fatherlarry
04-08-2002, 08:51 AM
This was a post by 99hrdtop
FRC ...True Acrynom Meaning?
I just watched my new owners video again and I was surprised to hear not one mention of a "Fixed Roof Coupe. It was called a "Fixed Roof Corvette", but more notably referred to as a "Hardtop". Where did "Fixed Roof Copue" come from? Any idea?
FatherLarry says:
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A hardtop coupe does not have a roof panel that comes off. It was only the model of the car, like the Coupe DeVille Cadillac. But if you went to Olds back in 1955 they called it a four door hardtop. A '55-'57 Tbird which was a convertible had the option of a hardtop, which was not a fixed hardtop, but was still called a hardtop when you put it on the car, even though it wasn't fixed. In '63 they came out with a true hardtop, without a removeable panel, but it was a fastback. Then in '68, the 1st year for the new C3 shark body style, gone were side vent windows making some very hot rides, and new for the coupe was a removable back window and the 2 piece detachable T-Tops. Then in 1999 the true hardtop with a trunk for the first time in Corvette history.
I feel that hardtop has a beautiful ring to it, because it sets it apart from the other body style Corvettes, where FRC doesn't. And, that's where the collectibility comes in, using the correct term, as GM advertises when they refer to our cars.
I don't know where they got FRC from, but we are not FRC's. We are Hardtops. The window sticker says it, advertisements by GM say it, and all professional articles about the Hardtop, NEVER refer to it as an FRC. Also, auto body estimate books refers to it as hardtop roof panel, when ordering the roof for a rollover.
PS. I could see myself pulling into a car show, and someone looking at another C5 thats a coupe, knowing that the roof panel comes off, and then looking at a hardtop pass by and trying to refer to it as a coupe also, or FRC, it just doesn't jive. When you look at a Z06, do you say, there's an FRC Z06, no. You say theres the hardtop Z06. With a trunk.
FRC ...True Acrynom Meaning?
I just watched my new owners video again and I was surprised to hear not one mention of a "Fixed Roof Coupe. It was called a "Fixed Roof Corvette", but more notably referred to as a "Hardtop". Where did "Fixed Roof Copue" come from? Any idea?
FatherLarry says:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A hardtop coupe does not have a roof panel that comes off. It was only the model of the car, like the Coupe DeVille Cadillac. But if you went to Olds back in 1955 they called it a four door hardtop. A '55-'57 Tbird which was a convertible had the option of a hardtop, which was not a fixed hardtop, but was still called a hardtop when you put it on the car, even though it wasn't fixed. In '63 they came out with a true hardtop, without a removeable panel, but it was a fastback. Then in '68, the 1st year for the new C3 shark body style, gone were side vent windows making some very hot rides, and new for the coupe was a removable back window and the 2 piece detachable T-Tops. Then in 1999 the true hardtop with a trunk for the first time in Corvette history.
I feel that hardtop has a beautiful ring to it, because it sets it apart from the other body style Corvettes, where FRC doesn't. And, that's where the collectibility comes in, using the correct term, as GM advertises when they refer to our cars.
I don't know where they got FRC from, but we are not FRC's. We are Hardtops. The window sticker says it, advertisements by GM say it, and all professional articles about the Hardtop, NEVER refer to it as an FRC. Also, auto body estimate books refers to it as hardtop roof panel, when ordering the roof for a rollover.
PS. I could see myself pulling into a car show, and someone looking at another C5 thats a coupe, knowing that the roof panel comes off, and then looking at a hardtop pass by and trying to refer to it as a coupe also, or FRC, it just doesn't jive. When you look at a Z06, do you say, there's an FRC Z06, no. You say theres the hardtop Z06. With a trunk.