There is absolutely nothing like driving in a roadster. It's how Hot Rods were meant to be experienced. I will say that driving in a coupe has a equal but different experience. There is something a bit darker and more sinister with a chopped coupe. Both are awesome but I will have a coupe before a roadster next time I can. I am not trying to impress anybody so driving in the rain is not all that fun. I'll take the coupe so I can drive it when ever I want!
I'll go with cabriolet. That gives you the option of top or no-top, AND windows that roll up and down.
I enjoy my coupe a lot, but I'm working on a '29 roadster. Here in South Dakota I should be able to cruise in it,comfortably, all through July and August
If I lived in San Diego it would be roadster all the way. In my pre parenthood days I had a 34 roadster that my wife called the Rainmaker because we went SO many places with the top down and came home top up and wiper on. I discovered that with wind wings on no water would come in above 70 mph but the high pitched noise from the p*** side was unbearable.
coupes are for chickens! oh wait, that's coops... (can't believe nobody said that, yet) for me, roadsters look like 1/2 a car. dunno why. always liked coupes better, aesthetically speaking. if i wanna be really open and not surrounded by a roof, i pull out the motorcycle. that being said, i've got an open modified project on the back burner, 'cause open cars are pretty damn fun. want to finish my coupe first, though
You know, that sounds good in theory, until you actually look at that homely windshield. Maybe, maybe, if you were to rake the windshield and make all the other necessary modifications that would go along with it, a cabriolet could have some of the hot rod at***ude of a roadster, but otherwise theyre just as upright and fussy looking as their name. They do make nice looking stockers, though, so maybe a resto-rod might work: Washington Blue, black fenders, straw-colored 16-inch spokers, and a pea-green 302 under a 25-louver hood. -Dave
Zach, thanks for the space in the p***enger seat. I have a truck now but wish I had a roadster. Bruce from Bruce's rod shop let me drive his roadster one day, I did not go too far in it, but I have to say it made a change in my life. Anybody looking for a truck? B
You are in San Diego. Roadster all the way! I've had both but the roadster is the most fun. Where you live may change your pick. Cold & snowy- coupe may be better choice. Sunny Southern California? Roadster. A removeable top is a given. I have a BopTop for mine but it's rarely on the car. Most of the time, it sits behind the couch in the living room. Wife loves that. Out of town multi day shows, I take the top with me just in case. If you asked my wife though, she would say coupe. So, to confirm, I asked the grandkids which they liked.
Absolutely love my roadster.......can't wait to get the coupe on the road. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=409232
I have a coupe,my girlfriend has a roadster. ive also had several roadsters in the past. for practability i take the coupe over the roadster.
My dream has alwas been for a suicide-doored coupe. But after traveling a million miles in my ******* jalopy, the sights, sounds, and fresh air can't be beat. I look forward to building my coupe, but my T tub will stay in the stable as long as I reside in a fairly warm and dry climate. Coupes are like being all business, but roadsters are like having a big party.
I have a closed cab '31 pickup. Rather than nail the fabric top on. I had a tarp shop make an Naugahyde piece that snaps onto a row of snaps that set in the channel for the drip rails and nail strips. The original wood bows are in place. The top comes off or back on in a couple of minutes and rolls up and store under the seat. It has proven to be water-tight and has stayed on at 92 mph. Of course it is not the same as a roadster but it seams to be one compromise that is easy to do. The hardest part was shooting four naugas with the same shade of hyde. Probably the most annoying part of a closed cab is that there is a lot of header (stuff you cant see through) over the windshield. In a roadster it's easier to see the stoplights. In a closed cab you watch the lights in the reflection off of your hood.
My coupe is a late-model ('40), and is overall way more practical than the roadster. For quite some time, it was my only vehicle. On the other hand, nothing makes me smile quite like my little orange car. And if you get to drive through a bad*** thunderstorm, you are the one getting maximum bragging rights.
coupes are just gettin' so damn hard to find these days and expensive...roadsters can be built out of almost any model a. so your creativity can shine building a roadster..and not many of them end up looking the same..i do think roadsters should have a nice canvas top and side curtains..for rainy days..my buddy was just telling me the other day about a thread here building a top with electrical conduit anyone know of this thread?..also i have taken some measurements of a mg midget top and i think with slight modification to the iron it could be used as a top <input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
A chopped coupe looks bad***! To me, it's pure hot rod. However, there is nothing like driving in an open top/convertible car. Plus, roadsters look beautiful. I would go witht the roadster by only the slightest of margins..
Im in san diego i have a roadster pick up, i havent had it on the road in the summer but have around my house. i imagine it will be misserable in august
thats a mighty fine interesting point....in regards to what my dad always said...he also said if I were to live in california...hell, build a roadster, but if I move back to florida, build a coupe...My dad and me were always inclined towards the coupe look, for its sleekness and cover from the elements...besides, opening a suicide door and getting in is a great feeling.. I love em both...and as for being more inclined into the 60's look....very far from the truth. im actually into the 40's look and feel (not that theres anything wrong with the 50's or 60's), coupes were only allowed to race only in the Russetta Timing ***ociation at the time SCTA didnt allow coupes , and the 40's is a more raw look to me...its just that graffiti was the movie that caught my attention when I was like 10 years old. over 20 years ago...thanks for the insight though...
Roadsters all the way,but there are some killer looking coupes out there,so,it all depends if you dont mind on getting wet,and sunburned.
I love the Fenders . So I'd have to say Coupes but if I could get a Roadster with the Fenders in Steel than it would be a tough choice. I'm not a convertable kind of guy but it would be cool... Okay, my Choice. Whichever I can get my hands on that has Steel Fenders....
Roadster. I've seen some nice coupes, then the owner gets in and it looks like a human in a tuna can. If your tall, a roadster is forgiving in the headroom department. In Houston, it gets VERY hot & humid, so it almost doesn't matter which one you had. Of course, a coupe could have A/C, but then you're headed to street rod land. I've cruised in the middle of summer in my T bucket and yea, it does get hot. Even with a hat to keep the sun off my head, but traffic clears and then it doesn't matter anymore. Is it okay to sweat like a pig, if you can look cool doing it? Oh.... chicks LOVE a roadster. Chicks like to look good and they like to let everyone know they are looking good. Nothing pleases that ego like a rag top. One day, I was riding shotgun with a girl in her O/T car. We were at a traffic light and a convertable Lexus, with a sweet looking blonde, made the turn going by our front. I watched as the car drifted by, almost like a dream. Then I noticed the girl I was with staring worse than I was! I also noticed ALL of the other people who were also staring! The girl I was with looked at me and said, "Damn." I smiled and said, "Yea, and guys are supposed to be the animals."
------------------------------------- Yeah, I've also heard too. Also, that back in the 'teens and '20's, when a lot of high-end luxery cars had custom 'coach-built' bodies, it was fairly common for the ultra-wealthy to have two complete custom bodies built for their car- an open, roadster or phaeton body for summer use and a closed, coupe or sedan body for fall and winter and having them switched back and forth on a seasonal basis. Mart3406 ============================
that "ultra wealthy" crowd still comes into play, I heard a while back of chip foose designing just exactly that, a 32 with detachable and interchangeable bodies, id like to see the mechanics behind that....now, back to reality.... roadsters are getting all the love here arent they....seems like coupes like mine are being regarded as sinister tuna cans, come on now, dosent anybody wanna be a bad guy anymore? ive mentioned this before, but dosent anybody like the feeling of opening a suicide door, and flipping the front windshield out to get some air?......and just cause you got a radio in your ride dosent automatically make it a street rod....i mean, dosent your heart pump and make you wanna hit the gas pedal as hard as you can when you hear "rave on" by buddy holly or "long tall sally" by little richard?
I'm personally a coupe guy myself. Coupes are way cooler than roadsters to me. If they're done right, coupes can look really evil. I like that. My dream car would be a 34 3 window lakes coupe. Nasty chop. Just pure business and evil; and I mean downright devil worshiping evil. LOL. When I picked up my model a coupe a week ago, I had some 26-27 roadsters I was going to start on. Now those have to go on down the road. Anybody need a roadster? I still want a roadster one of these days with a early post war dry lakes look to it, but I want a coupe first.
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