I found that I had more to say on the SuperChevy.com column titled Four Door Tri-Five Convertible Conversions - Re-Creation & Restoration, by Barry Kluczyk, that I wanted to share and respond to in one post, so I split my thoughts into two parts:
No MoreDoor Love, PART 1: My general thoughts on the article and topic of two door classic cars versus four door classic cars. (Previous weeks blog)
No MoreDoor Love, PART 2: I pulled out specific descriptive phrases or sentences to respond to or to provide another point of view in favor of four doors, of course. In no way, is this meant to be confrontational or argumentative or to attack the writer’s viewpoints. I simply wanted to provide my view point of the reasons why four door classic cars are not as desirable as two door classic cars. To come next week.
This is PART 2
“Four doors are two doors too many.” – Even though incredibly vague, this is the main reason most car enthusiasts use to explain the lesser appeal for MoreDoors. This is not really a REASON because there is nothing tangible about it! It really depends how you look at it and a person’s priorities or other interests. Take myself for instance. I am an automotive enthusiast with a young family. My family likes to cruise around in something cool just like I do. When I was looking for a classic family cruiser, I wanted an affordable car with easy access to the rear seat for the three car seats that I love toting around. Four doors are perfect for my situation.
“…they're perceived as family cars…” – That’s because they were and are! The also represent the working class. Four door cars were bought by families and were most often the only mode of transportation for the family AND for dad or mom to commute back and forth to work. Before modern times, families didn’t either have the financial comfort to have more than one car or they simply didn’t NEED a second car. It was just good financial common sense to only have what you needed. MoreDoors are as much a part of our history as any two door.
“…not-so-graceful style…” – This is a matter of opinion. Perhaps the reason for the perceived not-so-graceful style is the extra seam in the rear created by the rear door? To me, the extra door neither adds or takes away from the cool styling of a classic car.
“…implied weight penalties on performance…” – Weight of car ONLY matters to the true, purist racers like seen on Street Outlaws who have big money or even their car on the line if they lose. There are so MANY other variables that affect a race though come race time, and I am willing to bet that the number or doors is either way at the bottom list or not even on the list. I mean, there is still a quarter panel and glass on a two door where the extra doors are on a four door! I dabbled a little bit with some street fight type racing, and one rule of thumb is that a 100 lb weight reduction can improve a quarter mile time by one tenth of a second. THERE are SO many other ways to reduce weight on a car such as replacing glass with lexan, removing the interior, the choice of wheel, putting as little gas as necessary in the tank before a run, and EVEN eating fewer Twinkies and drinking fewer Mountain Dews. Yep, Twinkies are back on the market.
No MoreDoor Love, PART 1: My general thoughts on the article and topic of two door classic cars versus four door classic cars. (Previous weeks blog)
No MoreDoor Love, PART 2: I pulled out specific descriptive phrases or sentences to respond to or to provide another point of view in favor of four doors, of course. In no way, is this meant to be confrontational or argumentative or to attack the writer’s viewpoints. I simply wanted to provide my view point of the reasons why four door classic cars are not as desirable as two door classic cars. To come next week.
This is PART 2
“Four doors are two doors too many.” – Even though incredibly vague, this is the main reason most car enthusiasts use to explain the lesser appeal for MoreDoors. This is not really a REASON because there is nothing tangible about it! It really depends how you look at it and a person’s priorities or other interests. Take myself for instance. I am an automotive enthusiast with a young family. My family likes to cruise around in something cool just like I do. When I was looking for a classic family cruiser, I wanted an affordable car with easy access to the rear seat for the three car seats that I love toting around. Four doors are perfect for my situation.
“…they're perceived as family cars…” – That’s because they were and are! The also represent the working class. Four door cars were bought by families and were most often the only mode of transportation for the family AND for dad or mom to commute back and forth to work. Before modern times, families didn’t either have the financial comfort to have more than one car or they simply didn’t NEED a second car. It was just good financial common sense to only have what you needed. MoreDoors are as much a part of our history as any two door.
“…not-so-graceful style…” – This is a matter of opinion. Perhaps the reason for the perceived not-so-graceful style is the extra seam in the rear created by the rear door? To me, the extra door neither adds or takes away from the cool styling of a classic car.
“…implied weight penalties on performance…” – Weight of car ONLY matters to the true, purist racers like seen on Street Outlaws who have big money or even their car on the line if they lose. There are so MANY other variables that affect a race though come race time, and I am willing to bet that the number or doors is either way at the bottom list or not even on the list. I mean, there is still a quarter panel and glass on a two door where the extra doors are on a four door! I dabbled a little bit with some street fight type racing, and one rule of thumb is that a 100 lb weight reduction can improve a quarter mile time by one tenth of a second. THERE are SO many other ways to reduce weight on a car such as replacing glass with lexan, removing the interior, the choice of wheel, putting as little gas as necessary in the tank before a run, and EVEN eating fewer Twinkies and drinking fewer Mountain Dews. Yep, Twinkies are back on the market.
1962 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe estimated curb weight 3,640 lbs
VS
1962 Chevrolet Impala 4-Door Sedan estimated curb weight 3,680 lbs
VS
1962 Chevrolet Impala 4-Door Sedan estimated curb weight 3,680 lbs
1955 Buick Series 60 Century Riviera Coupe estimate curb weight 3,990 lbs
VS
1955 Buick Series 60 Century Riviera 4-door Sedan estimated curb weight 4,080 lbs
VS
1955 Buick Series 60 Century Riviera 4-door Sedan estimated curb weight 4,080 lbs
1963 Ford Falcon 2-door Sedan approximate curb weight 2,409 lbs
VS
1963 Ford Falcon 4-door Sedan approximate curb weight 2,446 lbs
VS
1963 Ford Falcon 4-door Sedan approximate curb weight 2,446 lbs
1964 Chevy Nova 400 2-Door Coupe curb weight 2,785 lbs
VS
1964 Chevy Nova 400 4-Door Sedan curb weight 2,725 lbs
VS
1964 Chevy Nova 400 4-Door Sedan curb weight 2,725 lbs
“…they're just not cool.” – This is as vague as “Four doors are two doors too many” and as much as a matter of opinion as “…not-so-graceful style…”. I can tell you, with my Impala, that I get every bit of honks, waves, and thumbs up most two doors. EVERYTIME I take it out, I get stopped by people asking about it or telling me about the classic car their family had growing up. It just warms my heart to be part of the classic car culture.
“A rusted-out parts car convertible is worth more than a show-car four-door any day of the week. In fact, we've seen many a straight and clean four-door go begging at swap meets for no other reason than those two extra doors.” – That is the truth because that is what car society says. Right? Its supply and demand at work. There is little demand for MoreDoors so there is a reasonable supply of them making MoreDoors cheap, affordable, a great bargain or reasonably priced, however you want to call it.
“It's a shame, really, because the four-door represents a great bargain in the vintage Chevy market.” – Yeah it’s a shame so let’s do something about it and RESTORE them! Also, MoreDoors represent a great bargain in any vintage car market.
“But something has quietly happened in the classic Chevy restoration world that may greatly change the way enthusiasts view that cheap four-door that's for sale in the want ads. That's because it's now possible to transform a lowly four-door into a true '57 convertible.” – I don’t know, “lowly”!? That seems a tad excessive, haha. Where is the LOVE!? MoreDoors deserve as much respect as the two doors, but that won’t happen any time soon. That’s ok, I am comfortable enough to hang out with the underdog.
“And though it's not an inexpensive proposition, the finished product is essentially a new car with mostly new metal throughout.” – You’d probably end up spending way more to convert the MoreDoor to a convertible than you would to completely restore it. The convertible would in theory be “worth” more or at least would be more desirable to car society than a fully restored four door, but would still have a four door VIN tag, which the writer brings up too, so that would bring the “value” down. We ALL have opinions, but it ultimately comes down to what the classic car owner wants to do with HIS or HER classic car.
“But the prospect of a convertible from a four-door brings up some interesting questions. Will unscrupulous builders try to pass off a re-constructed four-door as the real thing? Maybe. But, right now, it's less probable than finding a fake Bel Air that's being passed off as the real deal.” – Yeah, they will passed off as the real thing. There are bad people out there doing bad things. And when a new way to make a profit or to scam people arises, they POUNCE on it! How is this any different than whales be slaughtered for their blubber and the carcass being thrown out?! Or the rhino’s and elephant’s being murdered for their horns and tusks?! JUST KIDDING, it’s not even close or in the same universe close. I had a brief inspiration from Whale Wars, haha. I just simply do not think MoreDoors should be donors for conversions. That’s all.
“Some purists will undoubtedly see such a transformation as the bastardization of a classic.” – I never considered myself a “purist”, but I do feel that using four doors as platforms for clone conversions is a bastardization. BUT, not because the final product will be a clone, rather because a four door was sacrificed to create the clone.
“Our advice? Buy that orphan four-door while you can. They just got a whole lot more attractive.” – Like I said in PART 1, I understand why people convert them because I had once considered building a clone. However, I would MUCH RATHER see them restored and kept as they were originally built. I HAVE A DREAM…that ONE DAY…two door and four door classic cars will be TREATED AS EQUALS…in this GREAT NATION! Not exactly how the famous speech was delivered, but you get my drift, haha.
“A rusted-out parts car convertible is worth more than a show-car four-door any day of the week. In fact, we've seen many a straight and clean four-door go begging at swap meets for no other reason than those two extra doors.” – That is the truth because that is what car society says. Right? Its supply and demand at work. There is little demand for MoreDoors so there is a reasonable supply of them making MoreDoors cheap, affordable, a great bargain or reasonably priced, however you want to call it.
“It's a shame, really, because the four-door represents a great bargain in the vintage Chevy market.” – Yeah it’s a shame so let’s do something about it and RESTORE them! Also, MoreDoors represent a great bargain in any vintage car market.
“But something has quietly happened in the classic Chevy restoration world that may greatly change the way enthusiasts view that cheap four-door that's for sale in the want ads. That's because it's now possible to transform a lowly four-door into a true '57 convertible.” – I don’t know, “lowly”!? That seems a tad excessive, haha. Where is the LOVE!? MoreDoors deserve as much respect as the two doors, but that won’t happen any time soon. That’s ok, I am comfortable enough to hang out with the underdog.
“And though it's not an inexpensive proposition, the finished product is essentially a new car with mostly new metal throughout.” – You’d probably end up spending way more to convert the MoreDoor to a convertible than you would to completely restore it. The convertible would in theory be “worth” more or at least would be more desirable to car society than a fully restored four door, but would still have a four door VIN tag, which the writer brings up too, so that would bring the “value” down. We ALL have opinions, but it ultimately comes down to what the classic car owner wants to do with HIS or HER classic car.
“But the prospect of a convertible from a four-door brings up some interesting questions. Will unscrupulous builders try to pass off a re-constructed four-door as the real thing? Maybe. But, right now, it's less probable than finding a fake Bel Air that's being passed off as the real deal.” – Yeah, they will passed off as the real thing. There are bad people out there doing bad things. And when a new way to make a profit or to scam people arises, they POUNCE on it! How is this any different than whales be slaughtered for their blubber and the carcass being thrown out?! Or the rhino’s and elephant’s being murdered for their horns and tusks?! JUST KIDDING, it’s not even close or in the same universe close. I had a brief inspiration from Whale Wars, haha. I just simply do not think MoreDoors should be donors for conversions. That’s all.
“Some purists will undoubtedly see such a transformation as the bastardization of a classic.” – I never considered myself a “purist”, but I do feel that using four doors as platforms for clone conversions is a bastardization. BUT, not because the final product will be a clone, rather because a four door was sacrificed to create the clone.
“Our advice? Buy that orphan four-door while you can. They just got a whole lot more attractive.” – Like I said in PART 1, I understand why people convert them because I had once considered building a clone. However, I would MUCH RATHER see them restored and kept as they were originally built. I HAVE A DREAM…that ONE DAY…two door and four door classic cars will be TREATED AS EQUALS…in this GREAT NATION! Not exactly how the famous speech was delivered, but you get my drift, haha.
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