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They sure do. Wish I knew. Tried to run it down a while ago but didn't have any luck. I was told it was done in CA in the 80s, but that's about all I know. It's not a Carelli or one from the famous West Coast guy whose name escapes me. Do you know who did yours? It's my favorite one of those I've seen with the slight upsweep preserved at the back of the door, and keeping full use of the rear seats, which I use with the kids.
'Fraid not. Mine also a mystery - converted in California late '80s and exported to the UK mid 90s. Almost definitely same garage as yours.
Last 18 months she's had a complete resoray and cosmetic update with panels from American International Racing.
Cheers.
They sure do. Wish I knew. Tried to run it down a while ago but didn't have any luck. I was told it was done in CA in the 80s, but that's about all I know. It's not a Carelli or one from the famous West Coast guy whose name escapes me. Do you know who did yours? It's my favorite one of those I've seen with the slight upsweep preserved at the back of the door, and keeping full use of the rear seats, which I use with the kids.
The famous west coast guy was probably Gene Winfield who told me that he did several of these conversions in the 80s. He currently runs a shop just about a mile south of Mojave CA. He is in his 80s and still going strong. He conducts a body metal clinic around the country about 4 times a year in various places. I learned a lot about custom body work just from reading about the stuff he did back in the 60s and 70s. I talked to him a while back about his 928 conversions but he doesn't know where any of them are.
I also asked him about which convertible top he might have adapted to these and he said that he had a guy custom make the tops, so that might be a helpful hint about identifying one of his.
The famous west coast guy was probably Gene Winfield who told me that he did several of these conversions in the 80s. He currently runs a shop just about a mile south of Mojave CA.
I also asked him about which convertible top he might have adapted to these and he said that he had a guy custom make the tops, so that might be a helpful hint about identifying one of his.
Yes, Gene Winfield was the famous guy I made reference to. I contacted him back in July of last year and he confirmed that the style I have is not one of his. His description (paraphrased) of his 928 conversion was "I had a metal tonneau cover over the rear of the car."
and in the one pic I was able to find online of one of Gene's cars, it looks like his trunk area had an indentation running down the center almost like helmet humps on the roof of a Daytona coupe where the outsides were higher than the center.
so these convertibles that a few of us have still remain a mystery as to who the coachbuilder was. Hard to believe that with the internet and how easy it is to contact people, Google searches, etc that no one has found one of these threads, popped in and said "those are ours".
Yes, Gene Winfield was the famous guy I made reference to. I contacted him back in July of last year and he confirmed that the style I have is not one of his. His description (paraphrased) of his 928 conversion was "I had a metal tonneau cover over the rear of the car."
and in the one pic I was able to find online of one of Gene's cars, it looks like his trunk area had an indentation running down the center almost like helmet humps on the roof of a Daytona coupe where the outsides were higher than the center.
so these convertibles that a few of us have still remain a mystery as to who the coachbuilder was. Hard to believe that with the internet and how easy it is to contact people, Google searches, etc that no one has found one of these threads, popped in and said "those are ours".
Most are too embarrassed to admit it..... the whole concept is terribly flawed !
Most are too embarrassed to admit it..... the whole concept is terribly flawed !
Whatever and to each their own. A number of folks who made it to Sharks in the Mountains this year and saw mine in person would disagree with you, or maybe they were just being polite. In any case, I didn't buy and build mine for anyone but me, so there's really only 1 opinion that matters...
The basic problem is when you cut the roof off of a unibody coupe it lacks the proper stiffness....even with the added "reinforcements" often if you jack one up by the front suspension....you can no longer open the doors... and yes I have seen a few conversions. I admit that some LOOK great but still are a bastard Frankenstein "conversion". Think about an egg shell with half the shell cutoff....or 1/2 of a paper towel tube. It lacks structural integrity. Even 911 Targas and cabriolets got major reinforcements to survive without a roof...but the issue was so great that Turbo 911 were not offered for years with out roofs . So some guy in a bodyshop chops off the roof and adds some extra plating to the door sills and calls it good to go....
Well picked it up better than pictures on Ebay even got an engine that look prity fare nick last smog check on 12/15/2014 got a new WRU unit sorry about upside dowm pic but tried three times to get them correct me and technology do not get on all the time yes and they are Recaros
05-27-2016, 06:10 PM
