1965 ford thunderbird hard top convertible12/10/2023 Getting a title will also be a major effort and raise flags since convertibles and hardtops have different serial numbers. And, when it comes time to sell, there will be a lot of questions as to how it was built and if it is structurally sound. The cost and effort of making a hardtop into a drop-top, especially a fully-functioning one, may well be more than what the cost of obtaining a true convertible would be. Quite frankly, if you really want a convertible, sell what you have and put the money towards a real one. You'll need to build a support for the rear window and fill the space between the rear seat and the rear deck lid both with the roof off and on. If you're thinking you can made a removable roof out of your old one, consider the fact that you will have to fabricate hardware and bracketry to allow you to attach the roof to the body and develop weatherstripping to keep out the water and wind. Add to this needing to rework the rear deck lid and trunk for all the hydraulics, hinges, bracketry and such needed for the top, plus rework of the windshield header, accumulation of the convertible-specific pieces, etc., and you will have a major expenditure of time and money. If a functional convertible top is wanted, a lot more work would be needed, including removing the flow-through system and replacing it with the necessary center body structure. The flow-through ventilation plenum and panel were left in place to preserve the structural integrity of the body and same time in the build. The "Overhaulin'" car was not a full-blown convertible conversion with a working top: in fact, it is what many call a "parade" car in that it does not have any top at all, and no provision for one. Bracing for the rockers of the "Overhaulin'" conversion were made using angle iron, but I am not familiar with how this was done, if the exterior sheet metal had to be removed to get inside the rocker panel box to add the support. Some of this bracing went up into the lower cowl, which is why hardtops and convertibles have different kick panels. Second, the lower outer body sides were reinforced to sitffen them and keep the body from sagging under its own weight. To compensate for the loss of an upper roof structure, in convertibles a structural panel was installed behind the rear seat to form a bulkhead across the width of the body from the floorboard to the beltline to keep the body from twisting from side to side. The roof is THE major structural component for the upper body of a closed car - it keeps the body rigid, keeping it from collapsing on itself at the center. Because the T-bird is a unibody car from 1958-1966, there are no frame rails running the length of the body to keep the car body straight and level. While the convertible and hardtop appear to be identical on the exterior, under the skin there are several key differences. Long story short is that it's not as simple as just breaking out the reciprocating saw and making cuts at the windshield frame and rear pillars - there are structural modifications that need to be made to make the car solid enough to withstand the flexing and torsional loads that driving will impose, not to mention the weight of the car itself. VTCI's former Concours Director Ken Harkema participated in the build and wrote a thorough article about it in VTCI's Thunderbird Scoop magazine earlier this year. An episode of TLC's "Overhaulin'" filmed last year showed some of what was done to a '65 hardtop (the same car is used on the cover of Larry's 58-66 Thunderbird catalog for 2006), but not everything. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.This topic often comes up. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it.
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