Ydeardorff,
First of all, welcome! *hi-ya* We are sincerely happy to have you here. It's always cool to have a relatively new enthusiast and to hear their ideas and listen to their enthusiasm.
Secondly, for clarification, no-one here would hate you for attempting conventional doors. This is a forum where any ideas are welcome to be explored in a friendly way. It's 100% true, though, that the ridiculously impractical canopy is actually the single biggest crowd-pleaser onthe car, and to do away with it would be to lose one of the most iconic peices of the puzzle. Beyond that, if you could get conventional doors to work, I'd be nothing but impressed with your creative contribution.
Letterman7 (Rick) summarized things very well. Absolutely anything COULD be done to these cars, but some modifications are realitively easy whereas others should be considered horridly impractical to the point of being essentially impossible.
Headlights, taillights, and the dash are very readily modified and have traditionally been areas where builders add their own unique flair to the cars. It's a delicate balancing act, though. What many builders find is that it is suprisingly difficult to add taillight/headlights, etc. in a manner such that they look sexy, "intentional," and non-kit-car-ish. You're exactly right in observing that it's way too easy for a builder to just "slap on" different taillights, etc, as sometimes happens. But yes, it takes some true artistry to really graft in some modern lights in a stylish and tasteful way. (Though I must say, I'm proud to see some of the wonderful things various builders are doing right now. There are a good hadful of builders who are doing things just right.) But that is one of the joys of the car: It ends up being your unique piece of art. Every Sterlig is different from every other Sterling.
Regarding the canopy...the canopy of a Sterling is dreadfully impractical, and yes, it's hard to get it weathertight...but on the other hand...my god does it make spectaters smile! And if set up correctly, it opens very smoothly and difinitively. All of the raw materials are there to make it operate in a very "real" and believable, "production car" manner. It just takes careful detailing and a little calibration. The canopy, hinges, etc, were actually engineered in a very clever way and operate very well. Don't think that the canopy was done as a chinsy afterthought. It's actually quite clever.
And another thing about the canopy that isn't often said out loud is that, although the canopy seems a little silly and impractical in SOME ways, it is actually a very good solution to a major problem. Namely, it is often very difficult to get into or out of a car that has a very low roofline. It's a price you pay for that particualr aspect of being exotic. And as such, the canopy is actually a nearly perfect solution to an extremely roofline that is almost a full FOOT lower than a Corvette. I've been told that the guys who have Cimbrias (which for purposes of this discussion are essentially a gull-winged Sterling) often feel like they are "crawling out" of their cars. Yes, there is a learning curve to entering and exiting a Sterling in a manner that looks graceful, but it's actually very easy once you get the hang of it. I would say the biggest hurdle for someone with any sort of limited mobility is in getting back out of the car. The well that you sit in is fairly deep, and you have to lift yourself out of it by doing kind of a little push-up on either side of the seat. But beyond that, it's rather elegant. You just stand up and swing yourself out. It's not a bad set-up at all. Especially for a car that literally has one of the lowest rooflines on the planet...not exaggerating.
As for engine and chassis options...
The Bug set-up is elegant in its simplicity in its own right. But it is true that, in a modern context, the old drivetrain is one of the weak areas of the car. But adding a water-cooled engine and upgrading the chassis is very do-able, and many of us have done it. There are different levels of modification, some more ambitious and difficult than others. It's relatively easy to just hang a meduim-size engine off a slightly beefed-up (but otherwise stock) Bug transaxle. And there are a varietly of upgrades for the Bug chassis, from anti-sway bars to urethane bushings to very nice disc brake kits, etc. It's pretty easy to end up with a car with suprisingly good performance. And if you want to go further, you could certainly engineer your own tube chassis for mid- or rear- engine configuration. Dave a Sterling Sports Cars has engineered a few different modern chassis that honestly aren't much short of a true racing chassis. From him, you can just BUY a mid engine chassis with fully adjustable multi-link suspension and modern rack-and-pinion steering, etc. It is very feasible...if you so choose...to end up with a Sterling that wieghs 2000 lbs, has 400 hp, and handles like it's on rails...probably for under $35,000. Or more minimalistically, it's very realistic to end up with a nice Sterling in any comfiguration for $10,000 or less. It just depends on your skills, goals, free time, and money. A Sterling is actually very easy to work on as cars go. But you have to love the process of building/fabrication/creative problem solving (as many of us do).
My advice overall would be this: As you define your goals, don't get too lost in attempting to re-engineer any of the things that make a Sterling a Sterling. Get a targa canopy from Dave (which would give you awesome open-air motoring when you're in the mood), and then put effort into installing A/C rather than wasting even one minute on trying to figure out how to make a roll-down window. (The geometry is absoluetely impossible.) That alone would give you one of the more versatile and comfortable Sterligs around. Give it a nice water-cooled engine if you want. And then use all of your imagination and artistry to give it a really tasteful interior, dash, headlights, and taillights. Those are the goals that would give you the biggest bang for you buck (and your time).
As for the practicality/driving experience.... I love my Sterling to pieces, but, honestly, a Sterling is NOT a practical car. It's a toy. A very enjoyable, unique, incredibly exotic, surprisingly inexpensive toy. But a Sterling just isn't configured to be a practical car. It has NO storage space and never could. It's a little scary to drive in traffic because it is so low. It's a tight squeeze that takes a little getting used to. But who cares about these things. It's fun, and it looks cool, and it generates a buzz.
A person gets very few chances to have/buy/biuld a car that gets as much attention as a Testarossa...for under $10,000.
My advice and challenge to you (or any of us) is to find a Sterling, bring it back to life, and gradually refine it in as many ways as you can. The car doesn't need to be re-engineered. But work on your engine until it is strong and reliable. Work on you interior until a person can't tell "it's a kit car." Give it A/C. Tweak it until it's water-tight. Work on you lights and little styling embelishments until, again, people can't quite figure out if you built the car or whether it just came from some exotic design house from a far off land. ...Or from a purist standpoint, just restore it back to being a beautiful specimen of the very well-built, 37-year-old kit that it is.
A Sterling is not a practical car. But it is a very rewarding project that, without spending a fortune, you can modify to fit you like a glove and have any little styling accents that suite your fancy. If a person wants a MUCH better all 'round daily driver sports car, still for less than a fortune, just get a Corvette that's a few years old. But I guarentee I can make that Corvette seems like it's invisable by parking my Sterling next to it.
You asked a lot of good, general questions. Let us know if you need any more specifics. I'm the guy with the red rotary Sterling, so I'm the default semi-guru on that particular modification.
--Warren / farfegnubbin
