anybody know what kind of material would be right for a period correct (early 50s) carson top? anybody here ever build one and want to share some pics and/or advice?
My dad had a '47 ford convert that was built by barris when new. He had the top redone at one time and was suprized by how crudely it was made. It was a genuine Houser's top too. He said there were pieces of bed frame and everything welded in there. Some of the bows were the oem top bows, at least the wood header was. Chicken wire gave it the shape.
In One of the new issues of "hop Up" mags theres an article on the orgin and procedure involved in GaylordCarson tops... I have it at home if you need the year...
that rod and custom link is perfect the build is almost self explanitory and the pics are clear. its the one i used to build my top but w/o the wood goodluck tatts
The only thing they dont tell you in that article is that that top that they show is hurtin. The shape of the 1/4 windows suck . Dont get me wrong I still nut over every car Scott Guildner does and I cant emphasize that enough. He probably didnt care after seeing the 77 Lincoln taillights. I bet he didnt do that.
thanks guys,,,as usual the hamb comes through!.....ron that article was just the thing i was looking for
Use the TECH resources here...Its what its there for...There was a huge post on it and somebody did it step by step showing an old school diagram of how the frame should be plus what materials were needed...
The article above is good, but if your NOT starting with a convertable you have to build the top stronger to tie the front and rear of the car together and make the top nonremovable, or do a lot of bracing between the body and chassis like a convert so that the top can be removed. Michael
THIS IS HELPING ME A LOT. THE RALPH JILEK 40. THANKS RIKSTER! PALLE http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_...ors/tom-sewell-interiors/ralph-jileks-40-for/
I built one 3 times on a 40 merc ...I tried the R+C article but using round tubing on the sides where the windows would go just didn't cut it ( and the upholstery guy didn't like it either) So I ended up using 3/4" square tubing and cutting one side out of it so I had a nice channel,cut reliefs in the side pieces so it could be made the shape I wanted for the side openings,and rewelded all the cuts back. This allowed for the top material to be wrapped into the channel as well as the headliner material. Then it could all be hidden with a rubber seal that was to be held in with screws. (never got around to that part though) I used conduit for the bows and general shape like in the R+C article. Then I covered it all with aviary wire,fiberglassed over that with newspaper and resin (the newspapers were just so the top could be dated a hundred years from now) then spray foamed over that. I shaped the spray foam to get the right look and the coated it with a couple of coats of elmers glue to seal the foam. Then I glassed over that with mat. Then I used some bondo to finish the shape. When I took it to the trimmer all he had to do was glue a thin layer of padding down and cover it. Not exactly traditional carson top,but because it was extremely long (think 4 dr sedan length) I built it very strong! I had it trimmed in white vinyl and always hated it as it just didn't have the right look. Should have used a convertible top material or hartz cloth.
I used 5/8" electrical conduit. Easy to bend,easy to weld,very lightweight when you're done. I made wood templates,cut the shape I wanted,then bent the pipe around them. It was for a VW,but the procedure is the same. It's still on the car,25 years later!
If you are going to build the top you should work with the guy who is going to cover it. You want to make sure the structure is something that can be covered with material. Sometime things my look good to you but the upholstery shop can't but a nice top on your creation. You should work with the upholstery shop so you don't have to do the job twice.
The Jalopy Journal
