RXTION22

has any one made a gen 1 targa top RX7?
or will i try to be the first?

slayerx7

iTrader: (4)

Hello,

Im sure you realize thats a pic of a Supra for illustrative purposes, of course. Yes there are a few aftermarket, custom, and even ragtop conversions out there...

If your thinking about cutting the roof off and calling it a day beware; that will comprimise the structural integrity of the car. Ive heard it will want to bend, and bind the doors in place. I cant imagine how loose the handling would feel... Id install a roll cage first, so the unibody rigidity is retained. Perhaps a reallly good undercarriage cross-brace would do the job? If your good to go, post some pics; Id love to see a project like this in action!

I looked at a widebody 1st gen, with a custom targa top. I dont think it was of the sunroof variety, but I thought it noteworthy how the weatherstripping was retained with the top. Unfortunately I didnt get a chance to see the brace work under the car. If done nicely, it could be among the nicest 7's on the road!

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

There was a company back in the day that 1st gens were still sold, that did custom targa conversions. They've been out of business a long while, though.

I'd be real concerned about structural strength, too. Anyone who's worked in 1st gens for a while has recognized that even normal jacking stress can make the doors temporarily fit differently - - put just the front up on stands, for example, and then open and close the doors. You'll feel a noticable difference. Removing the top frame would make this a lot worse without additional bracing.

You're also up against the challenge of the framed door glass. You'd need to completely re-work the door/window mechanics, unless you intended to just leave the glass frame in place... which kind of defeats the whole targa look.

rotarydude

iTrader: (2)

Petty enterprises did a targa conversion back in the day, I thing they left the front and rear glass channel in place although I am not sure the did remove the top portion and reinforced the frame at the floor, much like on a Pacific Avatar. if you look in the searches on the forum there have been scans from Rotary Rocket that show the Petty cars, if I remember correctly they are also the ones that actually manuf'd the glass sunroofs that were an accessory from mazda

74RX4

iTrader: (10)

Here are PDFs of articles from Rotary Rocket magazine. Several describe the convertible and targa conversions, among other things.


August 1979 Inside Petty Engineering

May 1980 RX-7 Fender Plot

August 1980 The First Convertible

November 1980 Avitar, The Convertible, Part 2

September 1981 Custom RX-7 Conversions

March 1982 Avitar ESP

March 1983 Ultima I

June 1983 Ultima II

June 1983 Commercial Challenge

September 1983 Ultima Stereo Installation Guide

September 1983 Killer Bee 4 wheel drive RX-7

September 1983 NASA Rotary Engine Research

March 1984 1984 & Big Brother is Here

September 1984 163 HP RX-7

September 1984 Gearing your RX-7 for Higher Performance

September 1984 Wheel Buyers guide

December 1984 Cartech Turbo

March 1985 6-Port Fuel Injection Rotary

June 1985 Ultima Security System Install

June 1985 SCCA RX-7

June 1985 InterAmerican Challenge Race

June 1986 Tale of two Turbos

September 1989 RX-777 Racing news

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

hmm interesting i had an 80 rx7 with the IMSA kit and a targa conversion on it back in the day, ive never seen another, i wonder if it was the petty one?

structure was a little noodley without the top, maybe about like a fox body mustang vert?

also the top was like 40lbs of solid fiberglass.

84stock

iTrader: (5)

THIS ARTICLE POSTING SHOULD BE ARCHIVED! AWESOME SHARE!!

diabolical1

iTrader: (3)

i agree.

74RX4

iTrader: (10)

Sorry I lied. They are ZIPs not PDFs. I need to change that. There was a thread titled Old magazine articles. Not sure if it was archived.

Don't want to hijack, but here's another one from September 1982 that I like a lot.
I'm biased
It really is a PDF.

September 1982 Rotary Retrospective