Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Chat about all things Bonneville (and related cars). Off-topic stuff should be in the lounge, and all mechanical problems should be posted in the proper forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
Pontiac1
GXP Member
GXP Member
Posts: 222
Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 8:30 pm
Year and Trim: 1993 SSEi
Location: West Des Moines,Iowa

Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by Pontiac1 »

http://desmoines.craigslist.org/pts/1117647232.html

I am looking at this picture and for the life of me it looks like this car has a convertable top,am I seeing things,and was this ever a factory option?I would guess it was not,never seen one before this picture and am not sure that I am seeing this picture correctly,what do you see???
01bonneSC
Certified Bonneville Nut
Certified Bonneville Nut
Posts: 4938
Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 5:18 pm
Year and Trim: 05 Chevy 'Hoe
1997 'maro (3.8L M5)
89 SkiDoo
Location: Sycamore, IL

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by 01bonneSC »

Nah, I think they just pimped out the car with a cloth or suede or leather roof decoration. I see a lot of that on like Buicks, Caddys and such. Some people like it, I dont lol.
Image
00Beast wrote:Less off-topic than Lane's Heated Steering wheel, but yeah, back to the topic.
User avatar
clm2112
Retired Gearhead
Retired Gearhead
Posts: 2156
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 9:11 pm
Year and Trim: 1990 Bonneville LE
Location: Fayette City,PA

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by clm2112 »

Yeah, it's a fake soft top over the original steel. If you look close, the top is smooth with none of the structure showing through (the bows that a real soft top needs to support the fabric.) Putting a real convertable top on one would be kinda cool. Faking one is just lame.
Bye Bye 1990 Bonneville LE... Now it belongs to my daughter
In the Garage: 2009 Subaru Outback, 1987 Camaro, 2006 SV650S, 1995 Regal 182 "ASANAGI", 1962 Ford Galaxie 500, 1995 Ford F150 XL 4WD, 1953 Farmall Cub
User avatar
glorkar
Posts like an L27
Posts like an L27
Posts: 611
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 10:48 pm
Year and Trim: 1996 SLE - "Twilight"
Location: Oshvegas, WI
Contact:

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by glorkar »

I always wanted to chop the top on a bonne. I think it would look cool. It would take a lot of work to reinforce the body though. And building a soft top would be very difficult. A removable hard top would be nice, but of course you would need a place to store it when it was off the car.
Image
'96 Bonneville SLE "Twilight" ( sold :( )
'72 Mustang Hardtop
'01 Grand Prix SE
'06 MINI Cooper S
'88 Ford Mustang Convertible (roller/for sale)
User avatar
Pontiac1
GXP Member
GXP Member
Posts: 222
Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 8:30 pm
Year and Trim: 1993 SSEi
Location: West Des Moines,Iowa

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by Pontiac1 »

I thought there was something odd looking about this car.A convertable Bonny would be unique,but I like my sunroof enough to stay away from a soft top.
User avatar
putertopia
Posts like an L36
Posts like an L36
Posts: 893
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 8:37 pm
Year and Trim: 1997 Pontiac Bonneville SE (H4U)
Location: Chambersburg, PA
Contact:

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by putertopia »

I've actually seen a Bonneville locally like that, caught me off guard at first. The one thing wrong with converting one of these cars to a convertible is the support structure. Sure you could take a saw zall to the roof, but you just removed one of the core supportive components of the entire frame. If it holds up, you'll notice lots of slop in turns and what not. An accident probably wouldn't be too pretty either.
- Josh

Image
1994 Bonneville SSEi - 136k mi - FWI, 180* T-stat, Fresh upper gaskets
1997 Bonneville SE - 110k mi - H4U, 3.06:1, Tinted Tails, Bridgestone Potenza G009 225/60/16s
Performance: INTENSE PCM, INTENSE 180* T-stat, Gutted air box, K&N air filter, Ported LIM, Borg Warner Wires, NGK TR-55 Plugs, Adjustable Trans Modulator.
Bells and Whistles: Flowmaster 80 crossflow muffler w/ quad tips, 2x Kicker CVR12 Subs in vented box, 1000W RMS 1-ohm American Bass Amp, Alpine MRP-F200 4-channel amp (temporary), Infinity 60.7CS 6.5" Component System (front), Blaupunkt 3-way 6x9s (rear), Pioneer DEH-P6900UB Head Unit, Hardwired Whistler Pro 58 Radar Detector, Hardwired Navigon 2100 GPS
sqela
Posts like a Northstar
Posts like a Northstar
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 9:36 pm
Year and Trim: .

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by sqela »

seen it on a bonne near my house. snapped a few pics and posted them awhile back
User avatar
wake
Certified Bonneville Nut
Certified Bonneville Nut
Posts: 2683
Joined: Wed May 28, 2008 8:51 pm
Year and Trim: 96 olds cutlass supreme 4 door
Location: Dekalb Il

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by wake »

last convetable i remember seeing was 55-65

how ever alot had viynal tops like the one posted in the OP...i however doent understand how anyone can think that looks good

theres one by me thats a 00+ se/sle that is tan and has a black top on it YUCK :
:headbang:LUCAS Image Member # 534.
96 olds cutlass supreme SL 4 door 3100 4t60 *3.33 gears* *Fe1* 115K bone stock DD
Wake asked SSEiman01 wrote:why in the the world do you have or need Vaseline in your trunk??!!..well Leather cleans easy..
petraman
Certified Bonneville Nut
Certified Bonneville Nut
Posts: 4343
Joined: Mon May 19, 2008 10:01 pm
Year and Trim: .
2013 Audi A4 6MT
Location: ............ Granville, Ohio/Erie, PA *WCBF '08 SURVIVOR* *NEBF '07 SURVIVOR*

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by petraman »

glorkar wrote:I always wanted to chop the top on a bonne. I think it would look cool.
Let me give you a few reasons not to :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOIrEyAvot8
2013 A4 P+ ------------------ Glacier White Metallic
6MT, Sport Pkg, JHM Stage 1 Clutch/LWFW, JHM Short Shifter, JHM HFC, USP SS Clutch Line, CR-15 Strut Bar, Alu Kreuz, BFI Shift Knob, EC Trans Mount Insert, VCDS tweaks.
User avatar
glorkar
Posts like an L27
Posts like an L27
Posts: 611
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 10:48 pm
Year and Trim: 1996 SLE - "Twilight"
Location: Oshvegas, WI
Contact:

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by glorkar »

That is pretty funny. If I did it though, I would do it right. Reinforcement and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't take it through a car wash.
Image
'96 Bonneville SLE "Twilight" ( sold :( )
'72 Mustang Hardtop
'01 Grand Prix SE
'06 MINI Cooper S
'88 Ford Mustang Convertible (roller/for sale)
01bonneSC
Certified Bonneville Nut
Certified Bonneville Nut
Posts: 4938
Joined: Sat May 24, 2008 5:18 pm
Year and Trim: 05 Chevy 'Hoe
1997 'maro (3.8L M5)
89 SkiDoo
Location: Sycamore, IL

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by 01bonneSC »

petraman wrote:
glorkar wrote:I always wanted to chop the top on a bonne. I think it would look cool.
Let me give you a few reasons not to :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOIrEyAvot8
HAHAHAHAHAHA That was funny as H, E double hockey stiks!!! I love Top Gear!
Image
00Beast wrote:Less off-topic than Lane's Heated Steering wheel, but yeah, back to the topic.
User avatar
clm2112
Retired Gearhead
Retired Gearhead
Posts: 2156
Joined: Tue May 20, 2008 9:11 pm
Year and Trim: 1990 Bonneville LE
Location: Fayette City,PA

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by clm2112 »

glorkar wrote:That is pretty funny. If I did it though, I would do it right. Reinforcement and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't take it through a car wash.
Meh...I wouldn't trust the fellow in the video to repair a kids tricycle.

Making a convertible Bonneville is a real challenge. You would want to box the transmission tunnel and probably weld doublers on the rocker panels, just to keep the body from sagging in the middle and jambing the doors. (that's the tactic GM uses on factory convertibles.)

You would loose a bunch of trunk space in the process, but you could adapt the convertible top framework from another vehicle. Real challenging engineering to figure out where to articulate the frame so it is long enough to cover, retain the approximate silouette of the car, and not bind up when folded into the boot.
Last edited by clm2112 on Sat Apr 18, 2009 9:41 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bye Bye 1990 Bonneville LE... Now it belongs to my daughter
In the Garage: 2009 Subaru Outback, 1987 Camaro, 2006 SV650S, 1995 Regal 182 "ASANAGI", 1962 Ford Galaxie 500, 1995 Ford F150 XL 4WD, 1953 Farmall Cub
User avatar
yourgrandma
Certified Bonneville Nut
Certified Bonneville Nut
Posts: 2425
Joined: Mon May 26, 2008 6:56 pm
Year and Trim: '02 SSEi

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by yourgrandma »

What's the last 4 door convertable you know of? I think the last one I saw was the Lincoln JFK died in.

I'm not huge on the full canvas top, but I like vinyl landau roofs (the back part being vinyl, ie Cutlass Supreme, etc).
02 SSEi-Turning money into tire smoke, very efficiently.
Image
Skippy1827
Posts like an L36
Posts like an L36
Posts: 847
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 10:31 am
Year and Trim: 2015 Cadillac XTS
Location: Waukesha, Wisconsin

Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??

Post by Skippy1827 »

01bonneSC wrote:Nah, I think they just pimped out the car with a cloth or suede or leather roof decoration. I see a lot of that on like Buicks, Caddys and such. Some people like it, I dont lol.
The give away here is the third brake light in the rear window. A real convertable would have it on the trunk lid.
Image
Steve
Was - 1998 SSEi - 128,000 mi. ---- SOLD----
Was - 2003 Cadillac DeVille DTS - 91,000 mi. ----SOLD----
Was - 2008 Cadillac STS ---SOLD---
Is - 2015 Cadillac XTS AWD Luxury, Black/Black.

2019 Toyota Camry XSE, - Supersonic Red - Black leather int.
2005 Buick Lacrosse CXL, Silver - Black leather Int.
Post Reply