I bought on of these conversions in 1982 from a dealer. I owned it as a daily driver for 13 years. Truely one of the best cars I ever owned. Bullet proof 1.8 engine that literally never had to have anything repalced on it until 146,000 miles. Worst problem was the automatic trans with overdrive which finally gave out at 180,000. It was wrecked badly twice and if it had been a stock frame it would have been a heay total. But the square tube frame welded underneath for additional support after MX3 cut the top off saved it both times and kept it straight as an arrow. A great great car and I regret selling it. Fun fun fun and cheap too. Not fast but would cruise all day at 80 and get great gas miliage. After missing driving a convertable for 8 years I just recently picked up a 91 Infinity M-30. Best kept secret and deal out there is one of these 91-92 M-30's. CHEAP for what they were new. $32k. Can be bought with high milage today at under $2!! They are super loaded and nothing seems to break. Lots more power then the Toyota, better features, ride and drive 3 times better. Gas mileage on the 6 is not as good as on the 4 but to me I like having much more power, much much more power.

Hello, I am new to this site. I was wondering if someone could be of help. My grandfather has a 1983 Subaru GL convertible. He wants to sell it, but has no idea what to ask for it. It's in excellent condition. It's not in the blue book or anything like that. Since it was only done to such a limited amount of cars, there's really no one to ask. If anyone has any ideas or can steer me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You
Eddie

Hi, I'm new here but wanted to share a little about my Celica GT matrix III.
I bought this car from the original owner who bought it already converted from a Toyota dealer in Charlotte NC. He stated that the salesman said there were only 10 of these sold on the East coast.
I don't know how true that is but I have not been able to find any others.

http://www.toyotanation.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/8864/ppuser/105093

http://www.toyotanation.com/photos/showphoto.php/photo/8866/ppuser/105093

trying to post a picture, sorry!! click on the links in the above post and scroll down that page to see my car. Thanks,

Matrix3 did a good business. They marketed to new-car dealers to get them to have cars converted into convertibles to place in a prime spot on the lot to get people to stop in and shop. I have not seen too many Celicas, but a lot more '84-'86 Camaros and '82-83 Corollas. This is what I have seen from them and a guess of how many were built of each: '84-'86 Camaro: 350 built, '84-'86 Firebird: 100 built, '82-83 Corolla: 250 built, '83 Celica: 75 built, '83 Subaru GL: 15 built. Those are guesses, based on my findings over the last few years. I do not know what happened to the company. Keep your search going and post to us if you learn any more than that.

Hi Slim,
Thanks for the info, I wish we could locate someone who worked in the plant that Knew from the serial numbers plate that Matrix put on the door post what number in the line mine was . It would be amazing if it was #1 or the last one ever done. There has to be someone that would know somewhere.
Were you able to see my picture from the web links I posted? I tried to figure out how to post the picture directly here but couldn't get it to work.

Keep up the good work..

Dig

It's been awhile since I posted, so I thought I'd send pics of cars I have seen for sale recently

This is a nice Sunchaser that was on ebay recently:




And another Sunchaser:


Here is a Celica conv currently for sale on ebay. This is a full convertible by Grandeur:



Here is a Celica by American Custom Coachworks for sale( owner can be reached at: coltfan18@hotmail.com :




Lastly, here is an image of a Celica convertible by SparlingCo"

A few RX-7 convertibles have come up for sale lately.

Here is one built by Pacific Avatar. They didn't all come with widebody kits like this one.


Here is another PAcific Avatar conversion


Global Coach also built them


Here is another by an unknown converter (though I suspect it's by Global Coach):

From time to time, I see '82-'83 Corollas by a few conversion companies.

Here is a Corolla by American Custom Coachworks.

The tag was located on the firewall:


Here is one for sale, built by Matrix3 (owner can be contacted at: nena_bunny_1@hotmail.com ):

Here are just a couple (both are R. Straman conversions):

I have a friend with a Subaru gen 2 GL coupe that was converted, I forget the company that did the conversion but it was one of the major ones out there, heck it might be one of the 15 built by Matrix3

_________________

PLEASE!...get a photo of it and find out what company did the conversion. I will post a few photos I have of the Subbie convertibles in a few days.

These are one of my all-time favorite coach convertibles. I found this for sale and it is too good of a car not to post. Someone needs to buy this!

> 1982 Datsun 200SX Roadster Convertible $5500 (So. Yarmouth, MA)
> Date: 2008-09-09, 12:39AM EDT
> 1982 Datsun 200SX Convertible
---------------------------------------------
Automatic 78,000 miles 4 cyl--8 spark plugs New battery,altenator muffler. This was custom made by American Coachworks,Beverly Hills California. We wrote to this company in 1997 and they told me that they only custom made 11 of these Datsun's in 1983. The car talks. For example, it tells you when the door is open. This car has been stored in a garage during the winter. This Datsun was appraised by Classic Car Service of Cape Cod in 2005 for $8,500
Asking for $ 5,500 or best offer. email owner at: lindsayb617@yahoo.com

Here are two 1981 Celica convertibles, both built by American Custom Coachworks. Both are for sale right now.


The owner of this red one can be contacted at: vpapano@yahoo.com


The owner of the Copper one can be reached at: mcsherrys@yahoo.com It is offered at $5900 and is located in Orange County. Phone is 949-293-3828.

This car is Rare! I just found it for sale and thought one of you should look into it.

1982 Subaru DL convertible. Unknown conversion company but built as a convertible when brand new, it is in orignial shape, second owner.cruse control,a/c and power windows. call 303-278-2241 or email to recorvette20084(at)yahoo.com . Car is in Denver.

Another one for sale. Again, unknown converter. CHEAP! Here is the listing:

'82 Honda Prelude conv. $800 Rare, Lo-miles, needs tlc. 530-384-2266
Tehama, CA. tehamigo(at)yahoo.com

This car is currently on ebay. Amazing condition. Here is the listing:

Very good condition for a 28-year-old auto. I'm told only about 200 of these cars were built. Driven daily, but only
in the summer for the last 12 to 15 years. Very reliable. Oil changed and greased every 3,000 miles. Have all repair
records from the time I purchased the car. Also have some extra parts.

Newer top, upholstery, carpets, front doors, trunk carpeting, newer complete paint and rust repair, undercoating.
Top does not fit well; there is some leakage. Weather seals are original. Some paint flaking on lower body extremities.
Rust on two places of supporting steel I-beams under car. Some scratches. A/C is not charged,
but all A/C parts do work.

This car needs a good home that will respect it for the unique auto that it is.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Converti ... dZViewItem

Just to let you know...I saw the '82 gold Subaru listed above is still for sale. I just saw it on Craigslist again. Price is down to $1500.

It seems that when the sun sleeps, so do the convertibles. As we get near springtime weather, the coach convertibles are coming out of hibernation and coming on the marketplace.

I just found this '80 Celica Sunchaser GT for sale. Looks like a good solid car.

Here is another '80 Celica GT Sunchaser, but this one is one ebay. Very Nice.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1980-Toy ... dZViewItem