[flash]

i have long thought about making a removable hard top for the cabriolet, but it has always been a back burner kind of thing. recently i have brought it more toward the front.



this unit would be street quality fit. (remember, i want one for my own car, and i'm pretty demanding)

it would have a padded cloth headliner (probably black)

it would be paintable, and come to you either black gel coat (requiring you to finish it for paint) or finished grey primer. i'm not sure yet

it would attach at the front just like OEM

it would attach at the rear either to the cab chassis brace, or the upper seat belt mounting points (not sure yet)

it would have a glass rear window (possibly heated - i just have to work out the wiring)

the soft top would stay in place in the "down" position"during hard top use. not sure about the boot cover yet



these will be made one at a time, and take about 2 weeks each.

i don't know the shipping yet

price would probably be about $2500 or so each



please let me know if you are interested, so i can plan accordingly (serious interest only please - serious means you would buy one NOW if they were available). before i spend the thousands of dollars to work this out, and make a production mold, versus a one-off, i'd like to know if i am just doing it for myself or not.



email if you are interested at sales@design1racing.com

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[blau]

That's a cool project idea, and worked well for the 911 cabriolets...







I haven't seen a Boxster hardtop that I like, and the 996 cabriolet hardtop looks awkward.



If I had a cab, I would be most interested in a "Spyder" conversion to completely remove the cab top and all of it's weight and mechanical failure, with added speedhumps and a bikini top a la the Boxster Spyder...but I don't own a cab so that takes me out of your target demographic. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/smile.png" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

this one would probably look a lot like the miata unit. it would essentially be the same profile as the soft top, but without the ridges

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[94SilverCab]

Miata had two "bumper" on the rear deck to catch the hard top. My Miata hard top lived in the garage the whole time I owned the car.



Jay

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[flash]

yeah - a lot of them do that. it's not something you take on and off every day. it's more something you put on and leave on for a season.



the primary reasoning for me is for sound. i want the cabin quieter most of the time.



i'm happy to do a one-off and be the only one in the world. no sweat. but, i would be doing it a lot differently than if i was making more than one. hence, the query.



either way, no worries.

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[94SilverCab]

MIatas were also known for the tops rubbing the rear deck paint...just a caveat.



Jay

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[flash]

all of the tops i've seen do that, and for the same reason. it's a design thing. i have an idea for a solution though.

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[cosimo]

It's called a coupe!

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[flash]

lol - if only they ever made one. the trunk is the essential missing component. i don't like hatchbacks, and they are not coupes (deriving from the french "to cut" and requiring being a shorter version of a longer sedan type car) i want a coupe. in my perfect world, it would be a targa coupe.



failing that, i am considering making a removable hard top. i am also looking into sound deadening materials for the soft top. since i already had a zip out rear window installed, if i could quiet it down sufficiently, i would be fine, and this project would die.

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[Langley968]

I would be interested, providing the rear attachment points would be "similar" to what the Miata has.

My daughter's Miata hardtop is very easy to install and remove with two people. I have even done it once by myself.

Someone I know has an older MB convertible that he removes the hardtop via a rope & pulley system he intalled on his garage ceiling - super easy to use.

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[ds968]

If Porsche calls it a coupe, it's a coupe ! ..whether or not you feel it's technically a misnomer. The origin of that word as it relates to cars has not been relevant for nearly half a century and that's why any and all closed body, permamnent roof, two door cars ( 2 seat, 2+2 seats, etc.) are called coupes by every auto manufacturer. All two door hatchbacks are coupes ( the location of the "cut" and the length of the vehicle is also irrelevant ) and whether it has a visible trunk or not. It's a coupe . ( just as much as the ugly new Ferrari hatchback is a coupe :-) ). So your project is to build a removable hardtop targa convertible coupe, LOL

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[Inkedupfatboy]

Now if you could make a convertible hardtop - that would be cool. I would love a hard top, but can't justify the moolah right now.

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[flash]

ds968 - wrong! nissan called the 240SX a sportscar too. wrong again.



bush said nuk-u-lar. does that make it right? that's about as high as you go in authority.



the terms are the terms, regardless of who uses them incorrectly. repetition of error does not make it right.



they did that for marketing reasons. "sedan" isn't sexy and neither is "hatchback". they know that using those terms puts one's manhood in question, and most porsche buyers (read "911 buyers") are insecure to begin with.



a perfect example of a coupe is a 2 door 3 series bmw. the 4 door is a sedan.



almost nobody uses "coupe" anymore, for the obvious reasons that they are not shortened versions of a car.



by the way, they are starting to come back to the correct terms. one by one the manufacturers are grasping the concept of sport sedan instead of calling it a sports car.



a hardtop for the cab would be cool, and it would be as close to a coupe as we could get without major body work.



but we again digress.

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[Rap]

Bob next to you the highest authority is God! Lol

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[flash]

roflmao - now there is the single largest "source" of conflicting and confusing information

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[ds968]

Oh, oh..new product interest thread in danger of going into vomit territory :-) At least it's staying marginally on topic. Flash - completely wrong on all assumptions, except the Bush and " God " remarks ,LOL..on those points we agree wholeheartedly. That aside, I think the removable hardtop is a phenomenal idea and if I has a cab, I would jump at the chance of having something like that . Even if you build only one, just for your car, I think it'll be worth every bit of time and money you invest in the project. How about all carbon fiber ?

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[AJG]

[quote name='flash' timestamp='1379729921' post='149699']

ds968 - wrong! nissan called the 240SX a sportscar too. wrong again.



bush said nuk-u-lar. does that make it right? that's about as high as you go in authority.



the terms are the terms, regardless of who uses them incorrectly. repetition of error does not make it right.



they did that for marketing reasons. "sedan" isn't sexy and neither is "hatchback". they know that using those terms puts one's manhood in question, and most porsche buyers (read "911 buyers") are insecure to begin with.



a perfect example of a coupe is a 2 door 3 series bmw. the 4 door is a sedan.



almost nobody uses "coupe" anymore, for the obvious reasons that they are not shortened versions of a car.



by the way, they are starting to come back to the correct terms. one by one the manufacturers are grasping the concept of sport sedan instead of calling it a sports car.



a hardtop for the cab would be cool, and it would be as close to a coupe as we could get without major body work.



but we again digress.

[/quote]

That nut Bush didn't know his limits!

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[mbardeen]

I think a removable hardtop would be a great addition to the car. That said, my car is basically just a toy. In the past two years I don't think I've put more than 500 miles on it, almost exclusively on sunny days. Add to that the shipping costs and I think the ROI doesn't look very good for me.



If I was daily driving the car, then things would be different.



I wonder how many people daily drive their cabs?

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[lbpesq]

My Cab is my DD. My first impression of the hardtop idea is that it would make a huge difference how it attaches - if it attaches to the chassis brace (one of the two options mentioned by Flash), that would immediately rule it out for those of us, like me, that haven't added the brace. Then I thought about it some more and came to the conclusion that I probably wouldn't use it all that much. Since it never snows and rarely gets below 50 around here, the soft top is fine for me weather-wise. And I enjoy putting the top down on the occasionally warm winter days we get. As for sound improvement, as a musician I long ago gave up the quest for high quality sound in my cars. For that, I have my studio. My 968 is for highly enjoyable transportation. As long as I have my podcasts (Car Talk, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me), my latest band rehearsal recordings, and my satellite radio (Grateful Dead channel and A's games when I'm on the road), I'm a happy camper.

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[Rap]

DS I'm right on topic. Notice I used the words in that topic! All this chatter about making a cab a coupe. Seriously, are we seeing closet coupe lovers here or what?

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