hardtop

[427 sam]

my top has rear glass with heater element . and is glued into place, totaly weather proof, and resists misting given the heater, regards Sam

[my427cobra]

Great pics Russ. Did your top come with the chrome rear window surround? My top does not have that.

Greg

[SoTxButler]

Greg,

Yes, my top came with the chrome surround.

[SoTxButler]

Greg, I will take some tomorrow and post them. In fact, I'll take pics of both the front and rear ones.

One thing I forgot to mention. We glued the fabric but left some areas loose so that when you walk up and touch it, the fabric is loose just like a soft top would be. Take notice of the picture of the car front on and you can see some looseness in the fabric over the passenger area. There is more of that elsewhere in an effort to allow for the fabric to move a little.

[1screwdriver1]

Originally Posted by 427 sam

my top has rear glass with heater element . and is glued into place, totaly weather proof, and resists misting given the heater, regards Sam

Best quality i have seen so far, the glass window is a one off, produced specialy for this Hardtop, full operating boot.

see pics on DB Replicas Cobra Build Agent

[RallySnake]

Hey Guys,

I have been running my Cobra in competitive rallies for more than 20 years. I bought one of Ron Butler's hardtops to run the last Starlite rally in December 2000. That event used to run the second weekend in December and left Santa Barbara on Friday evening. After 14 to 15 hours, you would hopefully end up in Las Vegas. I ran the Starlite in the Cobra 6 times without a top and nearly died from the wind chill every time. It was more of a survival test than a rally. The 2000 event had a lot of rain and I was very glad to have the new top and windows in place. I was also running Hoosier race tires with very little tread and spent a lot of time sliding sideways around the curves. It was a memorable event even though we spent a lot of time defrosting the inside of the windows with towels.

My son and I made a trip from Los Angeles to Austin for a Texas Cobra Club meet in 2001 and the top was a lifesaver in the rain and snow that we encountered. It permitted relative comfort in high speed cruising.

However, running with the top does have drawbacks. Primarily, your vision is severely restricted. I never thought about how much I look over the windshield until I got the top on. We tried to use it while running local rallies, but it is so difficult to see traffic lights and even tall street signs, that we have given up on it.

The other issue is noise. I covered the car's floor and back panel with 1/2 inch thick insulation. The inside of the top is covered with foam backed fabric. But the reverberation inside the car at speed is just unbearable without earplugs. A headache will kick in after 20 to 30 minutes. The car is so uncomfortable with the top on, that we would rather run in the rain without it (wearing ski clothes), if the weather is warm enough. If the weather is too cold and wet, we just drive a different car.

My top has been collecting dust for at least 5 years, but it (and the earplugs) are ready next time we do another cross country trip.

RS

[lal Naja]

[/quote]

Your car looks great!

Thanks for sharing your hardtop noise issues. I'll be sure to add sound deadening and acoustic absorbing materials to mine.

Arthur