Anybody ever grafted a 80's convertable top on a 63-64 Avanti?

[Corvanti]

i wouldn't think about doing it, Mr.B. but i've seen a few running chassis, etc. avantis for sale in the past, and my 1st post - questions - would a '63/4 frame be able to handle a later avanti II vert body if one was available... with a few minor mods (like a roll bar to fit), i don't see why not, and would like to be proved wrong.

just "fodder" for conversation.

[Gunslinger]

I don't see how it could...the bodies for the Monte Carlo, El Camino and Caprice based cars are very different than the Stude based bodies. The attaching points are different as well as the entire understructure...plus a different wheelbase. Not that with enough money and time it couldn't be done (probably), but it's an orange not worth the squeeze.

[JBOYLE]

.... would a '63/4 frame be able to handle a later avanti II vert body if one was available... with a few minor mods (like a roll bar to fit), i don't see why not, and would like to be proved wrong.

I don't know why a 87 convertible body wouldn't fit on a Stude chassis.
Wasn't the 87 the last one to use the original frame before switching to Chevy frames in 88? (or do I have the years wrong?).

If you wanted to make a 63-64 convertible, how about a "parade car"...one without a working top? To make up for the lost structural rigidity, move the "roll bar" structure down to window level...blocking off the back seat, a two-seater. That would address two huge problems: Top engineering and storage, and structural strength.
Not a daily driver, but it would be a nice enough toy...and there are enough 63-64 Avanti projects or parts cars to make it do-able without having Jay Leno money and a master fabricator working for free.
I wouldn't mind seeing one provided that "no viable Avantis were harmed in the making of the project".

[289stude]

The reason I started this thread originally was because I noticed on the jaxed mash that on average 80's and early 90's a avantis on average are calling for conciderably more money than Stude built avantis. So I started wondering why. Then figured it must be because of the drop top. Then I started wondering if one could use parts from 80's avantis to make a 63-64 Avanti drop top. I was assuming they used some sort of existing convertable components ex. Mustang or firebird or something like that.

[Gunslinger]

I don't know why a 87 convertible body wouldn't fit on a Stude chassis.
Wasn't the 87 the last one to use the original frame before switching to Chevy frames in 88? (or do I have the years wrong?).

1985 was the last year for the Studebaker frame. There were no '86s and the '87 began use of the Monte Carlo platform.

[JBOYLE]

1985 was the last year for the Studebaker frame. There were no '86s and the '87 began use of the Monte Carlo platform.

Thanks for the correction...I don't know why I can't remember that.
I should remember that, the first Avanti I drove was a 87 and I wondered why it felt so "modern".