At 10:50 PM 5/25/98 EDT, you wrote:
>
> is it possible to make a targa like hard top setup for the tiger ?
> ... two pieces that fit together to make a hardtop
>... the back piece has the back glass window in it and a top piece
>... that acts like a removable targa slab.
>... the back part folds down into the body ... what i have in
> mind is solid.
>
... store the whole thing in the boot (trunk)
> a suitable bag in the "jump seat" area. You would not need the soft top
> if you had one of these 2 piece hard tops.
>
> has anyone ever thought or tried to do this ?
If you will forgive the fact that the top is on a V6 Alpine then I will
describe my kluge.
When I bought the alpine, the previous owner had attempted to
make a targa T top from what I believe was some TR-?? hard top.
It has a glass rear window. He had hammered , welded and bondoed the
leading edge to an Alpine front end of the rag top. The cutouts for the
two panels were a desaster and there was no extra bracing on the
6" wide "T" so it was very floppy when off the car. The panels
were just barely started. The top had the rear verticals of a rag top
welded near the rear edge of the side windows. The lower edge of the
top was cut to fit the Alpine body and the sides were cut to clear the
side windows
I finally cut the "T" off and re-enforced the remaining "clam-shell"
across the top with a contured 2"x1"x 1/8" angle iron. This angle iron
was welded to the top and to the side verticals. I added side rails from
a rag top to fit between the verticals and the normal windshield brackets.
I didn't have spare hardtop clamps, so I fabricated a set in stainless
steel. That was a fun task as I only had 1/8" SS to play with. For the
lever, I used my MIG welder with SS wire to build up the thickness.
After a LOT of grinding, welding and polishing I had a set of clamps
that look like the original hard top clamps.
The rear lower lip of the clam-shell is drilled to allow a pair of
SS rods
to mate with the trunk hinge top mounting holes. The rods are threaded
inside the top and a couple of nuts secure the rods. RTV seals the rods
to the metal top.
I took one of the top bows from an old rag top frame, added 1/8"x1/4"
x 2" extensions at each end. These ends fit into holes drilled in the
clam-shell
on each side. ( The bow was to hold the rag top up a bit about 6 inches
in front of the clam-shell at the top forward seam.
I used garage door seal material around the bottom of the clam-shell
as a top to body seal. This was a fairly soft gray plastic, but not a foam.
I used GOOP glue and SS screws to secure the seal to the clam-shell.
I took an old rag top with a bad plastic window and cut it off about
2" behind the rear seam. I folded the cut edge under and added
five "lift the dot" fasteners along the rear edge. Matching studs were
screwed into the center of the top, on both upper sides of the top
and a couple more splitting the distance between the side and center stud.
Therefore; I had a clam-shell hard top with glass window joined to
a rag top over my head.
It is nice to be able to see out the back glass. The setup is water
tight in the rain.
I can remove the 3/4 rag top and roll it up. I drop it behind the
seat. The clam-shell is too big to fit in the trunk. The clam-shell
without the rag top allows the hot sun to beat on my head and also
it is not near as windy as without a top altogether.
Just last night I had to repair the 3/4 rag top. The material around the
"Lift the dot" fasteners was tearing out. I did a lot of sewing to re
enforce the
fittings. I believe that I need 4 more fasteners to spread the load.
I had tried adhesive backed velcro, but that came off at the first
sunshiney day.
Here in Florida a vinel plastic rear window on a rag top lasts
about 1 year. A plexaglass hard top window is good for a couple
of years and a lexan window is good for a year or two.
Any one know of a nice glass window available for a normal
Tiger hard top? Maby the front safty glass from another car that
can be cut to size? ( I assume most tempered rear windows
can not be cut).
Jim Barrett Tiger II 351C and others
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