Convertibles- Are they really reinforced? Options

[nitemare]

I own a 95 GT Convertible. Little did I know when I opened the door panel, it had a sticker saying top was installed in california. I then found out all the celica's came oversees with hardtops- then chopped off in the states and made into a convertible. This sounds very shady. I have a tough time believing toyota actually reinforced the structure as well. Ive has so many problems with the "aftermarket" convertible. If I knew toyota outsourced this to some company, I would have never bought this convertible. The fact is was a hard top transformed into convertible makes me wonder how safe the car really is..

Can anyone confirm celica was reinforced??

[jgreening]

Wow. I have never seen a thread with so much misinformation - well maybe threads discussing the mr2t tranny for the 3s swap .

ASC stands for American Specialty Cars. The name was changed in January of 2004 from American Sunroof Corporation. It is a Michigan business. They did chop the coupe and make it a convertible and they did it in a California plant (Pomona, I believe).

I know of no federal requirements for chopping cars and making them convertibles. There are federal safety requirements that apply to all new cars sold including ones that are chopped by another company for the OEM. I do not know if the government regulates things like ridgity though - I would doubt it does.

There are no differences in the doors and there are no extra rails that are added to the bottom of the car. There were no structural modifications that were done in front of the lock pillar (where the door latches to the car by the lock). Most of the structural modifications were done to support the roof and to limit chassis flex.

The Saturn Skye and other cars like the vette, boxster, z4, etc were DESIGNED as convertibles. There was no chop job so the ridgity is better.

Finally, there is NO WAY that the A pillar is designed to hold up if the car rolls. The fact of the matter is that 6th gen convertibles were not designed as performance cars. So, if you do something crazy like swap a 3s in a convertible, please drive safely....

[nitemare]

  They did chop the coupe and make it a convertible and they did it in a California plant (Pomona, I believe).

I know of no federal requirements for chopping cars and making them convertibles.  There are federal safety requirements that apply to all new cars sold including ones that are chopped by another company for the OEM.  I do not know if the government regulates things like ridgity though - I would doubt it does. 

There are no differences in the doors and there are no extra rails that are added to the bottom of the car.  There were no structural modifications that were done in front of the lock pillar (where the door latches to the car by the lock).  Most of the structural modifications were done to support the roof and to limit chassis flex.

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So far, I have to AGREE with this reply..I have not read anything (or see anything) on my convertible that makes me believe any reinforcement was added.
I know ASC did the job.
I already replaced the entire outer top due to wear after 7 years. They say its normal. I have replaced both back motors that lift top up and down. I have already replaced both motors on both sides that power convertible side windows. I must give ASC an F in quality. I have never seen such a poorly manufactured top before. Its very odd that almost NOTHING else breaks on the celica but something related to the top. For this, I can not believe ASC actually went the extra length to reinforce it when their own products malfunction.
Thanks for all your replies. Great thread

[jgreening]

  They did chop the coupe and make it a convertible and they did it in a California plant (Pomona, I believe).

I know of no federal requirements for chopping cars and making them convertibles.  There are federal safety requirements that apply to all new cars sold including ones that are chopped by another company for the OEM.  I do not know if the government regulates things like ridgity though - I would doubt it does. 

There are no differences in the doors and there are no extra rails that are added to the bottom of the car.  There were no structural modifications that were done in front of the lock pillar (where the door latches to the car by the lock).  Most of the structural modifications were done to support the roof and to limit chassis flex.

[right][snapback]255865[/snapback][/right]

So far, I have to AGREE with this reply..I have not read anything (or see anything) on my convertible that makes me believe any reinforcement was added.
I know ASC did the job.
I already replaced the entire outer top due to wear after 7 years. They say its normal. I have replaced both back motors that lift top up and down. I have already replaced both motors on both sides that power convertible side windows. I must give ASC an F in quality. I have never seen such a poorly manufactured top before. Its very odd that almost NOTHING else breaks on the celica but something related to the top. For this, I can not believe ASC actually went the extra length to reinforce it when their own products malfunction.
Thanks for all your replies. Great thread
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Do you have a 95-97 nightmare or 98-99? The reason I ask is that I have read that they replaced the top motors in 98 and I have yet to find someone with a 98-99 that have had any problems. There are several 95-97 owners that have had problems though.

[nitemare]

Do you have a 95-97 nightmare or 98-99? The reason I ask is that I have read that they replaced the top motors in 98 and I have yet to find someone with a 98-99 that have had any problems. There are several 95-97 owners that have had problems though.
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95 is the year I got..So I guess toyota noticed alot of problems with the motors...More than normal..
And yes, One owner owned the car before me. And no parts were changed/modified. The top was the original. What actually made me replace the top was we had a snow storm. The weight of the snow (about 8 inches) broke the back window off the top and fell into my back seat. The reason why this happened was because the seams of the top were all worn and torn. So the snow was the breaking straw. My new top has a 3-yr warranty with it so thats good. So I can attribute that to old age..

But the motors..ohh the motors..If I knew before hand these cars were chopped up like they were, I would have not have bought a convertible celica.

[blu94gt]

[quote=nitemare,Mar 11, 2005 - 4:38 PM]
Do you have a 95-97 nightmare or 98-99? The reason I ask is that I have read that they replaced the top motors in 98 and I have yet to find someone with a 98-99 that have had any problems. There are several 95-97 owners that have had problems though.
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[/quote]

95 is the year I got..So I guess toyota noticed alot of problems with the motors...More than normal..
And yes, One owner owned the car before me. And no parts were changed/modified. The top was the original. What actually made me replace the top was we had a snow storm. The weight of the snow (about 8 inches) broke the back window off the top and fell into my back seat. The reason why this happened was because the seams of the top were all worn and torn. So the snow was the breaking straw. My new top has a 3-yr warranty with it so thats good. So I can attribute that to old age..

But the motors..ohh the motors..If I knew before hand these cars were chopped up like they were, I would have not have bought a convertible celica.
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Convertible tops on any car are doing good to last about 5-7 years. I mean come on, it's cloth, it sits in the sun, deals with the elements, it needs replaced. Especially if you put the top up and down a lot, puts more wear and tear on it at the creases. Motors are the same story, just cheap electric motors, they burn up. My Mustang had it all replaced before I bought it.

As said, most convertible cars are chopped by an aftermarket company. The company beefs up the suspension and chassis and designs and installs the convertible mechanisms. If they were unsafe to chop then they wouldn't be doing it. Some cars ahve been done better than others too. The Solara I think has a bad chop quality, but the Celica was done very well. I mean come on, if it was a bad idea they really would have stopped by now.

For you guys with the welds underneath I can think of a few possibilities. Either a different company did the job, someone wanted additional strengthening, or the cars have been wrecked and those welded bars are actually what's holding the car together, like when they piece a good front end to a good back end. Scary what some of these small shops and dealerships do.