1985 Trans Am Rare Convertable - $3800 (Greenville)

[cole]

Ok, not mine, but if I had the money and space... for what it is...

Anyone happen to know where to find production numbers on verts? I didn't think they may any factory verts until later... except 3 test ones possibly...



http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/2927731776.html

1985 Trans Am Rare Convertable - $3800 (Greenville)

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Date: 2012-03-28, 5:47PM EDT
Reply to: 6wzcp-2927731776@sale.craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

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1 of less than 600 made runs and drives 49066 original miles documented on clean and clear title needs restoration car was driven 3000 miles last year documented on title also.
very rare all original car call 616-788-8114 3800.00 is the price

• Location: Greenville
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 2927731776

[WMCC Gary]

Its not Factory. Its an aftermarket conversion. There was several companies out there in the that used to do these.

Ok, not mine, but if I had the money and space... for what it is...

Anyone happen to know where to find production numbers on verts? I didn't think they may any factory verts until later... except 3 test ones possibly...



http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cto/2927731776.html

1985 Trans Am Rare Convertable - $3800 (Greenville)

---

Date: 2012-03-28, 5:47PM EDT
Reply to: 6wzcp-2927731776@sale.craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

---

1 of less than 600 made runs and drives 49066 original miles documented on clean and clear title needs restoration car was driven 3000 miles last year documented on title also.
very rare all original car call 616-788-8114 3800.00 is the price

• Location: Greenville
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

PostingID: 2927731776

[cole]

Its not Factory. Its and aftermarket conversion. There was several companies out there in the that used to do these.

Oh well, still would be an interesting car. Maybe a little much for the price if it needs resto.

[WMCC Gary]

Looks like a Autoform conversion

[cole]

Looks like a Autoform conversion

Anyone have any opinions on value? Granted not seeing it in person makes it a little hard..

[hoogiesngrinderz]

Price seems to fluctuate with these cars. Actual GM verts have rather low production numbers compared to t-top and hardtop cars. I picked my '89 up in GR for $2500, but I did get a pretty good price on it.

[81DaytonaPaceCar]

Its not Factory. Its an aftermarket conversion. There was several companies out there in the that used to do these.

^^^ What this guy said...and there were between 5 and 10 coach companies doing the conversions, depending on year.

And, yes, that does look like an Autoform conversion as it is a two seater, and I think they were the only ones doing that.

Some further information:

These coachbuilding companies often marketed to new car dealerships, but they usually did not work for, or in conjunction with the car manufacturer. There were exceptions, however. American Sunroof Company (ASC), a company which has converted over 1,000,000 cars,^[1] has had official relationships with many car companies. ASC's products are of such high quality that many manufacturers retain them to create convertibles. The volume of convertible sales is low enough that these manufacturers can't justify the cost of tooling up their own factories to make convertibles in-house like they used to. For example, General Motors sold Camaro and Firebird Convertibles from 1987 to 1992, which were sold in Chevrolet and Pontiac dealerships. In this case, it was handled in two different ways. Some of them were sold as regular production "factory convertibles." GM handled the logistics of these "factory" conversions and sold the cars to dealers under the RPO system (regular production option). Even though the car was bought from Chevrolet directly as a convertible, it was in fact a converted car, and had a placard from the coachbuilder in the door jamb.

Sometimes GM chose not to offer RPO convertibles. For example, in 1987, when the first RPO Camaro ragtops became available, Pontiac wanted to have Firebird ragtops too, but they were so heavy that they would have raised Pontiac's CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) number too high. To get around this problem, they were sold as coachbuilt special editions, and as such, their increased fuel consumption would not be figured into Pontiac's CAFE number. Everything was done the same as the RPO Camaros except the paperwork. Instead of ordering a convertible directly from GM, the dealer would order the car as a t-top. It would be drop shipped to the coachbuilder, and converted right along side the regular production Camaros, which had also been built as t-top cars originally. So it is a subtle distinction, the only real difference being who got billed for the work, (the dealer or the manufacturer) and whether or not it was included in the CAFE calculations. It was win-win. Customers got their convertibles and Pontiac got their low CAFE rating. Pontiac eventually redesigned the Firebird, reducing fuel consumption enough to offer their own RPO convertibles in 1991.^[2]

A new-car dealership could contract with any aftermarket company to add any option they wanted to add to a car, as long as it did not compromise the structural integrity or cause warranty problems on that car. Options like roof-racks, sunroofs, leather interiors, spoilers, rustproofing and all sorts of things could be done to a new car, even if the car manufacturer had nothing to do with that product or conversion. The conversion van phenomenon is a very similar process. The convertible conversion was billed as a dealer option that was ordered by the new car dealership (or could be ordered privately if you already owned the car) just like rustproofing or custom pinstriping could be ordered for a car by the dealership. As far as a car manufacturer was concerned, as long as the car was converted in a way that did not negatively compromise the car to cause warranty problems, then the new car dealership could do, or have done, whatever they wanted to do. These conversions are not considered OEM or factory options. Conversions done before the final sale to the consumer, for/by the new car dealership are considered dealer options. All coach convertible conversions sold directly to the private car owner are considered "aftermarket" conversions.

[cole]

Thanks for the great info. I didn't think that they had made and "factory" Pontiac convertibles until the 91 model.

[WMCC Gary]

Great Job Explaining it Jeff. I was too lazy to go into that much detail about it.

[Akodo]

Also as a side note, ASC also designed and built the Chevy SSR.

[81DaytonaPaceCar]

Also as a side note, ASC also designed and built the Chevy SSR.

ASC has been building aftermarket GM stuff since 80-81 or so...a lllooonnnngggg time...

[meissen]

ASC even built the SS cars for a moment I believe...

[ktl711]

ASC even built the SS cars for a moment I believe...

Not that I'm aware of...

Are you talkin' 4th Gens, or the last RWD Impala SS, or what?

SLP did the early 4th Gen SS cars, and I think the Impalas were just built on the same line as the police cars and the taxi cabs.

[meissen]

Might have had it the other way around - ASC did the early WS6s.

[ktl711]

I thinnk you're right there -- Jeff and Scott would know for sure, but I think maybe they did some of the special anniversary edition Trans Ams as well?

I do remember when I worked in Lansing -- and yes, it was even before Our Illustrious Founder was much more than a wee glimmer in Larry's eye yet -- that ASC had a facility where they did the E-Body (Eldorado and Riviera) convertibles in the industrial park between S. Pennsylvania and Aurelius Road. Did they use the same facility to convert late 3rd Gens to convertibles also?