LocostUSA.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gb20xvBDkf0

the fella built an aluminum top.

Yes, it is something a number of us have or are considering. Take at Chuck's build log pointed to below. There are a couple of things of interest for you:

1) A YouTube video of another hardtop type;

2) Chuck's actual build of a flip-top in GRP/foam for his Locost.

Cheers,

Chuck's build with top info ==> viewtopic.php?f=35&t=4145&start=435

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

Thanks Lonnie,

For a quick jump to the end without having to go thru pages and pages of dribble:



944tim, I personally don't care for having to fight the doors' natural tendency for closing while entering/exiting. I think that is the single-most drawback of the windshield-mounted hinges that plague most Locost doors. Maybe that is why I don't have my doors completed just yet.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Can't use gas struts Chuck?

???? What do you mean?

Cheap, I've got a single gas strut that lifts and holds the top up, once the leadiing egdge is over center. Intended operation.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

Personally, I think I would want to be roofless and doorless 99.9% of the time, but I understand sun and rain problems I think the rear mount with the gas shock is muy clever, and as long as you have some kind of lock to keep the wind from catching it, you're golden
look at what they do for million dollar cars..
http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/exo ... to_09.html
just plain silly

I designed a top for a friend. It was an old Sprite with a roll bar that was too high for the soft top to work.

I no longer have pictures so let me describe it.

We made a canvas top with lots of plastic glass on it to keep visibility when it was up. The top snapped to the roll bar and just went from the roll bar backwards. Unless it rained this was hardly ever up.

For the front I cut a hardtop from another small car and just finished the edges with some rubber edging material. I've forgotten which, but there were dozens that would have worked.

We used spring hinges on the front (the only way to hinge a top in my opinion) and a gas strut so that when the rear latch was released it popped up rather spritely (see what I did there?) We used a strap from the first junkyard car we could find that had one to release the latch. This saved you from having to turn around and try to find the latch. Although we did play with making the latch release mechanism run forward on the top, but I was worried about hitting it with my head if we had an off.

The top went WAY up. No use in having a pop top if it's going to get in your way entering and exiting.

The top had another strap that allowed you sit in the car and pull the top back down rather easily.

The drawbacks. 2 straps that swing around and catch your eye in the rear view mirror and make you think something was behind you. The spring hinges weren't all that pretty.

A slight rattle where the latch met on really rough roads.

With a cage we could have put soft top latches on the sides and that would have solved that problem.

Advantages over the one in the video: it looked tons better due to the crowning of the roofline and was tons easier to make. Plus it reduced buffeting to almost zero and we had a top speed gain.

We used it because of the sun. It's too darn hot around here to drive a car without a roof.

I'm going to do this again very soon and I'm hoping to find better looking spring hinges (more like the springs on a garage door) and do away with the gas strut. I don't like things protruding from the ceiling of a car.

I also hope to finish the edges more professionally this time.

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mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

I talked to my friend and he is almost certain he has some pics. I wasn't too proud of it so I wasn't upset when my phone broke and I couldn't retrieve them. I liked the concept and knew it could be done much betters so let's just say his was a prototype or the beta version and we only spent a weekend on it.

He sold the car at the end of the season this year, but I think the new owner is close by so if I need more or better pics I can hunt him up.

He couldn't remember what the top came off of either. We just walked the yard with a tape measure looking for a curve we liked, the front was the big issue. And then just cut one out and then trimmed it side to side to fit what we wanted.

He reminded me that we used spring gate hinges which weren't all that pretty and were too small to give us much spring action. Plus he says it rattled a lot more than I remembered. I hadn't realized it, but the gas strut fell off and he never replaced it.

We really spent next to no effort prettying it up and only rattle canned it white to shed heat.

I got the idea from something someone posted on here who had a pic of someone using a metal top off of a production car. IIRC that car welded it on to make a real hardtop.

He said the canvas top was only up twice, but it stayed up for a while each time.

One strap was from a Ford pick up we think and one was from an old GM Cutlass?

We made the top slightly wider than the windshield thinking that would shield us more from the rain or sun, but that wasn't such a good idea. Some cross winds would really grab it and the car. Maybe it wasn't the top and the winds might have moved us around anyway, but it would have looked prettier to be trimmer.

The top was slightly longer than the roll bar to give some sort of seal to the canvas back section and the latch was attached on the back side of the bar which made for some awkwardness with the canvas section.

I remember one big issue was how to attach the hinges in such a way as to not deform the top. We got lucky and put it through the front support with short galvanized carriage bolts and big washers through the top. It wasn't all that noticeable after it was painted. This wasn't a show car so we weren't too worried about the looks.

I'm not really sure how we'd do that part again, I guess it would depend upon what kind of hinges I found. Weld in a large piece of sheet metal to strengthen the front?

He also reminded me that you had to be careful pulling the top down since the pull strap was off center so I guess a similar solution as what is needed for the front hinges? A centralized removable strap would help, but what if you lost the strap?

Obviously my memory glossed over some of the faults but maybe that's because I figured we could solve those little niggly things.

In any case it did the job and wasn't a real pain to get in and out of. It looked kinda funny with it's lid popped, but it did a real good job of keeping the black seats cooler by shielding them from the sun.

If any of you are in the Dallas area you might have seen it. He club autocrossed and hit Cresson a couple of times.

_________________
mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

Gas struts to hold the doors up that you don't like falling on you?

Ahhhh! I see now. Thanks for the explanation. Obviously I was still thinking about the top.

For the others, most all convertible tops fold to meet the windshield and latch in front. I don't see hinging the rear as being any issue at all. It is also like 99% of all production vehicles' hoods too. With hinging at the roll bar, the windshield doesn't have to bear any stresses from the hinging or spring loads required to raise and hold it up. Just like on most production cars, I do have 2 latches, one on either side mounted to the stanchions, that secure it from unexpected opening at speed. Plus, the gas strut is balanced in the closed position when at rest. A light lift of 6-12 inches and the top then opens by itself and gently reaches its open position. Closing it does not require pull straps. I lightly pull on the (centered) gas strut and a little along the edge, both easily reached from the seat-belted position. Once down, it stays down by itself and my hands are then free to secure the 2 front latches.

But each to their own. If there was only one way to do it, all Locost's would be powered with the same engine and look the same.

Carguy, I hadn't thought about snapping a canvas top to the rollbar. Hmmmm........Do you recall any difference in the wind pattern with the canvas up or down?

_________________
Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766