Converting a convertible to a coupe.

[Michel]

Liberal with defacing a cab Michel... but dropping a period correct flat 6 in a 912 is blasphemy?

Nailed it

[Motolita]

Cab Hardtop
I think there is a company in France that still make these.

[ELSPORTO]

https://www.d-moris-equipments.com/

[Motolita]

Yep, thats the one.
They look pretty good.

[klasikcis]

I like it and it has very nice lines similar to a coupe. Originally we were going to leave our top folded down pemanently as I used to do with our Austin Healey, 62 Vette and Merc 450Sl and Datsun roadsters but the owners manual advises against it even for just one night. I would love to know the price of getting one into OZ. Dont think it would be cheap but nothing to do with Porsche is!!

[1st]

I'd like one in a contrasting colour to the duco, black or a dark gunmetal......

[SIR70t]

straight from John at Zags


14k ish + the obligatory 'add 20% porsche duty"



>> Hi Shane
>>
>> You need a fair bit of parts .
>>
>> Long roof cut $ 2500.00 To $3000.00
>> Rear glass $ 450.00
>> Quarter glass $ 250.00 each
>> Door frames $ 500.00 each
>> Door glass $ 250.00 each
>> Parcel shelf $ 400.00
>> Inner quarter panels 400.00
>> Head liner supply & fit $ 800.00
>>
>> Labour $ 7500.00 fitting & painting .
>>
>> Gets expensive these days parts hard to get .
>>
>> Thanks
>> John

[jock69t]

Thanks Shane for those estimates from Zag. Obviously it can be done but even if it cost $20k it seems it might be worthwhile. At least you could have a converted coupe for less than the real thing. The value of the converted car will be questionable but if done well it would not occur to most people that it was a conversion and on that basis it might be worth the total cost of purchase and conversion.

Until recently there were several 964 convertibles around $35-45K. Add $20k for the conversion and the cost is considerably less than equivalent original coupe. I guess a problem is that 964 convertibles have largely disappeared and may not reappear often and will have likely increased in price when they do reappear. The economics for SC's and 3.2 Carreras don't add up as well.

Nobody has mentioned the legality of the conversion but I presume Zags would have done so if it were an issue.

[Michel]

hi jock
with welding a roof back on, cant see where the issue is, as unlike cutting a roof off a coupe which would weaken the chassis, you are adding back a major structural element.

As you know the cabs and to a lesser extent targas carry the extra metal, mostly to do with the 'beefier' type of driver they attract

[1st]

Can't help but think we are back in the 9o's where everyone was converting early G's into 964 clones......

964 Cabs are proportionally more plentiful than G's with 77 delivered (and of these plenty of Tips) vs 199 Coupes 1989-92.

[jock69t]

Don't worry Stewart, I am unlikely to ever do it.

[klasikcis]

My pennys worth!! Recently had to get a car roadwortied in Victoria that had had track history and modifications from standard by way of panhard rods , additional tracck/tramp rods and rear sway bars all items that were not available from the factory at any stage. I was told lose all the mods or present an engineers certificate. In this case the i/d and the cars history will have it as a factory convertible and with our safety beaurecrats trying to stamp out modified cars I believe the same issue is likely to arise in thet the guy certifying the roadworthy can call for an engineers certificate if and when he desires and you can argue to you are blue in the face.

[Fishcop]

Saving my 5000th post for this opinion...

"Why?"

The cabriolet is a genuine car produced by Porsche. The fact that Aussies didn't take to the cab like the rest of the world is inconsequential and I've no doubt little sleep was lost at Porsche over our market tastes.

Porsche offered a compromise in the hard-top option that was made available.

Welding a roof on to a genuine cab to create a coupe when coupes are available seems really questionable given what we know about classic cars and people. Future buyers of early air cooled 911s will place a premium on providence over nearly everything else. God knows the fussiness buyers display over VINs that do not match what is presented!

Give it time. Targas are the new black now, Cabriolets will also come for the ride in time. Converted cars - either roof put on or taken off will get pigeon holed with LHD conversions, Strosek and Gemballa body kits, and non-Porsche engine changes. There is enough of these cars to satisfy the market, I don't think more are needed to satisfy it?

Just throwing it out there Jock

There's been a few guys reproduce the factory hardtop and I have no doubt there would be plenty of these aborted projects sitting about if you ask the question. Delivered, painted and set up on a cab for less than $14k I'll wager; and still with the ability for a future owner to go back to a cab if desired.

A few of these got made and sold less than a decade ago http://www.rennlight.com/hardtop/ I'll bet there's more than one taking up garage space if you were to put feelers out.

[1st]

Nice one

Nice one guys.....great topic.

All I can say is having had a coupe for nearly 25 years and having owned this same Cab in the late 90s I sought out a Cab again, the very same car, as I had no desire for another 911 coupe.

In these days of speed camera regimes and restrictive policing the superior torsional rigidity of coupes whilst being driven at 11/10ths at speeds >130km/h was of no interest to me either, there's just not that much between the Coupe/Cab to drive at today's inner city and country speeds- hell even the Adelaide Hills region is becoming a (well policed and camera'd) 80 km/h zone.....

But to peel the roof all the way back off a Cab, and cruise along at 80-100km/h on a warm spring evening with the breeze licking at you and the unrestricted sound of one of Porsche's finest air cooled 1.5m from your ears with only air between you and it is one of the Porsche world's finest sensory rewards.

You sure don't need to be going like a bat out of hell to enjoy it. And that's the whole point of a Cab.

I grew up with German cars, and anything German/2 doors/Cabriolet was a rare and exotic thing. Speedsters, 280SL's, 560SL's, the RHD 356C Cab I should have bought in 1997, our Aussie delivered '71 280SE 3.5 Cabriolet (1 of 6 sold here), Baur BMW's, 190SL's, Karman Cab beetles etc etc

So, time for all those coupe buyers to rethink Cabs. In the immortal words of Mr F. Bueller ".....if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

[mrar]

I don't think I will be rethinking cabs in the near or distant future unless my friend sells me his 89 (20,000 kms) speedster (with as we like to joke original tyres with German air).
I see your point on the speed camera's etc. Stew, that's why I bought this 72 rocket ship!