It's late and I'm kickin around ideas for replacing the ****py roof fill on my car and I remembered seeing a wagon at Indy Goodguys that had a retractable cloth roof that was actually pretty cool. It looked like it had aluminum rails on both sides but I don't know how they secure or work. Thought it might be kinda fun if I could make it look like an upholstered roof fill but have it retract for some sunshine. Seemed like it wouldn't be too hard and the Germans usually do stuff pretty well. Plus the Colts new stadium is gonna have a retractable roof so it's kind of a peer pressure thing for me here in Indy. Just wish I could get an $800M budget like they did...
thats kind of funny i was just thinking about a cloth vw sunroof as i drove past a place where there was a vw that was wrecked and had one. tomorrow i plan to buy a vw magize just to get some more info on them.
thats called a sliding rag top.. they are really cool but unless you have a really narrow car the stock vw one isnt gonna work.. if you search for sliding ragtop you'll find that theres at least one company making these for other cars, in custom widths and lengths.. a few years ago I looked into a kit.. it was around 800 for the sliders, the latch and material ready to go.. I was only 799.99 short I always thought one of these would be cool in a 46 - 48 ford sedan..
the problem you're gonna run into is that the rails on the beetle ragtop are curved to fit the beetle profile. both front to rear and side to side. the tops work great. they seal up nicely. i just sold a couple not too long ago. check www.thesamba.com cl***ifieds, you'll surely find one. i know you'll find some pics in the gallery.
oh yeah, street beat use to make aftermarket ragtops. i had a huge canvas one in a blazer, but the quality ****ed compared to my stock vw ones
Thought it might work on the 35 Ford sedan. Didn't think about all the curves. If I can see how it works, I'm sure I can make something. Glad to know I'm not the only one thinking about this.
From what I understand the street beat ones leak BAD. There was another company making them (german?) that were much better. I think it was Brittax? Not sure. I want to do the same to my plymouth, but it rans a lot in florida.
I put one of the Street Beat rags in my VW when I had it and it was a pile of ****!!! Stay away from them!
[ QUOTE ] oh yeah, street beat use to make aftermarket ragtops. i had a huge canvas one in a blazer, but the quality ****ed compared to my stock vw ones [/ QUOTE ] We too have a StreetBeat (came with the car). I've heard about the leaking issue time and time again as well..... It also looks to be pretty complicated to put in. Lemme give you an idea of the directions - ****ty pictures, even worse descriptions, not to mention the part that says "YOU SHOULD HAVE A PROFESSIONAL INTERIOR SHOP INSTALL THIS". Umm...ok.
street beats do **** don't bother. brittax is much better. there are a couple other to that are supposedly pretty good. oglile here on the hamb has one in his buick i think maybe try and locate him with a pm and ask him where his came from. and the lowrider crowd have used them off and on for a while so you may find some clues there to...ken....
Is that a early 60s buick luckystiff? That car kicks ***. It was the first time I had seen a lowrider with a sliding roof. Scoob, I have thought the same thing on a sedan.
There was THREE types of VW sliding canvas sunroofs- (1) makes three folds, when slid back, and had four square corners, That one was used from 1950 to 1955, and a complete set of rails, sliders, latches, etc will set you back close to $1k (no, I'm not kidding) (2) 1956 ONLY sunroof, rounded corners in front, square corners in back. (The 1956 guys have drivien the prices up on these, but you might find one that the guy has no idea what it is, he thinks it's just a "VW sunroof" (3) the 1957-1963- With only small changes to the handle, thses stayed the same, and are by far the most common. Probably around $300.00 complete, and you supply the new canvas/vinyl cover. The aluminum rails can be carefully flattened out and re-polished, to fit the contour of the roof you want to put it on. There is a new business, called EIS (Econo International Supply) that has reproduction sunroof rails, I believe they are $80.00 for all four pieces( the longer ones for the front, and the shorter ones in back) but you'll still have to find the actual guts- http://www.eisparts.com
[ QUOTE ] There was THREE types of VW sliding canvas sunroofs- (1) makes three folds, when slid back, and had four square corners, That one was used from 1950 to 1955, and a complete set of rails, sliders, latches, etc will set you back close to $1k (no, I'm not kidding) (2) 1956 ONLY sunroof, rounded corners in front, square corners in back. (The 1956 guys have drivien the prices up on these, but you might find one that the guy has no idea what it is, he thinks it's just a "VW sunroof" (3) the 1957-1963- With only small changes to the handle, thses stayed the same, and are by far the most common. Probably around $300.00 complete, and you supply the new canvas/vinyl cover. The aluminum rails can be carefully flattened out and re-polished, to fit the contour of the roof you want to put it on. There is a new business, called EIS (Econo International Supply) that has reproduction sunroof rails, I believe they are $80.00 for all four pieces( the longer ones for the front, and the shorter ones in back) but you'll still have to find the actual guts- http://www.eisparts.com [/ QUOTE ] Hey than what size was in my 47??? Just kidding. It had the large 3 fold with square corners.
Scoob, we were gonna do that to the Tommi Gunn. does anyone have good pics of the rails? maybe we could just make some.
Sliding tops came in some Deluxe VW busses too. They might have a little side-to-side curve but should be basically flat from front to back. The bus roof (length & width) would seem to closely resemble the roof of an early Ford sedan. JH
problem is, with bus stuff, it's pricey. those guys are rabid for anything deluxe bus. it would probably be better for your application as the top is actually wider than a beetle.
I just measured mine, it's 38 wide and 42 long. I think too, you could straighten the rails for a flatter roof. Guesses listed before on prices are pretty close. Vws use drain tubes in the corners that run down the windshield posts. Why not just have a canv*** cover made that snaps on like a truckbed cover?
As mentioned before, Street Beat will custom build to size, buddy had a 6ft on his wagon but they are junk (several friends had them in their rides (wagons, trucks, imports) all leaked.) plus the latch mechanism were also ****ty. Britax is what you want but I do not know if it is possible to find them anymore... maybe some of our European friends may know..(several of their cars came with sliding tops). I think they came in BMW, early Golfs and others. I have thought about one for my sedan for a temporary piece (until its painted and I put a real top on it, but $800 for a temporary top is alittle to much.)
[ QUOTE ] webasto.com [/ QUOTE ] Webasto is the company that invented this kind of sunroof and they made them for most Euro cars. They even made one for the '71 Buick Skylark; a model called the Sun Coupe. http://www.webasto.us/press/en/am_auto_sunroofs_485.html
yep. that be mr og lil e. one of the good ol guys from the hamb you don't see around much anymore. to bad as he is in the small group of us that think on a same level of certain things...ken....
Hey Luckystiff, long time no see! I'm here all the time, just don't post much. Been busy putting new paint on the Buick. Looks much better now--lots more flake, kandy scallops and way better shine. I've also been hammering on my pickup, too. I've got most of the body straight, as well as shaved handles, emblems, louvered tailgate and shaved handle. I still need to french some antennas, make a kustom grille and a rear roll pan with a kustom rear grille. Also, I'll be shaving the taillights and frenching in some different ones. The front end is all new and it has been lowered. It's not low enough though. I'm still trying to decide if I want to go with air bags or hydros like in my Buick. Lots to do............ Anyway, about the sunroof in my Buick. I bought it from Street Beat, and it has been in my kar going on 6 years. I have had pretty good luck with it for the most part. The only time water gets in is if I shoot water across the roof from side to side at the car wash. It does get a bit noisy when rolling with it closed and the wind is blowing, but not really much worse than a convertible. As far as the quality goes, I think Street Beat's quality may be slipping some. I put in another sliding rag in my old '50 Plymouth back in '96. It was built very well. I ordered the one for my Buick in '99 and it just didn't seem to be built as well. The release handle definitely needs improvement. The handle that you turn on mine stripped out a long time ago, but luckily there is a bolt that the handle was attatched to. It has provision for an allen wrench and that's how I open it. They aren't that hard to install, but you really have to take your time and measure, measure, measure! Also, most of the job is going to take two guys, so you'll need a helper. Plan on a full day to install from start to finish just in case you hit a snag. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but I would put one in another kar in a heartbeat. Aside from the few problems that are ***ociated with these sunroofs, they are definitely worth it. There is nothing like coming out from work on a warm, sunny, summer evening and sliding it back and going for a cruise! Hope this helps you out some! Layta........................E
I know how most here feel about VW's, but here are some pics: I can take more specific shots if you need them... It's a car I'm currently playing with. The aluminimum rails are attached in the bottom of the sunroof channel and lay up onto the roof-- so it makes it real easy to install a clip from underneath-- you only need to metalwork/ bodywork 1 seam. The sides will be covered by the rails and the rear has the canvas mounting plate to hide your welds. I trimmed the clip with a small lip on it, measured the 'hole' and transfered it to the roof, cut the roof and punched little holes around the perimiter then rosette welded the clip under it. Last I took a cutoff wheel and cut the front seam thru both layers (roof and clip) and welded it shut. I have another VW we did that was and the top is tight and leak free. The clip is pretty flexable, you should be able to get it to conform to another shape roof, but probably not to one that was real flat side to side. The car in the pic has had it's roof extended 3" longer, so the front/ back curve is a little flatter. It conformed just fine.
damn Vortex, I see the stripes on the roof!!! You cut up Herbie the Love Bug?!?!?!? Great pictures though. Thanks for the insight. This oughtta help everybody out. I have done my annual mind change though and am selling that project off and building a Woody that I bought today (seems I might have twins on the way).
My girlfriend owns a VW bus, but it's in storage in New Mexico, making it hard to go get photos. I'd shoot detailed picts if I could. I have been kicking around a similar idea for my '32 truck: - model A style roof opening - cover with canvas insert - perimeter snaps - canvas cover rolls to open (no tracks) - secured with belt straps when open
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