LOL...I'm reminded of the neighbor kid from the movie "Toy Story". He's every Rx-7's worst nightmare! Seriously though...This is really not a good Idea unless you have A LOT of knowlege about the structural integrity of this car. Which you obviously do not. You should probably also have A LOT of experience customizing cars in general. I'd say start small and work your way up. Destroying a perfectly good 7 chassis and quite possibly turning it into a death trap is not my idea of a good time.

 

A vert wheighs over 300 pounds more than a coupe despite the fact that it has aluminum hood and trunk lid and a whole bunch of other wheight saving components. All of the extra weight is additional bracing and cross members etc... to keep the car straight. Think you know wehre to put all of this stuff on a car that was not meant to be a vert? It took the engeneers at Mazda 2 years to come up with the vert after the coupe was released. I converted an Austin Mini into a vert back in the 70's and It was a bitch of a job. BTW I owned a body shop at that time, it was still a bitch to do.
Sell the coupe, buy a vert!

 

+1 for the worst idea ever!

 

^^ Actually I think my '91 T2 weighs more than my '88 Vert... but you're correct otherwise.

To the OP:
Let's back up, you're not trying to make a 'Vert you're trying to go topless. Fine, go ahead and chop, add mass quanities of bracing to reinforce what you lose for the top, a-pillar strength and other difference, etc etc etc.. hope it works and have fun. If indeed you are trying to make a coupe into a true 'vert... it can't be done. You'll spend more on **** needed to put a vert top on it than what a beat vert sells for in the first place.

 

Chop It Up!!!!!
Learn To Spell!!!!

 

Only the bonnet is aluminium.

 

Dude, if you don't end up doin a chop like this, **** it, I'll do it to another car once I get my turbo swap done on my current car. I'll do it open air roadster style, no carpet, vinyl covered seats, put the gauges back under whatever needed to make it somewhat waterproof. Make some sort of tonneau cover for when I'm not drivin it. No heat, no AC, carbon fiber sheet as door panels. Fair weather car only, haha.

I'm totally serious. Seriously guys, if he's got the time and ability. I agree, definitely find the differences that the coupe and Vert had in structural support, but otherwise, go for it bro.

J

 

Sorry it took so long to get into this thread- I am at 7Stock.

Okay, phil wanted to know structural differences and didn't want to search:

so

Front sub frame
Springs
front crossmember (panel the rad mounts too)
Front shock towers
A pillar from floor up (including different trim)
body side rails (under) are three layers thick in a sandwich construction
interior cross bracing (again three layer sandwich running drivers side to pass side (bin area)
Rear panel running drivers side to pass side and mounting shocks

Basicly nothing between the wheels is the same.

 

To the O.P.:

If you want to do this, go right ahead. Im sure yuo've got an angle grinder and some cutoff wheels anxiously waiting....

Its your car, do what you want.

BUT!

You came on here for "opinions", thats what the thread title says. Everyone has given yuo opinions not to mention technical info no why it won't work. Don't lash out too hard at them, you asked for it by starting a thread takling about chopping a 7 into some El Camino fanstasy cruiser.

I say the car will end up literally falling apart, especially if you don't know what you're doing. Ever chopped a top on a car before? Channeled? these kinds of extreme body mods aren't for the faint of heart (or wallet) nor are they for in-experienced people.

I can garuntee if you chop the top with nothing more than some angle iron spot welded to the floor that the doors will not open and close. There's so much you need to think about and plan and budget that I don't even see mentioned in this thread that its scary.

But hey, if you wanna.........

 

if you want it "el camino" style, why dont you just take out the glass hatch?? the glass does provide some bracing but you can still drive without it. i know you want to have an open top but the roofs of any coupe is the primary structure that holds up the car. just look into it more and see what you can do. good luck

 

Thanks ice, this is kind of what I was looking for. And I DID search BTW but thanks for the info anyway.

 

To JinZ, I know I suck at spelling... I use spellcheck

And I think this guy has some idea of what I'm going for.

And to the people who are afraid the doors won't open, you're right, I'll weld them closed.

Also: the vert was designed to that with the doors open, the flat floor would keep the car striaght on its own. My idea is to not only reinforce the car undernith like a vert but to also construct a partial cage inside that would go along the inside of the doors, between strut towers ect. The opinions I am looking for are not really weather or not this can be done but more of where should I put the reinforcements in order to make this car stable.... And getting an aluminum hood is a good idea, I did'nt even know that verts had them.

 

i have a 85 and i plan on targa topping it and doing something custom along the lines of the cars shown earlier ive alrdy gotten the materials for the one off body im gonna build for it so i like his idea and i come from the fiero community so i know a car has to be braced well and how to brace it when u chop the top off fiero guys do it alot

 

Hey, this is a great idea, and it will be really easy, too. Here's how I would do it:

1. Roll down the windows and close the doors. (If you're still inside the car after doing this, open a door and get out, then close the door again.)

2. Weld the doors shut.

3. Climb inside the car and weld the doors shut from the inside, too. (Aren't you glad the windows are down, now?)

4. Make a hoop, like for a roll cage, and attach it from one frame rail to the other. (Okay, I know it doesn't have frame rails. Do we call those built-up sections of underbody "stringers"? I don't know.)

5. Okay, now your car has ALL the rigidity it needs in both fore-aft and transverse directions, so cut the top off and go drink a beer.

6. Now you need to make so you can turn without buckling the car diagonally. Make another roll cage hoop to go from the left-rear strut to the front-right mounting point. Make sure the hoop is high enough to clear your head.

7. Do it again from right-rear to left-front.

Viola, you are now the proud owner of a rickety-assed, unsafe POS. But at least it will look good, since all of those necessary reinforcements are going to be made out of torch-bent angle iron that you have laying around. Make sure you take corners slowly, because I'm sure those several hundred pounds of iron you have floating where a sleek, lightweight roof used to be will raise the center of gravity.

 

lol.... I cannot believe people actually consider this.... I feel like if you have enough money to make it look right (like the first FD that looks almost like a Ferrari or something) then go for it... The car still probably handle very well but it will look nice...But, if you dont have a lot of money laying around to do it right... Just by a vert w/ a blown engine and swap the stuff from your current car into it....

 

Don't do it ! , not worth the effort. It would be hard to sell after you're done with it plus Verts are quite affordable.

 

lol, thanks man... but I won't wait till' i'm done to drink a beer

 

Making a convertible out of a Fiero or FB is one thing, but why try and do what Mazda has already done with the FC?

 

There is a thread in the 2nd gen section somewhere where a guy with a vert wants to put a hard top on it cause he hates verts. You two should just trade cars and be done with it!

Here.

https://www.rx7club.com/2nd-generation-specific-1986-1992-17/2nd-gen-hard-top-578451/

*edit*

HOLY ****! Your both in texas too!

 

LOL, i just saw this. I posted in his thread and sent him a PM. And yeah I will take reasonable trade offers, if any of you wants a hardtop that it. I know you guys are right and it will be a hell of a lot of work and just getting a vert would be way easyer, if I see one for really really cheap I may go for it as well, I just have not seen the right deal yet. So far the best deal i've got is this hardtop + my angle grinder

 

Have you looked at ebay? Vert's come up on Ebay all the time.