ok, so i wanted to go to a junkyard and get a convertible top, then i wanted to cut up and modify my sedan so it will fit,
scale of 1-10 how stupid is this
scale of 1-10, how much work is this
STUPID..........Go buy a vert
"Straight roads are for fast cars, turns are for fast drivers"-Colin McRae
You obviously don't understand the chassis difference between the two...
too much work for it to be worth it
yeah, seems like a lot of work, maybe a sunroof ?
If you cut off the roof of a sedan or coupe the car would basically fold in half. Verts have ALOT more chassis bracing because the have no structural support from the top. Short answer - if you cut the top off a J, it's totaled.
It would be easier to start with a vert and modify it to be a 4-door, but if you have abilities on that level, you don't need to be asking questions about it here.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Monday, May 31, 2010 3:05 PM
Quiklilcav wrote:It would be easier to start with a vert and modify it to be a 4-door, but if you have abilities on that level, you don't need to be asking questions about it here.
that actually sounds pretty sweet! like a 4 door sunfire vert!
now i wanna see a chop! hahaha!
purple with tan top, tan interior would look HOT!
you'll need to create a tubular "x shaped" support brace. take 4 pipes the width of the vehicle, two length wise about 2 feet apart, and the other two diagonally corner to corner, creating your "X". then take two more pipes 2 feet in length and weld them to the top and bottom of each side of the "X"... creating a rectangle with an X in the middle. Position this behind the front seats as far back so that you can recline enough to drive (not all the way back). Weld this to the side of the car and the floor.
You will also need the GM Convertible front strut bar and any rear strut tower bar.
now you should be braced enough to remove the roof.
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Now the owner of my car club owns a body shop with his son. We chopped the roof off of his integra in 2007. It took us about a year to get it showable, and that was rushed, to this day it is still not show able. And we made it a roadster, trying to make a soft top system work would add time to it...
Do you reallly want to do this by yourself?
wel what im thinking is maybe just cut as much of the center of the roof out as i can, like the sheet metal out while leaving the outside for strength, and welding bars to the inside for added strength, and then just putting a ragtop on that i can roll back, like a huge sunroof, not sure how well that would look, but it would be sort of what im looking for, this car is old and cheap, not worried about ruining its resale value or all over credibility, its a POS, it always will be, trying to make the best of it
or start with a convertible, and do this!!! its sexxxy!
Mike Oag wrote:wel what im thinking is maybe just cut as much of the center of the roof out as i can, like the sheet metal out while leaving the outside for strength, and welding bars to the inside for added strength, and then just putting a ragtop on that i can roll back, like a huge sunroof, not sure how well that would look, but it would be sort of what im looking for, this car is old and cheap, not worried about ruining its resale value or all over credibility, its a POS, it always will be, trying to make the best of it
the ragtop has been done before search for the username tabs or Ben Kriegel..
^^^ this... but i don't think he ever finished the rag top project before he sold the car
cant find him, oh well, all i really want is wind and sun in the car, so im thinking either entire roof or oversized sunroof ragtop, either way, sunroof might be easier, and whole roof might look stupid, not sure, ill probably go for a sunroof covering the entire driver and passenger compartment with a roll up ragtop
Tinkles wrote:If you cut off the roof of a sedan or coupe the car would basically fold in half. Verts have ALOT more chassis bracing because the have no structural support from the top. Short answer - if you cut the top off a J, it's totaled.
This is all true. I have cut the roof off of a 3rd gen sedan before. The entire car will bend in the center. Alot.
well i not an expert but i would say it would be a 10 for both of your scales
If you want wind & sun in the car... go find a vert thats for sale, and trade your sedan in for it, before you hack the @!#$ outa the sedan.
ChevyBoi89 wrote:or start with a convertible, and do this!!! its sexxxy!
You could hack up the doors and get the hinges off one of the Saturns that had the suicide doors and either mold the door to the car or fabricate the hinges to work with your hacked up coupe door. Would be unique, thats for sure. Challenging though, but unique.
The top mechanism fits into the rear quarter section.... good luck fitting a door in there with that stuff in the way.
If you used a top other than one from a J-body... maybe you could make a sedan work. Otherwise, no way.
not to mention the rear quarter window would need to be custom cut. there are over 100 different braces on a jbody vert. a top from a vert also wouldnt work because of how the slant and shape of a sedan is.
or just buy mine... it's for sale
ON the topic tho i was thinking of doing my convertible mechanism on a cylinder and off my air *thumbs up*
3,000 o.b.o i want it gone so....
hes lying its not for sale
