The early eighties were a tough time for convertible lovers.  In 1965, over 500,00 convertibles were produced by GM, Ford, Chrysler, and American Motors.  By 1976, due to fear of government safety mandates, air conditioning, costs, and changing tastes, Cadillac was the last domestic brand to sell convertibles in America.  At least that was what they thought.  While the VW Beetle convertible soldiered on until 1979, and a few British convertibles made it to the 1980 model year, convertible production by manufacturers looked as dead as fried chicken.  For the few who still wanted that wind in your hair excitement, a few aftermarket companies busied themselves with conversions to production cars.  A few of these converted convertibles survive, but does their rarity mean anything in the collector market?  One such example is this 1982 Datsun 200SX.  This unique drop top can be found for sale here on craigslist in Maynardville, Tennessee for the market setting price of $6500.

Convertibles have always been an engineering trade off.  While they are almost always more beautiful than their hard top stable mates, there are a number of trade offs.  First of which is some measure of loss in structural rigidity.  When convertibles were built on full frame chassis, this wasn’t a big deal.  The frame prevented the body that sat on top of it from twisting too much.  However, when unibody construction began to be the most popular method of building cars, it was like cutting a section out of a soda can.  Only costly structural reinforcements kept the convertible around, but those were not enough in many cases.

Other problems crept up that were associated with this lack of structural rigidity.  Vibrations over rough surfaces, commonly called cowl shake, left drivers annoyed and less than confident about the strength of the car they just bought.  When rust entered the picture, and it almost always does in a vehicle with a cloth top and rubber seals being the only line of defense against moisture, any loss of metal to oxidation only exacerbated the situation.  Add to that the kindness of criminals, who loved to cut convertible tops in their attempts to gain access to your valuables, and the costs associated with replacing a top.  With all of this, you can see why companies didn’t want to make convertibles and customers didn’t want to pay extra for these privileges.

Still, there were a few companies that wanted to make a little money satisfying this untapped market.  Some of the companies, such as ASC, put out convertibles that looked, drove, and felt like factory built cars.  Others, were little more than a bunch of goons with metal saws.  This 1982 Datsun 200 SX was converted by a Beverly Hills company called American Custom Coach Works.  It looks like they did a good job making this Japanese personal luxury coupe into a functional convertible.  While we have no way of knowing how it drives, it does appear that they went to great lengths making it look like a factory option.

The owner states that there were only eleven of these made, and that there are few survivors.  This one looks like it hasn’t left the garage much, and has racked up just 40,000 miles.  Add to that the owner’s testimony that it was heavily undercoated, and you would likely be purchasing one of the best examples of a 200SX of that vintage around.  However, you would have to ask yourself is the $6500 price worth it for both the early eighties 200SX experience and the whole wind in your hair thing.  Its not like people are rioting at the sight of a 200SX, even if it is a convertible.

While not many were made, does the rarity of the conversion add or detract from the value here?