1967 Convertible Conversion

There are a lot of Mustang parts listed there. You have to be careful with Mustang parts because many times they are different and won’t work. Seat bases in particular are different. The floor pans are different. I am not sure what some of the other parts are precisely. Just about everybody that owns a Cougar has shelf full of Mustang parts that “should” fit a Cougar and don’t. Hopefully someone with more detail can jump in a help with your list.

There are a lot of Mustang parts listed there.

For sure and some of them must be Mustang. I have paid very close attention to both the CatVert and CatVert68 info and which Mustang parts must be used.

Hopefully I have the proper ones selected; otherwise, the joy of restocking fees or eBay and my friendly UPS person.

Definitely hoping others will chime-in prior to me pulling the trigger on these items.

Mark

This is another link you’ll want to use for reference. It even shows the floor pan part number I used and explains why.

http://www.catvert68.com/cvphase1.html

CatVert68,

I took a close look at those photos. The floor pans I have selected are cross-referenced to that part number.

It sounds like you’re headed in the right direction. Bill’s link above is a great reference. Below is a picture of my conversion showing the inner convertible rocker rails and the convertible seat riser in place.

Steven

Been a long time but never gave up.

Disassembly in progress and parts on order.


Rust and rot about as expected. Bad driver torque box area, rear fender wells and some significant holes on top of the front subframe.

I do not think that the cardboard holding the turn signal electrical assembly is “original”.

Been reviewing the topframe/glass/bodyline combinations used for the various conversions. Would appreciate feedback on Mustang vs Cougar part combos and associated challenges. I am favoring the Cougar bodyline in the rear deck area.

What I have gleaned so far:

Marti         67-68 Mustang topframe      Mustang glass                 Mustang-style deck contours       Trim ???
CatVert       69 Cougar topframe          ??? glass                     Cougar-style deck contours        Trim ???
TopCat        ??? topframe                Mustang/custom glass          Cougar-style deck contours        Mustang trim

Considering the Mustang top frame and rear seat assembly since these are available new/repo. However, if 69-70 Cougar parts provide an much easier route then I am be looking at a road trip to WCCC.

Martel

The top frame on my conversion is from a 67 Mustang.

Steven

The top frame on CatVert is from a 67-8 Mustang, but the frame support panel behind the rear seat is from a '69 Cougar. It fit better than the panel from the Mustang.

The quarter glass is from the Mustang.

The trim around the convertible top well is early Mustang, as I recall, since they have the snaps.

Thanks both for the corrections and details. 67-68 Mustang parts it is.

BTW. Since the work looks excellent and I like the style, I plan to copy the traillight treatment from TopCat. Not a huge fan of chrome anyways.

Wow, nearly a 5 year hiatus. I have a 68 vert. The windshield is 67 Mustang and the top is 71 Mustang. The conversion was done in the 80’s by Keith Meredith. Keep us updated with your progress. :thumbup:


Copycatvert uses a 67 top frame and rear seat panel (which required substantial modification), lexan quarter windows to fit the stock Cougar frames and retains the same body lines as the original vinyl top. If I had to do it over again, I would tried a 69 rear seat panel or even fabricated a custom rear seat panel.

Before it is too late, I want to verify the cut line at the windshield.

My understand is shown in the following image.

This is a bad time for OOPS…

BTW. 67-68 Convertible top moldings are not easy to source. Anyone try different years?

Try these links:

https://www.cjponyparts.com/convertible-header-bar-chrome-1965-1967/p/CHB1/?year=1965&gclid=CjwKCAiAlNf-BRB_EiwA2osbxRKrmumAgNB2GUx5Yhk_rA5aIJekNWFD5EcvDnbxbxDqU6axVkFZ8xoCtp8QAvD_BwE

https://www.opgi.com/moldings/window-moldings/1968-72-convertible-upper-windshield-molding9/molding-upper-windshield-1968-72-a-body-convertible-ch28580.html?gclid=CjwKCAiAlNf-BRB_EiwA2osbxe9PUkNLVOStH0VRnCzqDeIcZ-vI7L0glGLQYPWhBmGr1Rmr7p0tsxoCHV8QAvD_BwE

https://www.kentuckymustang.com/product-p/14957.htm



Steven

Ready for major work to start.

Santa is bringing me some cut-off disks and a new bottle of C25 MIG gas.

Can anyone tell me what exact convertible top that they used for the their conversion?

Can one use either a stock Cougar or Mustang top and have it work properly?

Thanks,

M

I had my top custom made because I wanted to keep the panel between the roof and trunk lid close to stock dimensions, which meant cutting the convertible top well a little wider. The top frame was from a 67 Mustang but the rear portion of the fabric was anchored a little further back. That meant the Mustang top wouldn’t fit.

http://catvert68.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/quarteroverview-1.jpg

http://catvert68.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/customtop01-1.jpg

Thanks for the the specific feedback. I am also using the 67 Mustang top and trying to keep the Cougar lines.

M,

You can’t keep the Cougar roof line exactly using stock Mustang parts. Aside from the shape of the quarter window being different, the rearmost bow (if using a stock Mustang top) sits about 1.75" too far forward, which must be made up either by widening the panel between the trunk lid and the well, or having a noticeably more sloped, “fastback” look to the rear glass. If you adjust the front header bow as far forward as it will go, (which is what I ended up doing) this allows you to mount the whole frame rearward a 1/2 inch or so, which “somewhat” helps. When the time comes to replace the top on CopyCatVert, my plan is to add some extra height to the rear bow (so that I can move it another inch further back) and go with a custom made top. If I had a junk top frame, I’d like to experiment with modifying the portion of the flange where the quarter window weatherstrip mounts and making some custom weatherstrip so stock quarter windows could be used. I’m not sure things would fold up, though with those mods.

Your timing is excellent. I was just reading and watching multiple videos on the tops and bow height last night. Thanks for the additional details.