To compensate for the loss of an upper roof structure, in convertibles a structural panel was installed behind the rear seat to form a bulkhead across the width of the body from the floorboard to the beltline to keep the body from twisting from side to side. The roof is THE major structural component for the upper body of a closed car - it keeps the body rigid, keeping it from collapsing on itself at the center. Because the T-bird is a unibody car from 1958-1966, there are no frame rails running the length of the body to keep the car body straight and level. While the convertible and hardtop appear to be identical on the exterior, under the skin there are several key differences. Long story short is that it's not as simple as just breaking out the reciprocating saw and making cuts at the windshield frame and rear pillars - there are structural modifications that need to be made to make the car solid enough to withstand the flexing and torsional loads that driving will impose, not to mention the weight of the car itself. VTCI's former Concours Director Ken Harkema participated in the build and wrote a thorough article about it in VTCI's Thunderbird Scoop magazine earlier this year. An episode of TLC's 'Overhaulin'' filmed last year showed some of what was done to a '65 hardtop (the same car is used on the cover of Larry's 58-66 Thunderbird catalog for 2006), but not everything.

64 thunderbird hardtop