would you share more info on the rain gutters?I'm trying to get information so the wife and I can make a top with side curtains for my 27 T RPU.With 40+ years as an industrial s***cher making everything from wedding gowns to Buffallo hide gun and knife sheaths I'm sure with enough info she can s***ch up my top.Her first "hot rod "job was at 14 s***ching the tuck n roll interior of her older brothers T bucket!
They are fairly easy to do. Just take a piece of top material about 1 1/2" wide and fold it in half. I usually glue it so it lays flat. The ends are cut at a tapper to flow out of the binding where you want it to start and stop. Sharp tapper in the front to come out of the binding quickly and a longer tapper at the rear. Check out a Chryler Sebring. they have rain gutters on the top. They are sewn on last with the binding. These are the best closeups I have right now. Hope they help. Click on the picture and it should enlarge.
Damn computers....garage computer didn't like me downloading all of the pictures so lets try it from the house. Here is the snaps that we got from the hardware store. Kinda spendy but Im sure if I had planned better you could get them in bulk cheaper. And here it is pretty much done. It still needs some padding and adjusting in spots.
Don't forget, you can put the side bars on about anything and you can do the tops sides however you like for what ever you are putting it on. That's it for now. Maybe more later today. I might even take it for a spin, Its above ZERO today!!!!!
Man I love how that top came out...! I'm enjoying the "Above Zero" single digit "Heat Wave" as well... might go water skiing...!
WOW! I got it to open on my house computer. Why didn't you tell me about that earlier! It would have helped me a ton! Anyway.....Thanks for the heads -up.
Thanks! I think it turned out pretty good for a couple of rookies.... I bet the only water you have around, is in your sink!
Ya....Im not sure how much the back window is going to help either. I better get looking for some mirrors.
Lake Michigan still has open water... but you have to fight off the "Surfers"...!!! <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tl4f3JlWdHQ&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Tl4f3JlWdHQ&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/YunBW7ELDzo&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/YunBW7ELDzo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Sorry, I just found it last night. I have been thinking about this exact build for some time. Another guy mentioned Speedway in this thread...so I went and checked out what it costs. Low and behold, directions!!!
Any tips on poking the holes for the back window? Hole punch? Very hot poky thing? that might melt the material back together?
Fun car. I liked driving it and bet is has very few miles, NEVER see it out on the road. Nice work as always roy.
anyone care to add details on the construction/attachment of side curtains?I have been looking at tops and have some ideas on how to go BUT I try using the HAMB as a journeymans training in the old sense.In the day of Guilds training a tradesman had to travel from shop to shop for a set number of years learning the different ways other Masters worked before he could get his Masters license.I'm looking for different ideas for top construction
Not traditional but I have seen and helped make some lexan flip down curtains. You can hang em from the top with something as simple as a zip tie. Tape the front seam if you will driving all day in the rain.
Thanks all! Anyone care to post some pictures of a back window that is NOT in the car. Im just curious if mine is going to work right. Now that I have the screw holes in it.....
This is the rear window in the top I built for my roadster pickup. The actual gl*** area is 6 1/2" high x 18 1/2" wide. I can see everything I need to with no trouble, and it really didn't need to be that high. However, I have side mirrors on the windshield posts and they get used a lot also. I find the real secret to this type of window is to install the inside rear view mirror first and figure out exactly where the rear window has to go before cutting the hole for it. Its real easy to get the window too high or to low.---Brian
There is an inner and an outer aluminum frame that screw together and clamp the top material between them. The gl*** is standard automotive safety gl***, somewhere between 3/16" and 1/4" thick. I do NOT like lexan---it clouds and scratches too easy. I have had that top on for 4 years now, and the roadster sees about 3000 miles each summer, and it has never torn out, sagged, or created any problems. I paid an arm and a leg for that damned frame (close to $400 Canadian) from an outfit in British Columbia. I had to swallow pretty hard to pay that kind of price, but I gotta say, it is top notch stuff, and has never given me any grief.
The Jalopy Journal
