Hey, even Mitsubishis can get in on the coach action!

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1985 honda civic crx convertible conversion - $6000 (long beach)
Date: 2009-10-23, 8:08PM PDT
Reply to: sale-ftnvb-1435232482@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]

1985 honda civic cr-x straman convertable conversino. one of only 300 built. xlnt throughout. rare, economical, sporty, reliable, sexy, everyday driver, convertible. this car does it all. runs great, 5 speed, a/c blows cold, new tires. drive anywhere. when is the last time you saw one of these ??? when is the last time you saw one for sale???

* Location: long beach
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

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PostingID: 1435232482

So this looks like it was a factory commissioned conversion?

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Not sure. The conversion jobs were done by Sparlingco, the pictures I posted are taken from one of their flyer ads on eBay.



Btw, nice job of matching up all the wheels Sparlingco. One of these things is not like the other....

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In my many years of looking for a Sapporo/Challenger convertible….I have never seen one. They couldn’t have made more than a couple dozen. I have stumbled onto a couple Omni 024/Charger/Horizon TC3 convertibles though.

These are NOT factory commissioned. These Challeger/Sapporos are the same as all the rest of the cars in this thread. Coach built and marketed to new car dealers or private owners of the car. Mitsubishi or MoPar had nothing to do with them.

Good to know. They fooled me with that brochure-looking Plymouth logo.

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EXCELLENT thread... I thought I had a ton of info, but you guys are showing me some cars I never even knew were converted.

There was a nice straight CRX coach-conversion (couldn't find a label) convertible in the Pick-a-Part here a few months ago. I wanted to at least get the top stack and ideally chop the entire tale off it... but at that point you might as well take the entire car.

Sad that I've seen more of these coach conversions in junkyards out here than I have on the roads....

Looking at your numbers , that was a VERY rare CRX I saw in the salvage yard... definitely a Straman, judging from your pics and the quality of workmanship.

Just one question, "Slim": I remember seeing a one-off show car -- but coachbuilt -- circa 1992 300ZX full-convertible, based on the 2+2 model, not the 2-seater shown at a car show back then. If I remember right, it was a very beautiful blue color and I always had the impression that Straman built it. I always loved that car because the lines of the 2+2 actually worked really well with it and I prefer full-convertibles. Do you remember that car and have any images of it...?

Glad you have learned a few things. I learn about more cars every week it seems. Is it possible that this is the Straman CRX you saw at the salvage yard:


If so, it was saved by a member of redpepperracing.com
If not.....I wonder if it's still there? Do you have any idea? There are guys looking for these and would love to pull it out if it has not yet been crushed. We believe that only about 130 were actually built for all model years. If you go back, I am collecting the ST# etched in the top frame near the driver's side release latch and the conversion date on the driver's side door jamb (plus a photo) for a Straman registry.



I do not know about the car you are talking about. Straman did built about seventy-five 1990-1991 Nissan 300ZX convertibles...so maybe it was a Straman car?

Saw this for sale .......

Oh that Mazda is nice! Shame it as allowed to rust. I have a ton of early RX-7 stuff --- seems there was a convertible feature in there... mag might have been the old Sports Car Graphic...?? Let me know if you already have it.

Re: the CRX --- it was white and at Pick--A-- Part in Monrovia Ca (I've seen thee coach-built JP cars there) Every foreign car crushed after two weeks. I should have AT LEAST grabbed the deck lid and top stack.

Re: the blue 2+2 300ZX convertible... believe I saw it in an old copy of Car Styling from Japan... VERY pretty car. I'll look for it here... have access to Car Styling at Art Center library if it's not here.

The '86 CRX Convertible has made it to ebay. Nice car.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Rare-1986-Honda-CRX-convertible-only-1-of-300-made_W0QQitemZ180429842510QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item2a0274e84e

There is a Corolla SR5 convertible by Matrix3 also on ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1982-Toyota-Corolla-SR5-Convertible-Matrix3-3TC_W0QQitemZ110455537100QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item19b7a9bdcc

Here is a nice looking '83 Celica that was converted by Matrix3




And a '83 Corolla converted by American Custom Coachworks.

Here is an interesting widebody version of the convertible RX-7 by Pacific Avatar. This could also be ordered with a normal body (not widebody).

http://www.carpictures.com/vehicle/09LPJ563514332.html
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mazda-RX-7-gxl-CUSTOM-CLASSIC-MAZDA-RX-7-WIDEBODY-CONVERTIBLE_W0QQitemZ150399083706QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item23047be4ba


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I would bet if you looked up "totally 80s" in the dictionary, it's just a picture of this car...

This is the first Corolla Conv by Sunset Coach I have ever seen.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... OTORS:1123

If any of you check out one of these cars, please let me know. If you find out who converted them, also please let me know.

Let me know if any of you know who built these!

Again, if any of you find out who converted these, please let me know. The last four are the Sunchaser Targa style, but the full convertibles are still a mystery.