone tries a convertible it will go wrong or right.

If a 2.4 conversion costs £10k and people have them, it can't be long before someone does a convertible version.

well said. do it then post pics even come and stay so i can have a drive in it <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

If you have ever driven your coupe in winter with the doors iced up and heard the creaking sound as the chassis twists or having jacked up one side to have to drag the door open i think it can be said that the coupe chassis twists around a smidge.

It is however do able. It will require substanstial reinforcement of the floorpan and possible cross bracing of the chassis (similar to a large strut brace)

If you are going to try it why not buy a 16v normally aspirated for very little and try it out on that first. As this has less power the forces invloved will be less and may make for an easier introduction to the project. Do it i say

My dad has an Alfa Spider, and I would think that the Fiat Coupe with the roof chopped would have similar if not worse stiffness. As the cars do share the same floorpan.. The Spider is fairly wobbly anyway, even though it is supposedly stiffened before having the roof chopped. I can't see any obvious strenghthening under the Spider though compared with the GTV I used to own..

As Jeremy Clarkson said (Corectly for once!!) If you want a decent convertible, buy one that was designed to be a convertible to start with, not as a saloon or Coupe, which has had the roof cut off..

ask carlt for one hes got about 6 coops and hes choping one sone a black le i think

Cost a fortune in re-inforcing as 75% of the body shell strength is lost if the roof goes. Be a wonderful project to see but the cost of doing it and then getting SVA to keep it on the road would be horrible. Don't now what the MOT wallies would make of it either. Also maybe the extra weight/bracing will upset the handling and certainly reduce performance. I remember making a cabrio Talbot Alpine years back with an angle grinder and a whole afternoon.. The car was terminal rusty anyway..drove like it had a hunge in the middle..scrappies died laughing when I drove it to the crusher.

I want a carbon fibre bodyshell/floorpan which is so strong that the roof is not required and as such can be coupe, soft top or hard top/open top. imagine that!

oh and 'A few years back there were only 1 or 2 people with 300 bhp and 500 bhp was never heard of, but now its normal' normal? I feel so inadequate.

There used to be a company that would roof chop almost anything. There did a 8 series BMW and it looked quiet smart... This was about 7-8 years ago and the 8 series job cost (from memory) £15k+

This included rollover protection and body structure work...

I've heard similar stories. But I'm not convinced that these maybe just urban legends, as how can you really calculate something like that? And surely if the roof was the main structure re-inforcing the car, would it buckle and crease if you hit rough roads, and potholes.

Again, could be another urban legend, but I did read it an Autocar review that the Coupe, along with the new Fiats was designed with much more rigid floorpan than those cars in the past, (Panda/Uno/Strada).

Ultimately no one will know unless someone tries it out, (probably better on a shell first... <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />)

Monocoque bodyshell is designed that the load is distributed through the whole shell, roof included. if you cut the roof off completely then the load path breaks and the stiffness goes..not urban myth unfortunately.

How about an X19 style targa top..that shouldn't do too much to handling. Anybody any ideas?

Anyone do a photochop of the said targa roof?

You could get a steel spaceframe like on a TVR and fit a coupe body minus roof to it. That would be a good project, and it would be RWD..

Defeats the object..rather have a real 'topless coupe' in FWD than panels supergued to another chassis. Any body though about wind noise and buffeting on the softop version? Ragtops are very noisy at speed and suffer interesting suction effects, poorly designed ones suck out loose items in the cockpit ie maps, coats etc. 150Mph with the roof off might be a challlenge.

as stated the roof is essential. as part of my degree i had to do some engineering units.

we had to build a chassis, test it on a jig, then cut the roof off and compare, ok the materials were card and glue and it was scaled down but the theory is the same, the result was in fact 84% less torsional ridgidity.... However, we then redesigned the chassis and made it more ridgid then the origonal coupe shell by making the door sills large so you have to step over them like in a lotus else, also increased the size of the transmission tunnel, again like lotus, as they did this on the europa which had a huge transmission tunnel but had very good torsional ridgidity. obviously doing things on a scaled down cardboard model is easy, the cost to do this in real life is somewhat more.

Car manufactures are now biulding convertables and putting the roof on after, the results are that they are much more ridgid and coupe and cabs are getting closer, the downsize is that they are getting heavier and heavier so different materials have to be used and introduced like aluminuim just to try and help counteract this. Ultimatly the new coupes are now being comprimised by the added weight.

How about losing the boot and doing a folding hard top, suprising not as complecated as it sounds, technology has been there for 30years but realise to the publie has been held back just because of profit due to the shape of the coupes roof though you would have no boot <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> you would still have a relativly ridgid car when the roof is up (still not as strong as before though) and when the off is down you will have to just be sensible and use it for posing and not progressing.... just a though... essay over <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

How about doing it in the style of the Lambo Gallardo Spider , with a central bar from the dash to the rear? Painted to match the body colour & blended into the body coloured dash strip, it may look very <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Is this what your trying to achieve

http://www.fiatcoupe.net/pics/specpics/bigfoto06.jpg

That would be nice but impossible in practise to do..roll bars, chassis strenght etc.

Might be able to do this (excuse the 10 secs with paint) which is an open framework like the existing room pillars into which the roof fits. Downside of all targa tops is finding somewhere to store it when its off.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y202/rumblegum/Coup2.jpg

Or this with bodywork done properly, naturally it has to be in sprint blue.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y202/rumblegum/car3b-1.jpg

Skodaman: don't ever go into car design <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

As it says in the post..10 second doodle with paint. Feel free to contribute better graphics rather than just spectate...

Only having a bit of fun mate - hence the wink <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />