Anyone ever chopped an A Sport Coupe and then put the canvas (or whatever material it is) top on it? Is there someone that sells chopped canvas tops. I was wondering if someone sold chopped wood (that sounds hilarious - chopped wood). I wanted to keep that canvas look but haven't found anyone that sells it. Or would I have to have it custom made? I think I can handle modifying the wood frame. The canvas? I couldn't do that.
I was going to cut the wood and put a new canvas top on mine. Basically you could cut the bottom of the canvas to get the hieght you needed. the back window is the only area you may have a problem with a premade top. Any Upholsterer could make you a new top to custom fit your cut down wood. Here's my sport coupe. I made a fibergl*** top that lifts off. Clark
Wow...Clark that IS nice - good job. And, the window is exactly the part I was worried about. I guess I'll talk to some upholstery guys and see what they can do before I chop it. I wouldn't think it'd be too hard for them to make, though. I was think about only taking out 2 inches. I'm 6-4 and really want to keep from pulling a Dino (Flintstones) and having to stick my head through the roof.
You could also call the companies that make the tops and see if you could get a blank panel where the back window is. Then you could cut in a window like I have from a roadster. The original top for mine had a plastic back window. Thanks for the compliments on my car. FWI it's chopped 3 inches but leaning the posts made a big difference. Clark
3 inches? Hmmm....that looks like I could fit in that. I think how much I can chop it will depend on the seats I put in it and how high they sit. I've also thought about leaning the posts. But, I don't plan to have that much rake in my plan, so I may not have to do that. Plus, I don't think I have the skilz for that one. I haven't even welded anything yet (yeah...I know....). In any case, thanks for the help.
Have a look at this post recently discussing much the same thing. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=269236 Mine is chopped 3 inches. I slimmed the seat down by removing the original springs and used 3" high density foam instead which gives me plenty of headroom. It still has the seat riser as I found that a useful place to put the regulator and fusebox. The front panel of the riser holds my switches and stuff as well. You may find you have to remove that though being taller than me as I only stand around 5'11". My top came from Macs though LeBaron Bonney sell them as well and will send you samples of fabrics if you ask them. As for modifying the top, the only alteration apart from the rear window is to trim the bottom edge around the rear pillars. The rear panel tacks to the main bow and comes with an unfinished edge, so if you can get a windowless panel it can just be trimmed accordingly. You'll have to shorten the zips the respective amount as well. Here's the "brief "how to" I posted on the previous thread to save you going back and forth.
The Jalopy Journal
