Customs Hardtop Conversions Picture and idea thread

I gotta decide if I am gonna finish up the side glass on my newly aqquired 51 Chevy or rework it and put door tops back on it...I have to make it weatherproof it rains too much here ! James D did an awesome photoshop for me with some Matranga stlye windows....its seems to be kind of a lost black art , making window and vent frames from scratch, just felt like I cant be the only person who is looking for Ideas and pics of chopped and hardtopped sleds, so please post what ya got, ideas or pics! Heres the Chevy and JamesD's cool photoshop...

 

Cool.....

 

The top of the door is already on the car. it looks like they were welded to the roof. So thats gonna be a hard fix. look at this link.

http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_...om_cars/40-41_chevy_customs/the_cleatus_hard/

 

is the first one a photoshop as well? I'm not seeing how the vent window opens with the door.

 

I'm working on Merc now, that I did coupe to hardtop change.
You should start at the A pillar first,so part of it will open
as door opens with the vent window

 

This is how His vent is NOW

 

That is freakin crazy!!! What were they thinking?!?!

The JamesD photoshop looks great! If you can pull that off it would be killer

 

it says "James D did an awesome photoshop for me with some Matranga stlye windows...."


the first one is not Matranga style windows.

edit: holey moley! who the fuck did that? that is the poster child for how not to hardtop a post car.

 

Interesting......

Whelp, since the door is already cut up, and you want to seal it up better than it is, here is what I'd think about.


1) Front doors:
To do something different with the vent window, what about 1 piece glass, or better yet, 2 pieces that are stuck together with a trim piece where the vent window divider bar is. this would keep the angle on the door and make it easier to impliment.

This would allow you to patch the door back together and have the weather proofing your looking for. Only problem is the glass when it's rolled up, which would go into the felt U channel that's stuck to the body.
Right?
Heres a solution for that.
My neighbors 2010 camaro has a feature that rolls the window down 1/2" when you go to open the door, it's triggered off the door handle or remote. This might be tough to impliment, but doable with power windows.

OR....Start cutting up the roof/door surounds. I would think it possible to use a stock hard top weather seal piece?

2) On to the back 1/4 windows,
A clever guy could find some pivoting regulators, but I think your glass is to long horizontaly to work fully.
Perhaps running the windows up and down at an angle like I did with mine?
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=451828

The seal between the front and back windows should be easier than everything else, one that pops to mind is Dad's '65 chevelle hardtop, should be easy to get that part.

Best of luck.
Thom

 

Hey! Just like a '56 F100! "Knee Knocker"! That's what that looked like to me in '56 when I saw the cars and trucks...but it didn't keep me from owning six '56 Ford cars, although my F100 is a '55.
But that looks real strange on this Chevy....bet it gets lots of comments from Joe Public...

 

i fuckin did that!!!!why is it not the way to hard top a car??the hard top is done just like alot i've seen,except for the vent widows,which are like any wrap around windsheild in the late fifties.when the door os closed you can't even tell because the cut line is below the stainless.ya it leaks ,i didn't care and 2 years i haven't ripped open my knee like others have suggested.love how some people bash others cars but don;t give any advice on how to do it different.i'm open to suggestions for next time

 

Frankly, because you got the look, but didn't follow through with your design to retain functionality.
Every day is not a sunny day and with a lot of water inside the doors and floorboards, your hard work wont last more than 5 years.

The other cars don't intrude into the door opening quite that far.

But you do now?
mark this one up as a learning experience and move on.

Keep that attitude, and you'll go far young grasshopper

 

I'm a fan of the hardtop conversion. I'm a bigger fan of the hardtop conversion with vent windows that operate.

Here is Stefan T's thread on his Ford...it is excellent and shows some stuff that I can't put in words correctly.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=410348

I believe he intends on operational (up/down) rear windows. Some just use slide in rear windows.

 

Kartsa's Buick is hard-topped but he still has the drip rails on it... looks good.
Sure without it it would look a bit smoother. But he is from Finland, and the weather there is now SoCal. weather either.

Janne Kutja Photo

 

Rik do you know if Karsta's door tops are stationary or do they roll down with the glass ? I beleive on the Hirohata Merc the chrome frame stays up whan the glass is rolled down?

 

Stefans work is beautiful ...I doubt my tools or skill level will allow me to build the cool shit he does lol, I have been following his thread since the beginning , he designs everything by computer...I cant (dont) even draw what I plan to do with a pencil

 

A friend of mine has a 50 parts car that I can steal the doors and B pillar top section from if I want to put full door tops back on...the doors are rusty but the tops are good ....I was planning to do that till JamesD did that bitchin photoshop !! Now I am just confused lol!

Hey Rik would you be able to do a quikie photochop with door tops on and a slanted B pillar?

 

Steve I running into the same issue with my merc project. I been looking around for ideas on the roof chrome with the rubber. My plan is to make my back glass slide in and the front will roll up to it. There were a lot of late 50`s and 60`s cars that had the small chrome trim around the windows.I plan on tring to find some of these and use it on my project.I just need to figure out what different years will work. been looking at anything that has a hard top!!

One thing I can say that will help keep the rain out is something your not a lover of and that is drip rails!! I running mine from the base of the front glass to around the rear glass. Me I like them cause without drip rails I find the roof looks to thick.

 

that look would be awsome,would have like to see something like that when i started,come on steve don' tell me in that warped kustom head you can't figure out howto do that.i think some 60's hardtops may have some usable roof rails,rubber, like the caddy ones,start walkin the yards

 

Well, you could cut up into the roof and reinstall the door tops, maybe a little narrower though? Just a thought.

 

Mine started out in worse shape than yours!
I spent a lot of time thinking about how to hard top mine, but I realized it was to much work for the payout and did the slanted B pillars. I'd rather drive it sooner


Sounds like you've already got your answer!
Good luck




Sent from my iPod touch using TJJ

 

Haha no shit eh ! Problem around here is not alot in the way of yards to pick through....havent been here long enough to know all the good hiding spots yet ! I think I may pop into the local metal supply shop next week an see what they might have in the way of stainless and steel stock...I think I am spending too much time thinking lol need to spend more time doing, got the plates for it yesterday so shes "legal" now Went for a little rip tonight !

 

What did you use in the way of stainless or steel trim ? Hom made or did you adapt stuff? Looks nice by the way!

 

Did you start to hard top it or were you just contemplating it? Looks great by the way!

 

Thanks!

 

--------------------------------------------------------------
Worked in a large sheetmetal shop. used 16ga 2b s/s
formed on a press brake with a knife die

 

Naw, the b pillars were kinda tacked in when I got it. Even Had one side in a few pieces so I constipated about it for quite a while till I decided to just put it together.

Thanks mang.


Sent from my iPod touch using TJJ

 

Im still finishing the chop an working on vent windows right now. Door an quarter windows are on the horizon.

 

First you must decided if you want a door vent window or go to an one pice glass. The one pice glass will be easier to do and will also seal better. You can install a felt U channel in the roof for a water tight seal but the neg is you will have to roll the window down a little bit before opening or closing it. If you decided to use a vent window i would fab up steel frames around all the side glass simulare to 60/70s convertables & hartops. This style requires a L shaped seal in the roof so the doors can be opened or closed at any time but when the windows are down you will see the L shaped seal and when up a small gap bettwen the body and window frames. For the seal bettwen the front glass and quarter i donot put them on the quarter glass i put them on the door glass so it is not seen but you must rember to roll the door glass all the way down before opening or closing the door.