The story of the No Roof Car

Once upon a time a family decide that they did not need two nice fancy cars in the garage but rather they should sell one of the cars and buy a cheaper car for around town. This car should get good gas mileage and be a fun car. So the dad said I know I have always wanted a convertible and this is the time to buy a classic car and restore it and keep it for 20 years and sell it and make a small fortune or keep it and pass it down the family.


In his growing up years the dad's dad had just a car like this. It was a 1954 black MGTF.

This is not the actual car but this is the same color and style. We loved the car and had great fun taking short jaunts in it. Unfortunately, one day it was sold as the price was right and now it is worth 30xs what it was purchased for new and 6x more then he sold it for used.

Now the other bit of nostalgia is that the first car the dad had was a roofed version of the no roof car. This car is no longer around and while it is not the favorite car the dad has ever had it is one that was well loved.

I will admit to more then a little buyers remorse after the car was purchased. For starters this meant the dad was going to have to sell his current fairly new somewhat customized to his liking sporty turbocharged car for a car with less then 60% of the horsepower of his current cushy car. There have also been a number of improvements in the 10 years that span the two cars. And the new car is not in mint condition. Far from it. It has potential but needs mild restoration. Anyone who knows the dad knows that the car is a VW and he found after some looking that the car to get would be a 1993 VW Cabriolet Collectors Edition with all of the bells and whistles that a 93 VW had including: heated leather seats, air conditoning, cruise control and other things.

The place to look when trying to locate a car like this is craigslist and I found one only 2 states away in WA. It was low miles 76,000 and in reasonable shape. We brought it home and have already started on the project. So far we replace the trunk deck as it was in bad shape. We fixed the turn signals and a few other lights not functioning. We have identified the need for new front shocks and a new CV boot. We have ordered a new door handle and need to locate a new front grille.

The idea behind the blog is to document our progress in restoring this little "No Roof Car" from a semi wornout convertible back to its glory days. It should be a fun project and a fun little runabout for the family. As you can tell this purchase was "for the family' as all purchases should be.

Pictures will follow.