The workmanship looks excellent. I was wondering how the buttresses will sit on the back fender without scratching/scuffing the upper fender painted surfaces? I have owned ragtops with the optional hardtop and they all scuffed the painted surfaces of the back deck. Some use a plastic clear coat trim where the hardtop mouldings rest on the back deck....and even this coating gets scratched as sand & dirt collects in there from driving. Will the buttresses rest on the upper fender/have rubber mouldings/rest just clear of the fender?
The clearance seam is going to be very,very tight sort of like door seams. We are using some pretty cool gasketing techniques to address the wear and athstetic durability. Great question...
As you can see from the pictures the rear buttresses are still high. We are still in the fitting stage.
What is the hardtop weighing in at the present time? p.s. as you make mods on the hardtop be sure to post new pictures.
This is just my opinion. I think that 99% of convertibles are ugly as sin with the top up but they make up for it in many ways when the top is down. I like the appearance of this conversion as it follows the clean lines of the coupe. You know what they say about opinions.
Toby called me today to show me the hoop design. The pictures do not do this justice, the way the lines flow together with the support bar of the hoops is almost seamless. Even as a mock up (obviously there is a ton of work left to do) when you see it in person it is jaw dropping. The hoops will bolt into a crossbar that will span the inside back panel of the car. I will still retain my glovebox and original interior components. It is achieving the suttle updated aggressive looks and enhances the muscularity of the car in a tasteful way. What do you guys think? Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
What is the finish going to be on the roll bars? Will they be wrapped in leather? (I have seen Vettes custom rollbars finished this way and the look can be striking.) p.s. How heavy will be hardtop be? Will you be able to remove it without a ceiling hoist? (With the rag hardtops I have owned the hardtop has an aluminun inner frame and the fiberglass shell is bonded around the inner frame so all you see is a attatchment bracket. This makes the hardtop a little heavier but very sturdy with little flexing. Are you using an inner frame of any kind?) Looking good.
As far as the hoops go I think a brushed aluminum look is for me. The roof currently weighs less than 20lbs and we are shooting for a finished weight of 40 max because I will be removing/installing myself mostly. We've designed this Hinged arm that has rubber handlike grips so as to grip from the middle and the edge that you are standing at. The interior is going to be the coolest. we are developing it in sections so it looks factory yet it will be covering lightweight structural members which will be tied into the B pillars and at the front locking members. It shouldn't flex at all.
I thought this thread my be of some interest to you Jeff... http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=266353
Thankyou James, I have already purchased the glass from Ferrparts. If this turns out that enough people are interested in this top at the quality that we are doing for me than I'd imagine that I will need to find a good steady source of glass however I think if it is mass produced a select few will choose glass (like me) most would problably opt for lexan. In the meantime, I will continue to post pics at signifigant intervals of achievement and answer any questions as we are all learning at this stage and I like sharing this journey with the brotherhood and am open to seeking/giving advice.
Interesting stuff Jeff. I take it the roof is original from a donor car. When I saw your other post I thought you may have been going carbon fiber--still 40 lbs. is pretty light. Lots of pics please & hope we can see you out on some of our drives--you are in London right?
so whats ther stroy on the car? it looks as though it is pretty rough in pics? was it wrecked? abused? or is it just me and my eyes?
Absolutely loving what you are doing with the hard top bro, brilliant so far But for the life of me i will never like any form of roll hoops on a 355 spider. With out a doubt the hoops will spoil the beautiful view from the side of that classic lined of the spider. And by the looks of them on your car, they sit a good 5in above the seat head rests Shame another fixing point cant be used. Your giving the car something special (the roof), then taking it away were its most beautiful with the roof down by using hoops Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
LoL!! That looks really funny. Honestly, the hoops on my car are waaayyyy more attractive, the pictures do not do it justice. The hoops are not part of the fastening system, it is completely separate. On Wednesday there will be some amazing revelations as we have figured out two key issues, prepare to be absolutley amazed. Pics to follow. The hoops are removable and we use existing mounting points. The back is cleaned up and has the "tuck away" appearance as opposed to the baby buggy look. I can't wait to show you guys. The "donor" car is rough in appearance yet a mechanical monster. I wrapped it in flat black for the summer and drove it like I stole it for the whole summer, it was AWESOME. I shift at 5900 rpm at almost every shift. The running gear oils will be changed this winter and it is going in for a first class paint job. This roof is modified from an original car and once done we can make carbon fibre and or resins, aluminum etc... Mine is a "track version" with clip on door bars that will go to the floor for when I track. Pics as we go. Stay tuned!!! BTW, the drivers seat is 38mm closer to the center than the passenger seat. And the spider is wider than the Berlinetta, (just things you would not normally discover).
We are working through a design change on the cover cap section, the profile has been lowered hense the pics delay. I will be using a plexi glass- glass in the rear now because with the improved roof off look we needed to shorten the glass seat slightly. Pics are coming. I now have rear glass with defog forsale if anyone is interested.
Very cool project, looking great! Of course I would say just buy a GTB in the first place, but I'm biased
Jeff, I am just seeing this now and I am excited to see the outcome - so far, it looks awesome!!! If you can reproduce your hard top top, and it will work with a stock car's soft top in place, SIGN ME UP and put me on the list - it really looks awesome so far. I like the roll hoops, but I think I would only go this route if I could keep everything else stock (i.e. soft top and mechanism). I am looking forward to the new pics!
