Hardtop

I have just started my quest for a hardtop for my car. So far I've contacted Im as well as JPS. Hopefully all will go smooth and I'll be able to get a few more months of cruising this fall/winter. I'll keep you posted as the info gets passed on.

Chris

Hi I have a 1978 and have been looking for a hardtop, Fibersteel in Ca has a two types available, but they would require some mods to work..the guy who runs the place is really helpful...Tom

Wahhhhh-Hooooooo!!!!!!! It's GOUNDHOG DAY!

Do a site search on "hardtops" gentlemen.

Theron- how'za 'bout a "sticky" in the "newbies" section.

Stan, I did do a search and I read all about you're long road to completion. I am prepared to travel the same path if I must( hopefully not though) I have also spoken to Chesil. So far everyone says the same thing. Be prepared to modify. The first people I spoke to where friends of mine who do bodywork specializing in Corvettes. They feel completely confident they can handle the task. I am aware of the finacial situation as well. With that said, wish me luck. I'll keep you posted.Thanks-Chris

If it is even possible to come up with one that would fit - cost will be high. For same $ you could convert to D windshield, top and roll up windows. Another few hundred and you could add gas heat. A hard top with side curtain wouldn't improve visibility much. An Ebersparcher BN4 gas heater and you could darn near drive all year around with the top down!

Chris-

I DO wish you nothing but success. I remember having that kind of resolve. My hardtop experience pretty much beat it out of me. You've not yet begun to spend money until you go down this road.

Email me, and I'll fill you in on what to look for (and avoid) in a hardtop- there's more to look for than a pretty face.

BTW: a good sealing top is only the beginning. Sealing up all the other leaks in a pan-based car is also a real issue, and one often overlooked by most guys. Be prepared to take up your carpet, and REALLY look at the pan. Things that would not be an issue during the build, become huge problems after the car is built. Even if your top never leaked a bit of air, you'd still have plenty to contend with.

I've got an Espar gas heater in my new car- it's the only way to make real heat, and I'm delighted I've got it. But the fact that I have no leaks under the dash, around the door seals, up the tunnel, and where the pan (I don't have) meets the body behind the seats under the parcel tray, is probably more significant for comfort. Forewarned is forearmed.

Stan, Chris (et al), I don't usually look at the photos that go with the conversations, but this time I wanted to see the cars and compare. Stan, that's a very well put-together car you've got there. I'm curious whether you had the hard top at one time, or if you still have one and you've opted to do your fair-weather cruising with the Haartz top.
When I broke my glass windshield, I looked into getting Fibersteel to make me a hardtop to go with a stock windshield, and he (Russ) quoted me $3,600 to make one with all the trimmings and some rolly-up windows if I would send him the mathematical specifics of six points of comparison to an original car.
As non-airtight as my car (CMC) has always been, I decided it would be a fifty dollar shine on a five dollar shoe and decided to re-invent it instead. Now that I've hacked up the front, there's no way the weight and placement of an original windshield would work for me. That means I'm stuck with an all-weather interior and something to keep flung debris off my mellon every time I drive.
So here's my question; since you really do seem to know this stuff well, is there anyone who makes an original dimension windshield in Lexan or Plexi? I've gone and broken the windshield I have by applying a little too much flex, and it's going to need replacement over this next winter.
If a full-size windscreen is out of the question, what are some good places to look for shorter alternatives to what I have? I don't need for a top of any kind to attach to it, so height's not a problem.
The windscreen I broke was intended for the different dash dimensions of a 550; I'm not surprised that it cracked on me.

Cory,

The car I'm referring to was a 2002 JPS I had built to my specs. John Steele and Russ Rodriguez were going to work together on the build to make sure the hardtop was a perfect fit and finish. I've been into this in great detail in the past, but the bottom line is: it didn't work out that way. I ended up about $5K into a top which was aesthetically beautiful, but functionally flawed. It leaked everywhere. I remade the plexi side curtains, and when I was done, they sealed perfectly, but there were leaks-o-plenty from the bow, the wing windows, and everywhere imaginable on the car.

The Intermeccanica I had built last year to replace that car is a whole 'nuther deal under the skin. The car doesn't leak. Yeah, there are some slight air leaks at the windshield/ side glass junction- but I could have solved that by going with a different seal arrangement that would have not been as beautiful with the top down.

I've owned three of these cars. Each has been progressively better than the last. I feel I've reached the high water mark for what is possible in a speedster replica. I'm delighted with what I have.

I'll never bash somebody else's car, but I can't gloss over the one glaring flaw of every pan based car I've ever owned or driven- they leak everywhere, and are sunny day cars as a result. We have a lot of days that aren't sunny in my part of the world. I wanted a car I could use. I finally own it.

As far as your windshield situation- I don't know of anybody that makes what you are after, but I'll be sure to keep my ear to the ground. I've been watching the progress of your build, and I'm in awe of the amount of time and effort you are expending to build something truly unique. Its really, really cool. Keep the pictures coming.

Thanks for the compliments and for following the progress. If you're able to put the feelers out, that'd be great. Nothing would make me happier than one a little higher and six inches longer than the 550 plexi I have. The second choice would be one of those little three-inch jobbers out of Lexan, and I might know a guy for that. I haven't asked yet, but he's a polycarbonate guy in Minneapolis.
Anyway, thanks. I'm glad your car works as well as it looks. Sure looks like it's sorted well.
Sorry for the hijack, Chris.

Cory, give the lexan a try first. If you have a small airport nearby
there is probably ""

Excellent. Tipton Airfield, here I come!

Stan, Just wwantd to clarify here-in no way am I trying to be argumentitve. If anything I am like yourself and am detertmined to try this. I am aware of my high risk of failure but I really like the aesthic look of the hardtops as well. So even if I don't achieve a watertight car the end results will still be pleasing. I do appreciate your input and will no doubt have many ?'s in the future for you. Thanks, talk to you soon-Chris

Chris, contact Henry at IM. He has done hardtops for his cars in the past and may be able to help you out. The best Russ could do would be to form up something generic that, at best, would be close. No one is more familiar with Henry's cars than Henry.

Chris-

No offence taken. The hardtop issue seems to pop up every year (usually in the fall) with regularity.

My advice would be to skip the Fibersteel Glasspar, no matter how pretty it looks (and it IS gorgeous). Even if you could get the leading edge to mate with your windshield frame perfectly without flexing, and could get the side curtains to seal (problems that can be solved with any hardtop)- the wing windows leak pretty badly. Worse than that, they scoop air and funnel it directly onto your shoulder. If I had kept the JPS, I would have ended up riveting the wing windows in the top permanently- they were that bad.

The other tops don't look as good, but do not have so many seals to contend with. I'd recommend one of them. If you want to do the Fibersteel thing, I'd get the Plasticon and put a nice headliner in it, after you get it all sealed up.

Otherwise, I 'd recommend making the softop seal nicely. It's possible- I posed how to modify one a couple of years ago.

Good luck.

I recieved an email from Henry today. He informed me that IM no longer makes hardtops. He refered tme to Russ at Fibersteel. Inerstingly enough I also spoke to Russ today. He seems to think that the early IM such as mine are very close in proportions to the real deal. He said there might not be much, if any fabrication at all. In any case I sent him the photos he requested. I let you know when I hear back from him.Thanks-Chris

Somehow I suspect that doing that sort of thing "long distance" is not such a good idea. I bet it'd be best if Russ had the car in his shop to do adjustments.

Here's "brand new" fiberglass hard top for only $895! (Wonder how you get all that vintage dust on a brand new one --- must be the fiber glass aging process). Doesn't look like it has rear window though. Also has a Glaspar original for $1295! And he's on the East Coast (GA)!

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=288168

Thats not too bad at all. Jps quoted me @1200 sans rear glass and side curtains.-Chris

Heating and bending Plexiglass and Lexan....sometimes it can be difficult to bend larger pieces as it is difficult to heat the entire area evenly....

That is....unless you happen to be goood friends with a Pizza Shop owner and can work quickly between the un-godly hours of 1:00-2:00 AM during the shop's clean up time.
I did this years ago making a replacement Bradley GT gull wing door....stuffing a flat piece of plexiglass into the over for proper "Italiano" styling.

and no need for an air freshener

Cory, Since you in MD and probably not too far from a boat/ marine supplier or boat type wrecking yard ...wonder if you can't stroll around and find a windshield from an old run-a-bout that can be cut down for you needs ......or use one in poor condition as a mold buck to "drap heat" another piece of Lexan over?