Does anyone know of a manufacturer that produces a removable hardtop for a 1991 RS convertible? Fiberglass would be fine, Carbon Fiber would be better.

 

Never have. I don't think it's ever been done.

Lot's of checking into it revealed nothing.

 

havent seen a finnished one yet, but i know people have been working on it. stay tuned, many people have asked this question, i wouldnt think it would be to long before somebody invests the time and money.

all u have to do it pour fiberglass over the top when its up and unbold all the latches. that would give you the shape to start with. then support it and remove all the junk, and go from there.

but what do i know. someday i'll make one.

 

That easy and nothing yet in 15 years (since the last 3rd gen vert).
We've been staying tuned a long time.

 

Ive been debating on making one for mine. My main problem is coming up with a back window, and finding the latches.

 

Well if you must know i have already made one, but its top secret. I wont reveal it until my car is complete.

 

Proof is in the pudding or so they say.

 

Thanks. I kind of figured no one out there was mass producing one since I had never seen one. I was lucky enough to be given my Mom's '91 RS vert and have been brainstorming ever since. I have a few things that need to be done (suspension bushings, brakes) just to make it feel safe when going down the road, but plan on parking it and really digging into it in the not so distant future. The top is definitely high on my priority list and I am going to give it a go and see how it turns out.

 

Take a hardtop, brace the roof VERY well, cut it off, and fab the edges to mate with your 'vert, and do the work needed on the 'vert for the hardtop roof to fit.

Easy as pie! Doable, if you are good at fabbing.

 

Has anyone found any further info on this issue of someone making a removable hardtop?

 

The proof of the pudding is in the tasting.

"The proof of the pudding is in the tasting." Meaning, of course, that you do not know if a thing is successful before you experience the results. The phrase "the proof is in the pudding" is simply a screwed up version of the original; it is meaningless.

 

I have considered taking a hard top car and use it as a mold, I make Windsheilds for aircraft so making a rear window is not a big deal for me out of Plexiglas... I never got our of my thinking cap to actually do it, but I had some designs...

ONe of the things that has held me back is its not good for the top to be folded up all the time, so I would remove the hard top when I stored the car in the winter...

JOhn

 

Thanks Cliff Clavin

 

You're Welcome Norm.

 

The beauty of the verts is even when the top is up they don't look like the hard top counterparts. The roofline ends much sooner, the sides are tucked in more and it makes a true notchback design, not the imitation GM put out. There are a couple long threads about hardtops and many ideas put into picture/drawing form and I think the ones that follow the softop lines looks the best. GM should've made a true notchback version like the mustang. It looks sweet. If I could find a fiberglass (or even better CF-esque) top I'd be saving my pennies.

I'm sure another reason the top hasn't been fab'd and marketed is because thirdgen owners are typically not one to dump that kind of coin on one thing. But thankfully as they get older, that's changing.

I think Chevyken did a sketch that looked really good. I know I reposted it in another thread about hardtops but I'm at work and don't need to have my boss catch me searching for it.

 

Removable hardtop - where would you put it? Driving places can eventually put you bad weather. Could you bring it with you while cruising with it off?

Folding hardtop - solves where to put the top, but the engineering would be vastly more complicated.

I too like the lines the softtop follows.

 

My grandma used to have a mercedes benz with a removable hardtop. She had this thing that would hoist it off the car and hang it from the ceiling of the garage.

 

Corvettes have a roof hoist you can buy as well.

 

I am surprised that you couldnt contract someone to make the fiberglass shell. I mean there are companies out there that make complete body kits for the drag cars, hoods fenders ect. Or contact one of the companies that makes the notchback rear hatch. If you vert guys could get enough interest, someone might make the mold to do a group buy. Does any company make one for the 4th gens?

The hard part would be making the hardware to bolt it in place. I have never been in a 3rd gen vert, so I have no idea how the top works. But I am sure it could be done.

 

Here were some of my ideas way back when...

The First one is probably the most feasable, the 2nd one I knind of like it gives the car a Ferrari Feel, the Last one was actually my inital sketch...

John

 

great ideas OKFoz, I think this would be real cool to have, especially for those guys out there who have a car that doesnt have a garage to live in. (such as myself) I like the three designs, but your probably right with the first being the most feasable.

I've often thought that someone could just take a frame from a convert and use it as the framework, and then make the prototype hardtop from that. after that, then its just a matter of casting the mold off the origional prototype.. unfortunately this is all above me, so it was mostly just thoughts.

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/conv...hlight=hardtop

 

i remember that thread from a while ago.. seems like its a hot topic on here, but no one ever does it.

 

Too bad theres not a hard top for these cars. It would be nice to have one like the E36 BMWs or sn-95 Ford Cobras. These cars look like coupes when their tops are on.

 

I think one thing that I consider a problem is that the Camaro and Firebird had slightly different tops in HArd top form.. The firebird had a highlight line on the rear quarter where the Camaro was more flush to the body, and it bumped out more after the window.

The Firebird HT I think would be a better jumping point because it was slightly narrower and be more pleasing to look at when on the car itself.

I have considered actually making a mold from my firebird parts car with a hard top and then lay up an actual part make a rear window... I was actually thinking of using HArd top pieces as much as possible, like the interior trim strips, a cut down headliner, and cut down sail panel pieces. One thing that did cross my mind is the fact that if I made the top exactly the same size as the Hard top and just put in a rear window there would be no head room for the back seat passengers, I would have to extend the top slighlty like the noitchback 88 GTA in order to accomidate the problem. So then I considered moving the entier top back 3 inches and exten the pillars then I could technically use the entire headliner from a hard top... The weather seals I would use a trunk seal to put on the bottom where it sits on the tonneau, and hard top weatherseals for around the windows and cut them short....

I also thought about making provisions for speakers and a dome light with a simple hookup that would wire through the hole behind the door... Of course what would be ideal would be to have contacts that when you place the top on you automatically got the connections...

just some random thoughts I ahve had over the years...

 

I'd veer away from a stock coupe look myself. But I always say that. If there was a hardtop for our vert cars that followed the lines, mainly the width of the coupe and t-top counterparts that would be the last part I'd ever buy for my car. Yuck.

 

The only reason I considered using a Hard top car for a template was half of the work was done for me, It would save me from making a clay model to take a splash off of.

John

 

personally, i thought that if one were to take a spare convertible top frame, and then lay glass over it instead of a canvas, then you'd have a basic exact mold. All you'd have to worry bout is the weatherstripping, and latching mechanisms, which if they are all cast off the convertible top frame, well, it pretty much makes it a no brainer to use convertible top weatherstripping and then convertible latching devices..

by using an existing convertible top as a template, the only major things i would think you'd have to worry about would be how it latches up to the a pillar, as the back could reuse a spike like the existing top frame does.. the front would reuse the convertible latches like we have already, but i know they changed from the earlier asc conversions to the later ones iirc..

All you'd have to do then is once you have the main mold cast from the origional top, you could finesse it out make it perfect, then cast say a hundred of them, and voila.. of course we'd have to have them painted to match our cars, and of course there would be a bit of a problem about the back window, but with fiberglass its not too hard to mount a plexi back window i wouldnt think.

just some thoughts i had..

of course i realize this does nothing for the interior dress up or finishing, but to me it would seem to be the easiest most logical way to make one look just like the convertible top we have now.. In fact, i wouldnt be surprised if they did this for the c4 hardtops ..

 

its always seemed like an easy project, but i dont know how to do fiberglass. and i done have the money to invest in the project. im surprised no1 has done this yet.

only bad thing would be body flex. it would stress the top when its on.


then some1 would have to build a garage holder for the top. like the 95 cobras had.

 

yea, ive never had the $ or knowledge to do fiberglass that much to try it. I dont think it would flex too much, maybe a little but i dont think it would be horrific.

 

A thought just occurred to me....How about sacrificing one convertible top, by laying fiberglass over it, to make a reverse mold out of? Then use that to build a mold from, if you ever decided to duplicate it, like sell to others?

 

Thats how it is done...

John

 

hmm..

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/post...61-post28.html

great minds

-steve