What is this type of car called?

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snapetwo

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Hey guys.
I'm debating on something my dad keeps suggesting I do with the dart.
He thinks I should cut the roof entirely off, leaving only the windshield.
No other roof, pillars in back, nothing.
No convertible or top of any kind.
He keeps calling it a "California cruiser "
But I can't seem to find anything on that name.

I'm playing with the idea. Might not be to bad.
With no roof I suppose you don't need side glass.
Electronics may get sketchy(cant really have thousands of
Dollars in electrons with no protection)

Cutting roof away, you would definitely need a good subframe.


Anyway, if someone can explain this or point me in good direction.

Thanks.
 
I remember my dad and/or grandfather calling a car like that a California Cruiser also, and they were both very into cars in the 50s/60s. I have not heard the term since then (since them calling it that, I wasn't around myself in the 50s/60s!) and I don't know where they got it from.

I know you're not asking, but unless the top is totally rotted, I don't think it's a great idea (but that's just me). And even if the top was totally rotted, I'd replace it before leaving it off. But your car!
 
Very bad idea. Unibody cars depend on the top as well as the doors and bottom for rigidity. Without a top the center could sag and the car could fold up in an accident. Without a cage or frame modifications it wouldnt be safe.Convertibles have different unibody construction than sedans. Dont do it.
 
There is a specific name for a car with no roof & no convertible folding top, might be "roadster". The car customizes love them ( along with getting rid of windshield wipers) but unless you are in a very dry & warm climate they are not very practical. On an A- Body a lot of structure would have to be added to the underbody.
 
Thanks guys,
Dare, ya I to realize that the roof and doors provide the strength.
However, if you put in s subframe and tie it all together nice and tight,
Would that not allow this?

Honestly, I tried to shave the drip rails and I am not to happy with how
It looks, so that's why I'm considering what my dad suggests.
Or just scrapping the car.
 
Ha, ya I live in Colorado.
Would limit days I could drive it, to say the least.
Colorado weather likes to be unpredictable, could be 90 with clear skies,
5 minutes later 20 with a blizzard.

But this car won't be driven much anyway.
 
True, at one point, earlier, manufacturers did call cars like that roadsters. Later, that term became real grey because they ended up calling cars with soft tops roadsters also. I should have thought of that because before Mopars, I was into British sports cars (roadsters). I suspect that California Cruiser was just a real colloquial term.

There was a thread here very recently, like the past couple months, about shaving the drip rails. IIRC, that guy came to the same conclusion that he didn't like the look, but I think he welded them up somehow so they looked better, and I think it turned out ok. Might want to search for that thread. I think it would be a WHOLE lot less work, safer, and a generally better idea to fix it that way than to cut the roof off. To me, the deciding factor there would be if the car was real solid or not. If not, part it and scrap it, if so, save it.
 
Aside from the frame-strengthening characteristics your roof plays, you live in COLORADO (I lived there for 10 years and my mom still does). Getting rid of your roof is going to also eliminate several months of driving and smiles-per-gallon time.
 
snapetwo said:
Thanks guys,
Dare, ya I to realize that the roof and doors provide the strength.
However, if you put in s subframe and tie it all together nice and tight,
Would that not allow this?

Honestly, I tried to shave the drip rails and I am not to happy with how
It looks, so that's why I'm considering what my dad suggests.
Or just scrapping the car.
Click to expand...

If you do this i would put in something stronger than the standard sup frame connectors.

Something like 3/8th wall thickness at the minimum.

But really, I don't think it's a good idea.
 
snapetwo said:
@72dodge , What or who is iirc? Trying to find that thread
Click to expand...

IIRC = If I Remember Correctly.

I don't remember who made that thread. I'll see if I can maybe find it. It was probably just in someone's car restoration thread.
 
" IIRC " means "if I remember correctly". Me and my friends always called cars like you mention "hacksaw convertibles". If you DO decide to do it, realize that the car's value probably just went to almost zero, in addition to all the other frame and structural weakness considerations.
 
I would say why the hell not! All convertibles had torque boxes in the frame to make it more rigid. I would weld a temporary structure in the car while you remove the roof until the frame is beefed up. It will make sure everything is aligned correctly when you cut the roof off. If its a car that is in rough shape I think its a fun idea. I've done it before on a vw bus. It was a blast we put 8 bucket seats in it and cruised the town. It came out real nice but hey I'm in California!
 
never knew they had a name. we did it to an old impala years ago.. cut the roof off, got some material and made a fake boot for it and cruised it. was a fun car.
 
Roadsters were and are basically vehicles without roll-up windows and were manufactured by many car companies. Convertibles do have roll-up windows and Cabriolets had roll-up windows with a structural mass.
California cruisers of the 50's and up are vehicles which many chopped or just removed a sedan top and went from there. Some added Carson tops, a Carson top is just a home made top which is removable yet adds no strength, no windows and is basically for show. Back in the mid 60's I had a E Jag with welded in doors, no top or windows and a cut and lowered windshield yet had a roll bar and structural appendage which surpassed the normal street car for safety. The car was similar to any race car of that era but street driven.
 
If you did this at all, I would make the doors to where they could not open and hide some sort of support in there. Then you would have to climb over the doors to get in and out, otherwise, like stated.. Do not do this, that is unless there is no value to your life.. and if so.. just buy a bike.
 
WOW, good responses. Thanks to everyone.
I'll be checking out some of the links and information.

@Cuda, im not worried about the car having a resale value, i bought it for a grand.
@Rengo, I have the bike already (actually spent all weekend fixing it up) ha.
 
daredevil said:
Very bad idea. Unibody cars depend on the top as well as the doors and bottom for rigidity. Without a top the center could sag and the car could fold up in an accident. Without a cage or frame modifications it wouldnt be safe.Convertibles have different unibody construction than sedans. Dont do it.
Click to expand...

Yep.....

snapetwo said:
Thanks guys,
Dare, ya I to realize that the roof and doors provide the strength.
However, if you put in s subframe and tie it all together nice and tight,
Would that not allow this?

Honestly, I tried to shave the drip rails and I am not to happy with how
It looks, so that's why I'm considering what my dad suggests.
Or just scrapping the car.
Click to expand...


Could not help but wonder why you were shaving them off. I understand the whole custom thing....but I also understand that if some one lacks the skills to properly plan, the ability see the finished result in there head before it is done that perhaps they should leave well enough alone. That is one of the reason I picked the tattoo artist that I did, Tim has the ability to be able to en-vision the finished product just by drawing a few simple lines with a sharpie on you. Saves you from having to come up with a way to cover a lot of crap up.....

A former co-worker removed the roof of of her Toyota 4x4 pick up after putting it on the lid. Truck was a complete waste of time. It was a DD that could not a nice stereo, you baked in the summer and froze your nuts off in the winter. A true convertible is one thing, but to hack the roof of a vehicle, make some cheesy bikini type of top is something different. Kims truck, without the side glass was like a wind tunnel. At least on a bike the wind is blasting at you from the front, not coming in the now missing side windows and swirling around the cab like a twister.
 
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