David White Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 I have a 1989 reatta Coupe with a sunroof. I am thinking of cutting it in half to make a custom trailer to tow behind our convertible. Question is I have never done this and not sure to use the front or rear half? Anyone know if this has ever been done. I have been to lots of car shows and seen it done to other cars where the owner has made a duplicate of his car into a miniature to tow behind.dwhite1@cogeco.ca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCReatta Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 David, I've mulled this same idea over in my mind several times. By looking at a Reatta coupe, and the placement if the rear wheels, you'd be best off to start with a scrapped convertible. You'd basically want to cut it off right behind the doors in order to have enough room in front of the rear wheels.But in order to do this, you have to somehow fill the large void where the rear glass, cubbyholes, etc. sit.You could (if you were good with metal fabrication) build a panel to fill that space, but then you need to get all the curves right and that's just a pain if you ask me.Another option (if you can't find a scrapped vert) is to used some pieces from a convertible. The deck lid and tonneau are convertible-spceific in order to make the curves line up right. I am Leaving tomorrow to pick up a bunch of convertible pieces. Once I got them back here, I was considering attempting this myself. If you could fabricate a bracket for the tonneau to sit on in the back, then you could add the deck lid and probably end up with something that looked decent. Another issue is weight. Reattas aren't meant to tow. That's a fact. But if you could get it stripped down to less than 500 lbs, you may be ok.Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted February 20, 2012 Share Posted February 20, 2012 Dave,I sent you an email.Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David White Posted February 20, 2012 Author Share Posted February 20, 2012 Thanks Mark I guess first off I should see if anyone has a trailer hitch that I can buy? Or did they ever make one? I don't have a convertible to scrap . so would have to use my 89 coupe. Then I would pull the gas tank out, but would have to do something about the spring as it would probably have to be lowered? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 How about combining the front and rear into a trailer.I have see a Corvair done this way. They made the cut at the center of the wheel well both front and rear.......and rewelded them back together. On the top you then either choose to use the trunk opening or the hood but there is not enough room to incorporate the hinges etc to open both ends.I would thing the back end would be best and you could extend the front of the trunk maybe another 12 inches to have a larger opening.Also the hood does not have a weather seal and you would need to work that out if you used the hood end as the access. If I can find a picture of the Corvair I will post it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maintool-GS Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 How about combining the front and rear into a trailer.I have see a Corvair done this way. They made the cut at the center of the wheel well both front and rear.......and rewelded them back together. On the top you then either choose to use the trunk opening or the hood but there is not enough room to incorporate the hinges etc to open both ends.I would thing the back end would be best and you could extend the front of the trunk maybe another 12 inches to have a larger opening.Also the hood does not have a weather seal and you would need to work that out if you used the hood end as the access. If I can find a picture of the Corvair I will post it.How about ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCReatta Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 How about ???Very creative! Looks ok with the corvair, but the curves of a Reatta could make it a challenge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawja Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 Very creative! Looks ok with the corvair, but the curves of a Reatta could make it a challenge.That and successfully melding a plastic fender to a steel quarter panel.Something like the Allante trailer below should be much easier to do.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David White Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Yes the Allante looks a lot easier to build, But not as nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David White Posted May 2, 2012 Author Share Posted May 2, 2012 still looking for a factory trailer hitch, if ever one was made for a Reatta? 905-356-7706 Niagara Falls Ontario Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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