Ok, always wanted to know some facts about the differences in owning, buiding, and driving model A, and B coups and roadsters...from what ive learned here is that of course the roadster is the most "traditional" as in speed and lightness from the very hay day of hotroding and coupes well didnt come that much later into popularity... when deciding to build yourself a hotrod of your very own, what questions come into play to decide whether you want to build a coupe or a roadster....is it the looks, the feel, the practicality, the aerodynamics, the nostalgia, the wind in yourface, the sun burning your skin????...hell, price!!....which one of the two can you relate to better? which one would you like driving through the mountains and down the main strip? or hell, both on the same day even...seems like both have their advantages and disadvantages from your experiences with them, which one is the more all around best, if of course you can only have one?...I know its such a vague and broad subject. but I think there should be a place where you stand proud next to your hopped up jalopy and say: "______" are the best! I guess i can start my point that my coupe is awesome and I wouldnt trade it for the world.....on the other hand sometimes i regret that I didnt build a roadster for the sake of driving with the top down...but cant imagine how anoying it would be when you just want to cruise around in a coupe with the windows rolled up the vent open, and listening to the radio in somewhat a quieter environment and you cant cause you aint got no top and no windows... I guess you can always just build both, but what if your allowed to only have one....how do you choose given the fact that both are awesome in their own way.
erlomd ... Coups? ... I thought we weren't suppose to talk politics on the H.A.M.B. ... let alone discuss the overthrow of our government. ... Oh ... you meant "Coupes" ... Well then, all I can say is:
Well let me say this about that. Having a roadster is cool because I can take the top off if I want. This is hard to do in a coupe. I can listen to my radio even over the gear drive.
yeah, sorry about that...typing pretty fast has its consequences...ill try to use the spell check more often.....but thats a nice point you have there..."coupes are for chickens" and yet your avatar is????.....kidding aside, thats one way of expressing your point. but again, not being chicken = having fenders? dont worry about the confusing avatars...hell mine is called susie the little blue coupe, but its obviously a convertible with the top up....anyway, getting way ahead of myself..
see, thats the kinda comments i was hopping to hear, positives and negatives about either or...i do think about what you said that the top can come off whenever....and the radio can be heard regardless of whine or other engine and drivetrain music....good point, but can you take the top with you just in case?
I use the Coupe in the Winter and if it looks like it's going to be wet (not uncommon over here) and the T whenever i can in the summer............best of both worlds . .
I just had to have a roadster.....I can't wait to finish a car with a roof. All round you'd have to say a coupe is better, but driving my little modified is very cool.
I've had both. The coupe is far more practical, especially here in South Florida. The weather changes real fast. Also, in the summer, you don't want the sun frying your brain, waiting for the light to change. But, in the spring or fall, with the weather being cooler, there is nothing in the world like an open car. I love a day when the sky is an electric blue and the temprature is a little bit nippy, and your out on the open road in a roadster.
San Diego weather? I'd have a roadster for sure. Here in Arkansas rain is always a possibility and it does get cold. So roadstering is always iffy. Every summer I get caught in at least one storm. That said, my current builds are a 31 Model A coupe and a 26 Model T two door sedan. Why? Because I can. And because, at 6' 2" tall I need a little more room.
I've always ONLY wanted roadsters.... I've actually talked to a friend of mine who raced at the dry lakes before WWII & mentioned this same question. He said... "we never paid much attention to coupes, they were just street cars." I went through some effort to obtain a 32 5 window coupe last year, to build. Couldn't wrap my mind around a "hot rod" coupe. So I ended up getting rid of it. Now I'm collecting to build a '35 coupe "custom" and it actually worries me that I am not going to be happy with it when its done. I also have a '34 coupe dirt track race car, when I drive it around my yard it just doesn't seem right to me.... sitting in a big box doesnt seem to feel "cool" to me..... I've always pretty much stuck with the same saying as Hemi32, "Coupes are for Chickens". Do you know someone who has an old roadster? Have them take you for a ride, or maybe even let you drive it. I have a feeling you may really start leaning towards the toplessness if you get this oppertunity. Good luck in any case. Zach
I have never had a roadster, but I do own a convertible. To me, it depends on the look you're shooting for. In the 1940s and before coupes were cultural also-rans as far as sportiness was concerned. By the 1950s, the coupe's potential had been unlocked and they became an acceptible first choice. By the 1960s, the majority of serious competition cars were coupes, and open cars had been relegated largely to cruiser status. Of course, there are glaring counterexamples to every gross generalization I just made, but I think it's a good summary of cultural attitudes. That being said, it's 2010, and if you're thoughtful, you can male any body style look right, so the practical considerations are more important. I say go roadster, as you'll often find yourself in a closed car on a nice day, wishing you could put the top down. -Dave
------------------------------------------------- How about having both a coupe and a roadster body on one chassis?? An idea that I've been working on in my head for some time now for my "what if", "if I ever win the lottery" and "need to do it before I die" dream build, is a '25-'27 T with both a chopped coupe and a roadster body, set up in "quick change" configuration, so that the bodies could be switched back and forth in a matter of minutes. I've worked out most of the mechanical details - ie- having the floor pan attached to the frame and independant of the body, having the dashboard guages and wiring on a couple of 'plug-type' connectors and the steering column attached to the chassis via a u-joint and a spring-loaded, 'slide-type' quick-coupler. I figure that if properly designed, two people could probably pull one body off and install the other in about 20 minutes or so. How cool would that be.....going out cruising, making a of couple laps downtown in a roadster, and then going back home and coming out half an hour or so later, but this time, in an otherwise identical looking coupe! Talk about the best of both worlds and "having your cake and eating it too", so to speak! I'm wondering if anyone ever done this and built a car with a 'quick-change' body set-up that both worked properly and looked good??? Mart3406 ==============================
erlomd I very seldom take the top off. Except on cruise nights. Some times I change the wheels to Chromies and pull the side covers off the engine and take the top off. Makes a totally different car. But i can't take the top off and take it with me
One big difference in The A's is the roadster doors are 4" shorter than the coupe. Makes it a little tougher to get into , but I love the look of a roadster
Mart, I've never seen it firsthand, but supposedly in the Model T era, Ford promoted exactly what you're saying. The dealer literature said to buy a coupe and an extra roadster body for the warm months, or a sedan and a touring car. -Dave
I definitely would love to have a coupe (ie: 32 3w) but I have a roadster now. But the thing about having to have a top..... well I don't plan on ever having a top for my current car. Because of that I’m some what designing the car to withstand the outdoors. See, I am just 22 and think I’m indestructible so I will brave the elements. In my experience the older you get the less you’re willing to put up with (ie: the elements). I also think if you’re into motorcycles you’re more inclined to have a roadster. Both kinds of cars have amazing "COOL"
Erlo, I see from reading your profile that you're a coupe fan, and probably into '60s style. In that case, I'd agree with your father: You should build what you really love. I just hope you'll put your own stamp on it and not crank out just one more Milner clone. Check out Alex "Axle" Idzardi's blue, Pontiac-powered Deuce five-window for my view of what the AG coupe should have looked like. -Dave
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remember just such an exercise that was featured in one of the magazines. The trick was a dash that was part of the chassis with instruments, steering etc. At the risk of getting flamed, I would go with a fiberglass body to reduce the weight.
you never know what the weather is going to do in the pacific northwest....so you need both body styles.
Well, my home is Seattle so a coupe for me. But the single greatest feeling I've ever had in a car is in a roadster on a desert highway all alone (meaning other cars, I had a gal with me) at about 11pm at night with a million stars out and the temp around 80 degrees. The smells, sights and feeling on my skin was surreal (remember, I'm from Seattle, so it was a new experience) and something I will never forget.
That is it. The feel you get riding in a roadster beats a coupe hands down. With a coupe you are stuck in a box. But then again you have the other 70% of the time the weather stinks. If I only had one car, it would probably be a coupe just because of the weather. It seems driving a roadster increases the chances for rain. Neal
Having always wanting a roadster nothing was going to stop me from fulfilling that desire,,so I owned a roadster for a few years and loved it,, I never had a top so I got hailed on,sunburned and soaking wet on more than one occasion,,but to this day the roadster was one of my all time favorite hot rods. But then one cold day in December while riding in the roadster wearing almost every thing I owned I begin to think about 32 coupes and made my mind up that I had never owned a coupe and that would be my next hot rod,,but I had to sell the roadster to do it. The deal was done,I sold the roadster and bought a coupe I had known about for years,,old build that needed a few updates,,that was May of last year,, I'm happy with the 5-window but I sure miss the roadster,,,it ain't the same. HRP
I've always thought of roadster ownership as somewhat akin to motorcycling. The stories I'm hearing from roadster owners are confirming that. One thing - how bad are a top and side curtains? I rather like the look of a full-fendered roadster with the top folded on the deck, and the windshield laid flat against the cowl. Seems like that, plus a set of side curtains stowed under the seat, might be a good compromise. -Dave
I've had both,but roadsters just seem to be more enjoyable.Nothing like wind in the face,rain blowing in around the posts even when the side curtains are on And cold in the winter. Kind of reminds me of a UPS truck.. And my wife likes them too. They are just cool!
The big diff up here in Gods country is, I didn't put the COUPE away at all this year, my pal put his roadster away at the end of Sept. Talked to him last week and he's planning on getting out again next month!
Not directly related to the question but someone mentioned being able to hear the radio/sterio. The addition of either of these two appliances puts you well on the path to owning STREET ROD Just like drugs and booze.............take the first step and it's hard to turn back. Frank
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