Record Straight on Prius Convertible

[exproducer]

Prius Group:

I am the owner of the Prius Convertible (Waveline Blue) that has been shown in the pix from a few postings in magazines etc. I'm going to attach a few jpgs and clear up a few errors about the car.

The car took approximately 6 months to complete all the work. It is, to my knowledge the only convertible Prius ever done. It was stripped to the bare metal, (interior) and every piece of the interior was removed and a complete custom rebuild, piece by piece) was undertaken by Newport Engineering in California.

The side air bags had to be removed and the side interior moldings had to be rebuilt to allow the frame to set properly. There are now no side air bags.

Insurance on the car with the modifications had the premium raised considerably but kept in a nationally known company not a collector car insurance group.

The price is considerably higher than mentioned in various articles. Approximately $17,500++for the top, and approximately setup #6 Prius from Alhambra Toyota $28, 500. Total costs approximately $46,000. Now has 1,000 miles.

The radio system for XM and AM/FM had to be reconfigured by a speciality audio installation group as the aerial had to be removed and could not be refitted on the car in another location. An XM radio antenna (3" round) is mounted now out side left front hood on the space by the windshield wipers. The AM/FM antenna is mounted as a bar antenna on the front dash just above the interior defrosters. Reception is good on all.

The convertible is a power top hydralic system that was constructed around the left rear electrical battery vents. The button that powers the top is located to the left of the steering wheel. When the top is powered up in folds into a reconfigured visor frame and seals like a regular convertible.

The rear seats no longer fold down. There is more room in the back seats and again reconstructed with more floor space.

The white decals were custom decals I ordered outside the engineering group and were placed on by a specialist in this area.

Since this was the first Prius done, the price and wait time may come down although I am not at liberty to discuss pricing.

The top seals nicely with little wind noise. The mileage with top down loses approximately 2 miles a gallon and with the top up gains approximately 4 miles per gallon. Who would know!

The windows have been tinted 35% black. The rear window in the convertible is also glass tinted the same 35% black done by local tinting garage.

The top powers down into the trunk leaving about 1/2 the space as with hardtop.

The center bar is a reinforced roll bar which is also custom mounted to the frame.

I will be appearing on ABC Television LA this Friday morning to discuss the build out.

As you might understand, I can not answer all the emails as I wouuldn't have time to drive the car.

The Prius has a custom tonneau cover that covers the top and mounts to snaps.

Attachments with different views of Prius
DSC08447-1.JPG
DSC08457.JPG
DSCO8444.JPG

Best,

exproducer

[TheForce]

Cool! Think you could make it to Hybridfest this year to show off the car?

[Barcelona Red Lass]

I love the theory, but not the actuality of a ragtop convertible...on any car.

Yours is lovely, though!

[Sheepdog]

A fool and his money..... IMHO only of course!

[Ichiro]

Originally Posted by Sheepdog

A fool and his money..... IMHO only of course!

Don't be a hater

[blamy]

Very nice but I have a problem with the basic looks of a "4-door" convertible" Since it was done from scratch with everything removed was there a reason not to cut it down to a 2-door? Price I suppose. Once again very nice but if you do another one try rescuing a Junk yard dog and turn it into a true convertible with 2-doors. IMHO

[Presto]

Props for having a convertible Prius. I notice the doors look untouched. Was there any consideration for removing the frames for the windows and shaving down the B-pillar cover and extending the roll bar in place of the pillar. IMHO, would make it look a lot better.

I don't think I could dump in 17k+ for that kinda modification. I'd be more tempted to by a used convertible sporty car with that money, and have enough leftover for the stereo.

[NaptownPrius]

Those are the same decals I bought here from this site.

[priusincc]

Does this mean the factory warranty is voided?

[hill]

First, Welcome to P.C. !!
Wow! Talk about joining the group w/ a bang ... what a great post. I admire all the work your shop put into your rig there, exproducer. Being divorced (and remarried decades ago) I've produced an 'ex' myself on one accasion.

If I could toss around cash like that, I'd have switched the Prius to CNG, flashed the hardware to run higher than 40mph (maybe 50mph) on pure electric, and added an extended battery pack that'd get me 40miles ... but we all have our dream. Glad to see you got yours fulfilled. Are you satisfied with it?

In my turbo cabriolet Porsche days (1990-1993), I discovered there were many who "chopped" the roofs off their 911's to end up with a convertable, the 'cheep' way. My mechanic showed me pictures of some of these that had literally fallen apart. The roof added strength, he explained. Without it, and the appropriate support ... BOOM ~ sagging to the ground, in some instances. He explained the the Porsche Cab has a lot of extra floor stiffening metal installed in order to give its chassis the strength of a standard car. I don't see any coment about that on your mod. Did your shop do that most important thing?