DB Hardtop

[sambo]

As many of you know, I've imported a Le Mans style hardtop from DB Replicas in the UK. Many thanks to Dave (owner of DB), the hardtop landed in one piece - the 200kg packing crate was a work of art in itself!

I'd really like to keep this thread on track as an informative discussion on the hardtop and its fitment to my car. If you have any questions about if/when I will organise a mould of the hardtop, please PM me for now.

I ordered the kit as specified on the DB website above. It arrived just under 2 weeks after I wired the money, which was an excellent turnaround. Dave has answered countless emails along the way and we spoke on the phone a few times - I couldn't have asked for a better experience, Dave is "a top bloke" and certainly passionate about Cobras.

Here is a bad camera photo taken in a hurry on Saturday of the hardtop sitting on a Kenmer body, which is derived from a Dax - same as the DB kit and from which the Harrison is derived.



The roof needs to be extended for the Kenmer kit and also my Harrison, roughly 50-80mm depending on which kit and also the windscreen rake. The important thing is that the hardtop fits the curves over the rear guards and across the boot very nicely. Boot opening and width across the doors is near perfect.

Dave kindly supplied the side window materials in oversized lengths to allow me to get the right fit once the roof is extended. The toughened rear glass is just like a factory item, with blacked out edges and an embedded heater element. The rear tailgate latch and side windows come with locks, and all fittings and latches are top quality. A three piece fibreglass hoodlining is suppled and the tailgate hinges are a feature instead of an afterthough. It's really hard to fault the kit in any way.

Here's a summary of some key measurements I published on another thread:

• The hardtop is delivered on a crate that is about 1.7m long, 1.5m wide and 0.75m tall, all up weight including the crate is around 200 kilos.
• The width of the top behind the doors is 1360mm.
• The width across the screen (about half way up) is 1257mm.
• The measurement across the boot lid at a point around 254mm forward of the rear registration number light cannot be more than 800mm otherwise the lid will not open between the sides of the hardtop tailgate latches.
• Along the top of the door, the distance from B-pillar to base of screen is 765mm, however my Harrison measures 840mm. This means chopping/extending the roof or reshaping the roof behind the door opening to gain another 70-80mm, plus making the side windows and frames a bit longer.

I'll post more photos and details here when I get a chance. Meanwhile here is a collection of photos of the finished hardtop in action, for those who missed it elsewhere.

http://s376.photobucket.com/albums/o...amps8/Hardtop/

Needless to say I'm taking a week off work very soon!

Paul