Gotta figure a better way for the top!

It hasn't been raised in a year. Today decided to put it up since we are in FALL season here. &^%$#*$#*&!!!! It finally went up but why can't I get it better on the middle of the window (been like this forever). Hence why I garage the car when it's cloudy.

There has to be a better way! I don't think using the center post is a solution but to have a center something that can PULL the top in taught would be a bonus. And one that when the top is folded this "thingy" would not be there..... Hmmmmmm

Another to add to roll up windows and heat over the LONG winter.

Just move far, far South to good ole US of A and forget about heat and a top! ACORN can set you up with a loan and ability to promptly vote plus you'll qualify for the new Obama Health Care -- over 60 years old?, not to worry (H1N1 will take you soon). Several folks here have added a third clamp to pull the bow in at the middle (along with some foam gasket in the channel).

Errrr..... I love you guize......but no!

Mike, my IM leaks in the rain too along the sides. I picked up a cover off Ebay for a Miata that just covers the top of the car. A lot easier than putting on a full cover and was about $50.

Mike, two things that worked for making my VS top go up and fit better:
1. I bought a NEW front fiberglass header bow from Kirk @ VS: WAY stiffer than the original and much better fit and rigidity...$50
and
2.I installed a center clip I bought from Kirk at the same time..same as the clips already on the header.

The header bow is a little work to remove the old & install the new one and get it stretched & glued so the top was tight, but well worth it: mine fits very well-no leaks across the front edge of the top.
Hope the pics help..
Doug

Hi Doug, I like the idea.....

Pain in the ass question but here goes!

Can someone that has roll up windows take a picture of their window regulator as well as a measurement of the base length? Looking for a project this winter. CIP sells Beetle regulators for about $40 a side and I think I may be able to fab a frame for the door and have glass or special lexan slide up between the door and my oak door sill....

The front of the door sill I may think about a trim/post that would snug the glass to the window post...

Look at JEGS or Summit Racing or even JC Whitney for the power window kits - vs going with windup regulators. I looked one time at the pictures of the Chesil UK kits (appears they are out of business as site no longer exists) and they seem to have an alloy/rubber piece that could be made to adapt glass to front windscreen posts. It look like a whole lot of work though.

Mike, I bought a power window kit off Ebay to use in my IM. Not the ones that turn the crank but very similar to this one... http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/COMPLETE-Street-Hot-Rat-Rod-Flat-Glass-Power-Window-Kit_W0QQitemZ310172521915QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item4837b915bb
You want the flat window kit. When it arrived I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was almost identical to the mechanism that was installed in my IM, except the IM had a crank.
I then bought crank switches from http://www.thehoffmangroup.com/autoloc/ they are about US$100 each and had to be modified a bit but that allows you to use the existing window cranks as the window switches.
For the window guides in the door I think you could likely use some from any car that has flat windows but with the electric kits like above I don't know that you'd actually need guides as the window is held pretty securely already. The Hot Rod supply places could likely tell you what they use.

For the spot where the glass meets the windshield post IM uses a rubber gasket, the kind that slips over a bracket which in their case (at least on my ealier car) is little more than a length of aluminum angle stock cut to length, painted black and then screwed onto the post. You can get the same gaskets from any supplier like JC Whitney or IM...they just sent me replacements for my car as I'm going to replace the windsheild so figure I might as well replace all gaskets while I'm at it.

When you close the door the leading edge of the window presses against this seal and creates a water seal, of sorts. If you go with the electric window kit mentioned above you can adjust the install to make the window fit rather tightly if you want...I just bent out the bracket holding the window till I got the fit I wanted. Little bit of trial and error.

Great idea Brian, thanks. Can put hidden switches, drivers side has both windows and passenger side 'her' window. Nice! I like it!

For the front post I was thinking about an alu/rubber piece that I can attach to the leading edge of the glass that would snug up to the post and when lowered (since it is attached) would disappear into the oak window sill I have and seal up....<----(This may not work) But a great idea!

As for a better latch...

I was thinking that a better latch with more of a reach would facilitate the closing of the top...maybe with a 1.5" reach...like on other cars. Maybe with a bigger pull handle as well that closes to the inside (right and left) as opposed to down towards the window. Sort of like what my Shitfire (Spitfire) had.

They are in San Gabriel....anyone want to pop by with a Speedster and see what they recommend?

You think? http://store.convertibleparts.com/top-latches-gm-top-latches.html
Ford Part ˇ
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/convertibleservice_2072_11903210

Shitfire! Ex bought one during one of our many separations, then she came back with it. Think we had it 6 months and each month the repair bills wre considerable.

Bent rear axle..2 in 2 months. New rear spring. Brakes, tune-ups, etc, etc. We took it Florida and when we got back we went to her mother's house first. Went to leave and hydraulic clutch was gone. Then the shop said it also had a cracked head and they were surprised we made it back.

The car was 2 years old. POS...but a fun little car when it ran.

Mike - the issue is not sealing at the windshield side, it's the placement of the latch mechanism on the back side. with it in the stock place for non-IM's, it's in the way of where the glass would go.

Is your latch mid-door or at the top like most?

Le Marteau - here's a tech tip that may save you some money on your window mechanism...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLsyM2Crhew

That's the shitznit! :)

I used the 1984 Suzuki Sidekick regulators and glass sills, then redremmeled the crank arbors to except 66 bug window cranks OR!!! You could just use the Sidekick handles.

But they do work sweetly

Jim, where do you find this shit! Funny...

Jim-how'd I miss that one. It IS funny.
(I'm gonna scavenge through the kitchen "junk" drawer...er, wife's special tool drawer...that's it...)

As for the heat problem..... I used Dr Clock's solution & it worked great!
I cut 2" holes on both sides of my "transmission tunnel", welded on female receivers. screwed on a couple of exhaust pipe "bends" and hooked my heater boxes right up. Next, I then cut openings near my feet in the cabin & added regular heater slide plates. The last photo shows the new duct after insulation.
Last winter when the out side air was 45*, I got the cabin temp. up to 75*. The slide plates are a must unless you feel the need to cook your feet!

I first did this on a VW powered Jag replica, the owner said the heat was hot enough to drive in a tee shirt~

Hey Doug!!!
From your photos I get the feeling that you're really on to something here.
Did you need to remove the alum. windshield frame to bend it open to accept the middle clamp?
Thanks, Ernie

Ernie, nope -- didn't have to touch the alum windshield frame at all: the center clip "hook" fit right in with no modification at all. I did file out the opening with the correct angle so the center clip would fit & pull correctly ( just match the end ones..).
The new fiberglass front top bow is way better than the orig one: not bad for $50 from Kirk.
Doug

Hey Doug - is it really legal to cover up that much of your windshield with an EZ Pass? How bad is the left-over visibility? Wasn't there another post here about "sun visors"?

Mike, surprisingly, the EZ Pass doesn't block my vision as it's pretty much "behind" the rear view mirror from the "drivers line of sight". To be correctly mounted, it has to be on the right side of the windshield centerline where the toll booth receiver can pick it up ( not on drivers side ), and if it was mounted lower or in the lower RH corner of the windshield, it really does block vision, so believe it or not, where it is is fine / not a vision problem.

Most motorcycles doen't have a resonable place to mount an EZ Pass either, so as long as the bike's license plate # is registered with EZ Pass, they photo the plate and bill from that. That said, they say you need to have the EZ Pass unit somewhere ( on you or the bike )so that if you get stopped, you can prove you didn't just run thru the toll. So I suppose I could do that, but the mounting location on the Speedster is fine for me. Nobody's stolen it yet...
Doug

I've got the Massachusetts version (called a "Fast Pass") and have mounted it where-ever I can (I honestly didn't know there was a specific place for it). It works on reflected RF (radio frequency) so it doesn't even have to be visible, although I suppose being prominently displayed would certainly help. In the speedster, I just flop it up on the dash where ever it'll stay put.

I think Chris throws his into a bag somewhere on his motorcycle and it picks it up just fine.

I've put mine flat on the dash, found it on the floor after I went through the toll booth (and the light came up "green"), found it, slightly gnawed, on the back seat of the truck under a Jack Russell (after we went through a toll "green") and so on.

I'm with Dave, though - - - If the windshield were much smaller and the EZ-Pass much larger, you would have to stick your head out the side window to see ahead!!

If they can make an "invisible fence" dog collar that is the size of my thumb and works over a distance of over 100 feet, why do they need something the size of a sandwich that only has to work over twenty feet??