Projects Building a foldable, stowable Roadster top

There were a whole buncha secondary mechanical designs in this project. And if it were not for the help, observations and critiques of many others, this would not have turned out as elegantly as I expect it to be. It's been like "eating as elephant". ..one bite at a time.

Also there has been several false starts where stuff didn't ,...or wouldn't work out.

I wanted the header to "embrace" the top windshield frame in order that the crown did not add too much visual bulk. The section drawing indicates that goal. Further, after imagining the hinge on the bottom surface and finding there was no hardware, a friend sent me this "sewing machine hinge" which lead to the idea of hinging on the vertical surface.



The hinges were brazed/soldered together and beat upon for an antique look. Note the coloring on the wood and other hardware parts to augment the car's color statement.
The header is upside-down in this view and had some modeling done to make it look less like a big slab of wood.
It took a fair amount of doodling to get the mechanism concept down to minimum number of parts. Especially to soft or attached parts that could be efficiently packaged. Refined from this cartoon, the strap that goes front to back, is now attached to the header and the Velcro loop is reversed at #1 bow and upon tensioning drives "stretcher #1a into the header receptacle.

 

Perhaps you noticed the strap material shown in one pic above. How cool is this stuff. Great color combo,
it's two inches wide and could lift a house. Very inexpensive too.

 

I have a thick header bar on my top. I made it thick so I could attach the wiper motor to it instead of the windshield. That way it is not there in front of you with the top off.
I took a trip in a friends roadster. The top drummed. I found that if you made the flow seperate anywhere on the top, high pressure would build and force the top down. I assume you are going to use snaps to hold the fabric to the header so it can be folded. Consider a spoiler that attaches under the header if you get drumming. It would be just for long trips and removable. It looks unlikely with the shape and webbing. Just trying to help.

 

Watching! I'm not a roadster owner, but the cleverness and the build quality have me hooked, I need to see this finished. Great job so far!

 

I appreciate any thoughtful input.
Keeping my fingers crossed on the drumming/flapping. Anticipating that, I can adjust "air in" via the cowl vent. Also the top sets slightly above the body at the corner where it wraps around to the trunk. You'll see that in following pics. And the mesh of he center panel allows for some normalization of pressure diff.

 

I'm curious, the last bow that hovers over the body, are you going to add stiff legs to keep it down where you want it or will it just be held with that strap? Seems like it would ride up without something more rigid holding it.

 

You geyser are gettin aheada me. That's an item in my next post,.....later today.

 

Sooooo,.....the idea was to make an attachment to secure the bottom hoop to the deck. Had to be easily removable without tools. This is what I came up with. Works pretty well and serves several more purposes.

the little cleat which you will see in following pics is not done yet. Ultimately will have some hand work and polishing. Still gotta figger a gaceful way to attach to the design line on the body.


I get a loop to hook the tensioning strap to and the tube portion slips over that trick hinge, rigidizing the hoop as per the other folding bows. The added flange is for mounting the snaps for the fabric top.

 

Earlier on, like a coupla years ago, a tonneau cover allowed protection of contents in the passenger seat, closure for overnight security and,....it looked cool in my opinion.
I couldn't bring myself to drill holes in the body for snaps so a hoop was bent up to carry the snaps. The hoop plugged into a little slot in the center of the cockpit surround and attached via two bolts and a bracket by my elbow.
That mounting point became the structural point for mounting the top as well.
A second bracket was fabricated for each side for attaching the top bows. Couldn't find any suitable clevises for attaching the bows so I had to make them.
The bows open from the folded configuration, the slip tubes moved over the hinges and then the bows are plugged into their respective clevises.
And here's the whole pile of components, sans top fabric.

 

Bill, absolutely brilliant.
I can hardly wait to see it all with fabric on it.

 

That shows a really good eye. Nice style and design. We see may failures and just bite the tongue, but you've nailed it.
Looks great.

 

Keith, you'll see the whole thing, in the flesh, next July.

 

You should sell these.

 

Great job! There's more engineering and work in your top than I got in my entire roadster!

 

Your illustrations are also top-notch.

 

Thanks all for the "atta boys"! Yeah, it's been a sometimes tedious journey but it's all self inflicted. I could be playing golf or some other stoopid frustrating endeavor.
One of the original parameters was to incorporate a mesh center section, allowing some overhead visibility,...think Bryce or The Redwoods, will providing some sun protection. Turns out there are many products out there that can do the job. I opted for 70% UV protection. I'm not worried too much about rain 'tho I have been thoroughly soaked a number of times. Sooo,....while at it, why not a storm cover for those really shitty days on the Oregon Coast. The concept really freaked many of the trim guys, "I dunno, never done or hearda dat before. I don't get it. You really wanna do that?", which got them immediately crossed off the list.
Shit!!! Seemed simple enough to me,....like a zip out lining in a jacket.
Roadster top with sun filter panel.

Roadster top with zip on storm cover.
These are PhotoShopped images. The orange line is where the zipper is for attaching the storm cover which will also include a clear vinyl window for some additional weather protection. The concept is working!
I'd always imagined the top to be tan Haartz cloth with a compatible color mesh,...like shown in earlier illustrations. Being a semi "anal" type, I could not find a mesh whose color suited my eye and that bummed me out, for awhile, 'cause I'd always pictured it in tan, like the tonneau cover.

Sooo, I threw in the towel and went safe, black!!!!!, and sure glad I did. Looks nasty. I likey!
This is as of about June 20, 2018

 

Funny I was just thinking about suggesting the very same thing only about an hour ago.

 

Huh,....... Pretty dadgum interesting !

 

The previous two images were mockups with black construction paper. That's when I felt good about changing the top color. I bought several colors of mesh because it was so inexpensive and I already had options in hand..
I'm thrilled with the trim guy, Rex Copemen. He has enthusiastically embraced the project and gracefully accepted my input. This is a great partnership and I'm certain the results will bear that out.
Also Rex's choice of transportation was a plus.

Rex used much of my old tonneau cover to mockup the panels. A lot of effort went into preventing the fabric from caving between the bows which was a priority. A whole lot of fussin was required to figger relationships and how to assemble the panels of canvas and mesh complicated by edge bindings, padding, snaps and Velcro.
Last pic shows the void for venting air above 100 mph

 

A coupla days ago, someone asked if my car was steel or glass. Sorry for the tardy response but I'll be damned if I can fine that question again. My car happens to be a Brookville,...but I see no reason why the same mod would not work on a glass car. I cut the blue out.

This all has to do with getting more leg room. I also sectioned the seat back so that it would slide beneath the rear of the cockpit opening.

 

DAM! This is some great......Can't wait to see photos of it all finished. You are very talented my friend..

 

Doah!!!!!!!!! ran into a bit of a snag, shit!!!!
We're buttoning the thing up and an issue that drives me nuts pops up. When pulling the canvas tight to attach to the Velcro at the top of the window opening, the fabric caves-in between the header and the first bow. Something we worked on between the other bows. This was a surprise.
Sooo,....we're going to take a few days off and do some head scratching. We're close and don't want to screw up what we've done.
Gimme a coupla days.

 

First phase done. Top survived 80 mph on North bound I-5. It's noisy like a coupe with the windows rolled down 'tho the top seems really solid. Major goals met. Love the stealthy look! Profile worked out perfect in my opinion.
The center, "storm cover" will be finished next week along with attending to a few bumps and warts that became apparent as all the fabric was tensioned.
I will be taking a chisel to the knuckle on the header that pushes on the canvas above the windshield post. Passenger side shown.

 

A lot of time, thought and work into this project... And it turned out great! Very nice work.

 

very nice job , thanks for sharing . I kinda like the little revile .

 

I like what you are doing. I threw out all the stops and bought a Bop Top from Sid Chavers in '11. The one big mistake I made was not making sure the wooden header was narrow enough to slip into the trunk diagonally. It is a bit over an inch too long so I can't store the top when I am out and about and want to go topless. I boxed in the trunk area and failed to measure before stretching the canvas over the header, and it is a pain in the ass not to be able to run open. I hope to see your work, maybe at El Mirage this year ? Good luck.

 

WOW! Late to the thread but great work. I just bought a frame off eBay and modified it to fit Model A body and it works fine. Works good to have zippered rear window to let air out on hot days.

 

There is always the option of a roll bar and a bikini top like jeeps use.

 

Is it easy to remove and install by yourself , or is it a two person job ?

 

I admit that I was a skeptic when you started but no more. The sunscreen/storm top is a brilliant, well thought out and adds character. Definitely very well done.