Carriage roof Mustangs

[Cascadestang]

Does anyone have any idea how many of the carriage roof mustangs were built in 1980 81 82??? I own one and I have not seen another like it anywhere, I am taking for granted theres not many left.

[Live Fast]

I got one. 1980 26k miles. 3.3 auto

[8384GT]

i have seen a few, their was a orange and white one on CL few months back went to look at it and it was rusted way beyond what we wante to take on...not many left because most people did not like the look of the fake top so many people removed the top or they just junked it not thinking it was a low production car, i myself think they different, i like em

[Live Fast]

Top will go back on mine one day after its painted.

[Cascadestang]

Live Fast, you have any photos of it? Would love to see it, I don't see many like mine! My 80 is in really great shape and its a survivor car, no resto just very well kept by the original owner who i bought it from a few months ago. The top on mine is mint, she was so scared of wrecking she would never drive it in the rain and only washed it with soap and water with a sponge!

[K PONY]

Great looking coupe you have there... I have only ever seen a few with that roof and probally not since the early '80s... I think rare indeed

[Live Fast]

Pictures of mine are in the Online Car Show section. It looks way worse than it really is. Plus I havent posted new pictures just yet. Will have some by the end of the weekend.

[foxmustang84]

Is it possible to put the tops back on? I have an 80 Ghia coupe, the top was removed. I am thinking of getting it repainted yellow/black accents, ant it would probably look pretty cool (different anyways) with a black top.

[FoxChassis]

There were three different vinyl roofs offered from '79 through '82:

full vinyl roof = '79-'81
carriage roof = '80-'82
half vinyl roof = '82

Cascadestang: It's hard to tell in that one pic if yours has the 'full vinyl roof' option or the 'carriage roof' option.

Here are some examples of the carriage roof:

http://foureyedpride.com/fep_bild/d/669-2/80Mpg18.jpg
http://vb.foureyedpride.com/attachme...8&d=1240940297
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g4...s/P4062815.jpg

Notice how it looks like a convertible top, which is what Live Fast's coupe has:

http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z...angGhia001.jpg

[Live Fast]

I told you it looks bad! haha
Its in really good shape though! No rust anywhere else. Just was neglected for 16 years because of a brake problem. Some people's ignorance amazes me sometimes.

[Live Fast]

There were three different vinyl roofs offered from '79 through '82:

full vinyl roof = '79-'81
carriage roof = '80-'82
half vinyl roof = '82

Cascadestang: It's hard to tell in that one pic if yours has the 'full vinyl roof' option or the 'carriage roof' option.

His has the carriage roof. No quarter window louvers and the "A" pillar covers. All exactly what mine have. Mine doesn't look near that good though.

[FoxChassis]

Good point on the louvers/A-pillars. I hadn't been looking at enoug of the full vinyl and carriage roofs to notice that the latter didn't have louvers.

[tjgtstang]

I want one!

[Live Fast]

Yeah Im just going to put some quarter window louvers in mine and paint it until we decide to put the top back on. Going to have to be a custom thing though since its basically a fiberglass shell that covers the roof of the car. Pretty sure no one reproduces the shell. My fiberglass was already ready torn and split in the middle. Looked like someone sat on the roof. The shell saved the roof from being dented in.

I would love to see more pictures if anyone has anymore!

[Cascadestang]

FoxChassis, mine is most definatly the carriage roof. I have several pics up on my online album. I have seen the other vinyl roofs and some of them look really sharp as well. I saw a guy around here selling a Mustang "Sun Coupe" which looked like some dealer kit on the car. It was a half vinyl top with a sunroof and this goofy looking hurse like thing on the b pillar, really odd.

[Cascadestang]

I would love to find a set of the aluminum turbine style rims pictured in this link. The second picture down NOT the TRX rims (been through that nightmare already) anyone know where I could find a set?

http://foureyedpride.com/fep_bild/d/669-2/80Mpg18.jpg

[Cascadestang]

Livefast, I had a look at yours, looks like that top is pretty much done, I wonder where you could get a carriage top re done?

[FoxChassis]

Going back to the original question....how many carriage roofs were made?....that is unknown at this time. Marti Auto might be able to do some research for you to figure it out, so you should call or e-mail them and find out if they can do it and what the charge would be. Once the Marti Reports were available for the '80 model year and someone with a carriage roof ordered one, we might, depending on the type of report ordered, know how many were made.

All I can tell you right now is how many L/GL coupes (P10) and how many GLX coupes (P12) were made in '82, and also how many were made with each of the five available engines. I'm working on '81 as we speak but will not be able to do anything before that year.)

I think it's safe to assume that the carriage roof option was but a small percentage of the total coupes made.

[Live Fast]

Yeah the top on mine is done. Just peeled what was left of it off and filled in the holes Hardest part was the 30 year old glue! Thats good stuff. So now its just a regular old Ghia coupe.

[Cascadestang]

i emailed the marti report folks, we'll see if they have the details for my car!

[roush235]

Those aluminum 16-slot wheels do show up once in a great while on ebay. And they do show up on various junkyard cars posted here. Just have to go chasing them I guess. That is what I did when I wanted an alternate set of wheels on which to mount some new road trip tires. I ended up with an ebay set in poor condition, spent lots of time restoring them. Also was able to snag four new center caps. I always liked those wheels too.

[Cokeologist]

Yes, I am resurrecting a 10+ year-old thread!

My dad bought a 1981 Mustang Ghia with the carriage roof back in December of 1980 when I was in college. Here are a couple of scans of 39+ year-old pics from a Mustang show I took it to in the summer of 1981:



I really liked that car with its very rare carriage roof option, and I am now trying to locate it which I know is a very uphill battle. If it is in decent condition, I would like to purchase it and restore it for a driver for my kids. I actually have the VIN and a Marti Report for the car. According to the State of Illinois Secretary of State web site, it appears to be currently titled in Illinois. I would like to get a CarFax on the car; if anyone has an unused CarFax and would be willing to help I would be appreciative. Any other ideas as to how to go about locating the car would also be appreciated!

[homer302]

I went to high school with a girl who had one nearly identical to the one in post #1 above. I always thought it was neat and at the same time, even then I was thinking that every single one of these cars are going to meet the same fate....Sitting in a junkyard with a totally rusted out roof once that top material gets compromised.

[KevinK]

Topsonline.com offers fitted (not universal) full Landau Tops and will only fit the 1979 thru 1981 2-Door Coupe Mustang including Ghia model years. Six different colors and a few types of vinyl

[Cokeologist]

Yes, I am resurrecting a 10+ year-old thread!

My dad bought a 1981 Mustang Ghia with the carriage roof back in December of 1980 when I was in college. I really liked that car with its very rare carriage roof option, and I am now trying to locate it which I know is a very uphill battle. If it is in decent condition, I would like to purchase it and restore it for a driver for my kids. I actually have the VIN and a Marti Report for the car. According to the State of Illinois Secretary of State web site, it appears to be currently titled in Illinois. I would like to get a CarFax on the car; if anyone has an unused CarFax and would be willing to help I would be appreciative. Any other ideas as to how to go about locating the car would also be appreciated!

Update on my quest to locate the 1981 Mustang Ghia with the carriage roof that my dad purchased new in 1980. With the help of the CarFax report, I have been able to trace the car's last registration to an owner in Ursa, Illinois (population less than 1000, located in west central Illinois less than 100 miles from where I grew up). Unfortunately, the trail goes cold there as I have no ownership information. I emailed the nine persons whose email addresses were listed on the village of Ursa web site in an effort to see if anyone recognized the car, and received only one response which didn't provide any information. I knew it was a long shot going in, but I have run out of ideas to try to locate the car at this point.

Given that it seems unlikely I will be able to locate this car, I am now turning to either locating and purchasing a carriage roof Mustang (which I'm sure will be about as hard to find as the car I have been trying to locate); or purchasing a nice 80 - 82 coupe and adding a carriage roof. I had identified two carriage roof Mustangs in salvage yards for the parts I would need to add the carriage roof, but after contacting both yards both of the cars had been sent to crush so those leads didn't pan out.

So, if anyone knows of any leads for any of the following, I would be very appreciative:

• 80 - 82 Mustang with carriage roof for sale (or that the owner may be willing to sell)
• 80 - 82 Mustang coupe in nice condition for sale (or that the owner may be willing to sell)
• Parts needed to add carriage roof to an 80 - 82 Mustang coupe (fiberglass under structure, bright A-pillar moldings, interior quarter window trim pieces, rear window trim piece, others?)

Thanks.