And another hardtop project.

indianamoon · #1 (**permalink**) 06-24-2023, 04:53 PM

After owning a machine shop for over 22 years and living by the mantra "If you don't draw it up in CAD, you will screw it up" what did I do? Yup, just made the pieces, didn't draw them. Actually turned out pretty well except the over center clamp didn't quite make it over center with the locking pin in. Put a kick in both of the clamp rods and it is over center just fine now. There is a jack screw in the top of the aluminum blocks to adjust the height of the hardtop off the deck, and setscrews to hold the locating pin in place. Even milled a slot in the pins for the setscrews so they won't mar the rod and keep it from moving. Now on to the front clamps. Just ordered new ones (found then on eBay at quite a discount) Protex brand with a latch for the latch. https://www.ebay.com/itm/11252798882...Bk9SR7KGy_mdYg if anyone is interested.

indianamoon · #2 (**permalink**) 07-05-2023, 06:38 PM

Well, all of the hardware for this project is going to be stainless, and the order showed up today.

For those of you looking for a decent source for stainless:

And they send you at no charge, one of these very cool gages for imperial and metric screws, bolts, nuts, etc.

indianamoon · #3 (**permalink**) 07-05-2023, 06:51 PM

These are the clamps that came with the hardtop when I initially bought it. The rear clamps did not fit my ferrules and I found clamps that I liked better for the front. Send me a message or email or something if you are interested.

indianamoon · #4 (**permalink**) 07-05-2023, 06:58 PM

Windshield fittings are all bent and hammered into shape to fit. Stainless angle pieces are hammered into shape to fit the underside of the top, and the front clamps are trial fit. Ready to epoxy these to the underside of the top tomorrow.

indianamoon · #5 (**permalink**) 07-09-2023, 05:26 PM

Mixed up a bit of epoxy, and with the front mounts securely in place with the clamps clamped, glued the formed stainless angle iron pieces to each side of the top. When that was cured, took it all apart and added a layer of glass cloth to both sides of the stainless angles. Looks like a lot of epoxy to me, but just to be safe, I drilled and installed two button head stainless screws on each side also.

indianamoon · #6 (**permalink**) 07-09-2023, 05:44 PM

Alright, can't put this off any longer. The fit all across the back is as near perfect as I could hope for.

Fit on the passenger side is good enough to seal with the bulb seal.

However, (and I knew this) the fit on the driver side was just terrible, with a gap of at least 3/4 inch in places. Time to bend the fiberglass. Found a 4x4 and cut it to the contour of the bottom of the top as was.

Then scribed and did a matching angle cut to fit the pieces inside and outside the top at the flange.

Probably spent an hour with the belt sander getting the fit just about exact and then clamped everything up. Cut some small wedges to insert under the lip and started heating the lip of the top to about 375 degrees F. Worked it up and inserted the wedges, heated some more, wedges in further, until I had moved it about 3/4 inch where it needed to be.

Left it sit overnight and next morning the fit to the body was, while not perfect, certainly good enough for the seal to work properly

indianamoon · #7 (**permalink**) 07-09-2023, 05:54 PM

Got the rear mounts in today. Marked the top for location with everything in place, took it all off (for about the leventeenth time) glued the mounts in, and when that was cured, added a layer of glass cloth on each side of each block. With all the epoxy and the holes I drilled in the blocks, I am pretty certain that they will be going nowhere.

Now it is on to forming the rear window.