[rthompsonjr]

Ok so I'm 6'3" and at some point I'm planning on a roll bar, seats and harness so I can do NASA HPDE. Problem being that even the HDHC isn't tall enough for me, even with a Ultrasheild seat (I've sat in a club member's car with the setup). I also really want a hard top at some point and would be ok with just having a coupe.

I was wondering about having a custom roll bar done that would clear my helmet and then having an aluminum hardtop made around the bar that would be permanent. I figure it could use the roll bar as the main support and smaller steel tubing to create the door frames and nessisary other supports. I have a freind who can do the roll bar and steel frame, so I'd just being paying a bodyshop to do the skin and paint. Since hardtops are going for 800 or alot more plus shipping, the whole cost wouldn't be that much different by my estimation.

Am I nuts? Does this sound like a somewhat reasonable idea?

Thanks!

 

[leatherface24]

New ideas are great. That seems like a feasable plan. Just remeber though, it ALWAYS costs more than you think! Now get to work lol

 

[khorton]

If I was going to do that, I'd make the hardtop a 'double bubble' like the Fiat Abarth Zagato coupe. It would be more difficult to fabricate, but if you're going custom anyway...

http://home.teleport.com/~pkust/Fiat Abarth Zagato 750GT.htm

 

[LUV2TURN]

If I was going to do that, I'd make the hardtop a 'double bubble' like the Fiat Abarth Zagato coupe. It would be more difficult to fabricate, but if you're going custom anyway...

http://home.teleport.com/~pkust/Fiat Abarth Zagato 750GT.htm

Haha, why go so far as to mention a POS abarth. Just look at the Dodge Viper.

 

[FooSchnickens]

If I was going to do that, I'd make the hardtop a 'double bubble' like the Fiat Abarth Zagato coupe. It would be more difficult to fabricate, but if you're going custom anyway...

http://home.teleport.com/~pkust/Fiat Abarth Zagato 750GT.htm

Haha, why go so far as to mention a POS abarth. Just look at the Dodge Viper.

Oh, so now we're talking about TWO POSs :lol:

 

[Bryan]

There is not really a way you could make a permanent hard top, at least not that anyone's figured out. Now, could you figure out how to make a custom hardtop that anchors to the stock locations? Sure. The problem is that there really is no way to permanently bond the fibreglass hardtop and the rest of the car, partially because the car flexes over bumps, and the stock hardtop is built to take this. Any kind of bond that is not a hard mount would crack and break over a rather short time.

Basically, if you are going to make a bar that won't allow you to use the hardtop or your soft top, you could make a custom hardtop and run it all the time (because you'd have no other top to use), but there's simply no way you could make a full coupe out of your Roadster.

BTW...I wouldn't expect to be able to do this cheap, just to be honest.

One more question before you get moving; was the Ultrashield mounted on the floor or the stock sliders? If you said "stock sliders," you should honestly try the [much cheaper] route of mounting a seat to the floor first.

 

[rthompsonjr]

Direct mount to the floor on the seat.

You don't think that a aluminum top welded to the windshield frame and the body would be able to survive flexing and twisting? Expecially if the frame also tied into the chassis?

 

[Bryan]

You don't think that a aluminum top welded to the windshield frame and the body would be able to survive flexing and twisting? Expecially if the frame also tied into the chassis?

Keep in mind, it's also tied to the rear of the car as well (where there is almost twice as much area in contact). Essentially, a.) I don't think you can do it, and b.) Even if you could, it'd have cracks and bends within a couple weeks.

That says nothing about whether or not you even could weld it to the frame.

 

[rthompsonjr]

So how do OEMs make coupes then? You Dont think that a 4 point roll bar and a smaller tubular steel frame tied into the windshield frame, body and chassis would be nearly as stiff as a unibody?