Building a sidecar hardtop.

[Casper]

I think one fin would work just fine, about the size you tried. But I would put some curvature to the edges, not a lot, but just not a straight edge. I would also make the bottom a bit thicker than the top. I like the idea of LEDs. Whatever you end up with should be cool.

Cheers

Edit, PS great looking dog.

[rogue1000]

Well, I went through about 8 different fins and ended up with this:


Notice my custom paint booth...anyway, that is the undercoat. Tomorrow I'll do a little more spot putty, sand, and spray the first coat of topcoat...oh, I also have to drill for the latches before I spray the topcoat.

[luludog]

Very Nice! I like the fin you eventually went with.

[Whiskerfish]

that looks much better than the first one

[Casper]

I think you nailed it, good job.

[rcmatt007]

discreet.... like it!

[Hal]

Great stuff!

I've only just seen this thread, I know you were threatening to do a GRP roof but I didn't realise you'd actually DONE it....brilliant!

I like the idea of the fin, and yes, LED lights are the way to go, specially with the dreaded feeble GL stator.

I've scored a set of nice double ring LEDs for the rig, but until it's painted I'm not posting any more about it.....

[rogue1000]

So, today's excursion with the hardtop in place answered several questions..but first, here are the pics of the last coat of paint applied


I attached the latches and applied the weatherstripping around the edges, first having to grind down the machine screws because they were too long, and then went across to my neighbor Dave's to show him my handiwork (Dave is the guy that Cookie, now Rodger, got the LTD from...). Dave aproved, so I zipped into town to get some stuff from the library before it closed, with the hardtop in place. The library is five miles from the house on a very bumpy, twisty road, with areas in the hills where the gaps funnel the coastal winds that blast along certain areas of said road. I didn't have locks for the latches, so I just cut a coulpe of pieces of tie-wire and looped it through. All was fine, although I noticed the hardtop shifted back when I hit some of the bumps..hmm, two more latches needed...When I left the library, I went through the lights ahead of some traffic and got on it a bit, but simultaneously hit a bump in the road and received a gust of wind. Much to my dismay the hardtop ripped off and flew about twenty feet in the air before landing upside down in front of a long line of trucks and cars. I whipped around while the lead truck slowed down and kept the line of cars back with his emergency lights, giving me enough time to recover the top (Bless him!!). I took out some line and tied it back on as best I could ,then drove slowly home.

. The two answers are: Yes, forward latches are needed...and, yes the fin is tough enough to take a direct hit and not break off...

[lcallison]

Tough break, but nice that the truck stopped and kept traffic off of it! We have a canvas top for the formula II, but you'd have to be a contortionist to get in. I've been thinking about trying to make a hardtop with an easier access than the soft top. I'll have to talk to my son in law and see what he thinks. He's the foreman in a fiberglass plant.

[rcmatt007]

ouch..... I remember feeling my heart drop to my feet when a saddle bag lid fell off

[Hal]

Never mind, it could have been totalled or worse.....I think I mentioned the same thing happened to me when Mitzi's bumstop fell off on a test ride?

Similarly little damage, we are lucky, or protected by St Isopon, the Patron Saint of fibreglass prototypers.....

[Whiskerfish]

SNIP

or protected by St Isopon, the Patron Saint of fibreglass prototypers.....

Never heard of that one there Hal

[rcmatt007]

and I thought it was Saint Polymer

[rogue1000]

St. Polymer...here I thought it was the luck of fools and drunks... So here are the photos of the repainted item, less the two pairs of forward hinges that are ordered..





I think I will wait until I get the rest of the hardware before I try again...then I'm going to glue some indoor/outdoor carpet on the inside for a bit of insulation,and also inside the sidecar. Lights will have to wait...

[Rat]

Darth sidecar .....

Gord