Convertable top on a Bonneville??
- Pontiac1
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Convertable top on a Bonneville??
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???
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???
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01bonneSC
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Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
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.
- clm2112
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Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
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
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- glorkar
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Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
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.

'96 Bonneville SLE "Twilight" ( sold :( )
'72 Mustang Hardtop
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- Pontiac1
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Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
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.
- putertopia
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Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
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

1994 Bonneville SSEi - 136k mi - FWI, 180* T-stat, Fresh upper gaskets
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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
Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
seen it on a bonne near my house. snapped a few pics and posted them awhile back
- wake
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Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
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 :
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 :
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petraman
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Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
Let me give you a few reasons not toglorkar wrote:I always wanted to chop the top on a bonne. I think it would look cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOIrEyAvot8
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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.
- glorkar
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Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
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.

'96 Bonneville SLE "Twilight" ( sold :( )
'72 Mustang Hardtop
'01 Grand Prix SE
'06 MINI Cooper S
'88 Ford Mustang Convertible (roller/for sale)
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01bonneSC
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Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
HAHAHAHAHAHA That was funny as H, E double hockey stiks!!! I love Top Gear!petraman wrote:Let me give you a few reasons not toglorkar wrote:I always wanted to chop the top on a bonne. I think it would look cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOIrEyAvot8
- clm2112
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Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
Meh...I wouldn't trust the fellow in the video to repair a kids tricycle.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.
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
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
- yourgrandma
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Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
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).
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.


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Skippy1827
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Re: Convertable top on a Bonneville??
The give away here is the third brake light in the rear window. A real convertable would have it on the trunk lid.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.

Steve
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