[LivingDust]

Hi Guys,



Has anyone ever looked into making a hard-top that could be put on in place of the soft top? Obviously this would not be a top that goes up and down, but would be on or off.



Just wondering out loud....

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[BruceWard]

If you search 968.net you will find several posts on this topic.



Here are a few



http://65.61.16.109/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=7394



http://65.61.16.109/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8064



http://65.61.16.109/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=8997



http://65.61.16.109/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10906



http://65.61.16.109/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11545



Last time he posted Flash had shelved his $2K per unit carbon fiber hard top plans.



These guys look like the best possibility http://www.rennlight.com/hardtop/ but I still think mounting would be too difficult.

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[flash]

nah - worked out the mounting issues - the problem was cost - in order to get the material and fit and finish i wanted, the layup cost for the first unit was 3k - this could be spread out over a quantity of units



in the end each unit was going to cost about 1500 in quantities of 20, plus hardware (about another 500 each) and the rear window, (another 75 each), and the headliner and trim (another 100 each), so about 2200 or so plus shipping, handling and packaging



then you get to paint it



i just didn't see 20 people coming up with nearly 3 grand for a hard top - if i was wrong, let me know - i can still get it done

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[LivingDust]

Thanks for the 968.net posts. I checked them all out. One thing I did not see is whether Flash ever found the picture of one that he saw (maybe on a prototype?) I would really like to see what it would look like.



It is hard for me to imagine it on the car with the soft top folded up in place, since even folded the soft-top is very visible. If you take the soft top completely off, is it a manageable assembly? Or is it a mess? I am thinking something like a garage roof hoist to raise off the car and store it until I want it back on... (Same thing with the hard top.)



$3K is a bit on the high side, but if it looked right, I could still be interested. I think done right it could look great.

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[flash]

the only thing both eric and i seem to remember seeing is a picture of one in a very old magazine - neither of us had ever seen it in person



removal of the assembly is a mess - i wasn't going to do that in the design - i had worked it out so that the hard top would just rest over the soft top, with the boot cover in place, but unsnapped along the outside



3k each is the what the cost would be if we got 20 of them made, shipped, painted, yada yada - it's a lot more if it's only a couple of them - that was the problem - only 3 or 4 people wanted to even think about going there, and that pushed the cost up to almost 4k each - i dropped out at that point myself - the car has been in the rain a total of 3 times in its life - hardly justifies it to me



if we get 20 people together, then maybe we can look into this again - as time goes on though, and the cars become worth less, i fear the interest will wane, and not build

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[MAYAman]

[quote name='flash' date='Sep 16 2005, 09:29 AM']the only thing both eric and i seem to remember seeing is a picture of one in a very old magazine - neither of us had ever seen it in person



removal of the assembly is a mess - i wasn't going to do that in the design - i had worked it out so that the hard top would just rest over the soft top, with the boot cover in place, but unsnapped along the outside



3k each is the what the cost would be if we got 20 of them made, shipped, painted, yada yada - it's a lot more if it's only a couple of them - that was the problem - only 3 or 4 people wanted to even think about going there, and that pushed the cost up to almost 4k each - i dropped out at that point myself - the car has been in the rain a total of 3 times in its life - hardly justifies it to me



if we get 20 people together, then maybe we can look into this again - as time goes on though, and the cars become worth less, i fear the interest will wane, and not build

[right][post="9941"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]





It would all depend on looks. Do you have any drawings or rederings. I'd pay 3k for a well enginered piece.

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[flash]

i have no drawing or anything on it - we didn't get that far - not engouh people were ready to pony up



from memory only, since we can't find it, the pic looked just like the soft top in profile and contour - since neither of us has seen one in person, i can't attest to the engineering



i did talk at length with a guy who could do it - i can go back there - time and money - it would take a good bit of both

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