Unusual Truck Conversion Question

[Tdrcreyn4]

I was talking to a random guy who was admiring my truck and he told me that he had a buddy years ago that had converted his 1970 K10 truck into a convertible.

I told him that I highly doubted it and that his buddy was probably driving a Blazer. He quickly corrected me and told me that it was a converted pick up truck and not a blazer and that it had the gas tank and back wall still in place and a regular pickup bed.

I am skeptical that this was the case but thought I'd throw it out there to see if anybody had ever seen or heard of such a thing. If you have, any pics?

[Boog]

While i have no pics there have been a couple of "converted" trucks appear on these forums in years past.
You might find them by searching for topless trucks or convertible trucks.

[LongBox]

Sort of reminds me of the brief-lived Dodge Dakota Roadster Pickup that Chrysler brought out around 1990. I bet those are highly collectible now, I've only seen one ever.

[MadMonkey]

There was a company in the late 80s early 90s named Ratical Tops that made convertible and t-top kits. I made a convertible out of my Datsun. I had a kit for a 76 chevy but never installed it. I did a quick search on their name because i thought they were long out of business and it looks like Airbagit still sells kits. I did not look to hard to see if 67-72 kits are available.

[CG]

MadMonkey hit it on the head. I came close to using one of their kits on a smaller truck I had back then.

Plus you still see an occasional full size truck that someone has whacked the roof off of. Some are nicely done, some not so much lol.

[hugger6933]

It was a big fad in the late 80's early 90's. I had a Dodge convert in fact I found paperwork in it after a year or so of owning it to lead me to think it was model # 1 or least that is what that paper work said. I sold it several years back for $2500 on E-Bay to a guy only about 75 miles from me.it was a fun little truck I had no use for it but had to have when it came up at the wreck sale I bought at and drove it very little so I got rid of it. There was a couple of times I wanted to do a convert on my Extra cab V-8 S-10 but never did. it was a fairly big craze back then. I would figure all that were done have long been recycled

[SS Tim]

Its been done time to time on our 67-72s and in the late 70s you could even order one through your local Chevy dealer.

Among my friends its no secret I'd like to have a removable top 68 or 71 K20 or C30 4x4. But I am still not sure it is worth the effort in the long run. Cost too is a factor, since I want to use a Blazer half-cab, header, doors and torsion boxes for a nice clean factory appearance and longevity.

The pure roadster chop offs, IMHO, leave a lot to be desired.

[68isgreat]

I would love to do this to my 68 short stepside before it's done. I've thought about fabricating a blazer half cab top as shown above using my existing metal cab, blazer roof rail and door seals, and blazer doors (or converting my existing doors to blazer doors). It doesn't seem like it would be too difficult. Having a convertible hard top stepside truck would be so cool. I had a 73 Blazer full convertible once and I absolutely loved driving that thing around town on a sunny day, but the full top was really heavy to remove by yourself. A hard top convertible truck half top would be much easier to manage.

[cj847]

I don't get the appeal of convertibles- car or truck. It may be due to my location. I tell people all the time there are about 12 day/yr when a convertible is comfortable in Arkansas. Other days it is too hot, too cold, or it's raining.
I'll spend my money on a good air conditioning system.

[jerry moss]

there is a longhorn here in town that was made into a convertible back in the 80s, i don't have pics myself but the guy that did it still owns it and has a body shop here in town.

[CG]

Originally Posted by 68isgreat

I would love to do this to my 68 short stepside before it's done. I've thought about fabricating a blazer half cab top as shown above using my existing metal cab, blazer roof rail and door seals, and blazer doors (or converting my existing doors to blazer doors). It doesn't seem like it would be too difficult. Having a convertible hard top stepside truck would be so cool. I had a 73 Blazer full convertible once and I absolutely loved driving that thing around town on a sunny day, but the full top was really heavy to remove by yourself. A hard top convertible truck half top would be much easier to manage.

If you have the skills go for it. Personally I love convertibles. PNW folks have a pretty decent amount of time available for top down enjoyment.

I get the hot and hot/humid states not loving convertibles

I like the sliding ragtops, but dunno how they would look on a regular cab truck. Not sure if this company is still around.

http://www.slidingragtops.com/

[68isgreat]

Originally Posted by CG

If you have the skills go for it. Personally I love convertibles. PNW folks have a pretty decent amount of time available for top down enjoyment.

I get the hot and hot/humid states not loving convertibles

I like the sliding ragtops, but dunno how they would look on a regular cab truck. Not sure if this company is still around.

http://www.slidingragtops.com/

Thx for the link! That's a cool idea. To each his own. I'm an artist and a bit of a contarian, and don't want my truck to look like everyone else's. If convertibles weren't popular, they wouldn't have put removable tops on Blazers. Just sayin'.

[chiefcfd]

I did it several years ago. I still have it.

[custom10nut]

Originally Posted by cj847

I don't get the appeal of convertibles- car or truck. It may be due to my location. I tell people all the time there are about 12 day/yr when a convertible is comfortable in Arkansas. Other days it is too hot, too cold, or it's raining.
I'll spend my money on a good air conditioning system.

You’re Right.
The sex appeal of the Drop top goes away real quick at 70mph on the Interstate. Convertibles and T-tops cool when just cruisin around town, especially at night, but during to day, in the Summer, in the South? Way too hot.