Trimming my Le Mans Hardtop.

[gd427man]

Looking Good.
Enjoying this read.
May want to put some thread lock or PTFE tape on the thread of the 'Big head' studs for your standoffs, otherwise it may be possible that although the velcro will stop the stand off from rotating, the long nut could still vibrate loose and unwind itself by rotating down the threads of both parts.
Just a thought.
Looking forward to more installments.
Cheers

[Bannon]

Work has begun.  This is slow work though, it's not much fun - infact it's slightly tedious. But - good progress for one morning's work,  you can see that I'm starting by making a patchwork template to begin with, tackling the tricky areas individually, particularly the top rear corner where the panel meets the tailgate frame.   I'll likely make a small capping panel to finish it there, but more of that later.  I ended up buying ten sheets of 300GSM card for around 18 quid which turned out to be slightly on the flimsy side, but fine for the task nonetheless,  and  what you see in the photo is where I'm at.  Once completed, I'll transpose it to a single sheet of card, re-check it, then transpose again onto the acrylic sheet and cut my panel out of it.
  I'll install the panel with the standoffs (hopefully you can see why I'm installing standoffs now - cavity walls!) to get it exactly right, then it can be trimmed.

This isn't a five-minute job guys,  so be patient with me.   

[Kev Davies UKCC Membership]

I'll be following closely too, I hope to be putting a Le Mans hardtop on my Hawk 289 Sebring.

[KevinW]

Excellent!
I am intrigued....not sure I understand the velcro and stand-offs, but that can wait for the pics
I have been thinking along similar lines, but using very thin bendy ply that our fitter used before he laid down the Karndean flooring in our kitchen. The bubbletop probably have more of a compund curve on the roof than you, so jury still out on that bit.

.... watching eagerly!

[Bannon]

I hope this thread proves to be helpful Kev - time will tell.  Ok - I have some ingredients to show...



...which is the base for the panels - 3mm acrylic sheet:  1000mm x 1000mm.











...all of which combine to make these stand-offs, which will hold the acrylic panels in position.  These will be glassed into place,  the extension section cut to the required length, then the 'foot' with the velcro disc can be wound in or out a few millimetres, to allow fine-tuning of the panel's 'height' to get it sitting just right.  Once the panel is attached to the velcro, the disc can't rotate and is therefore self-locking.



...and this is the headlining material.  It's faux Alcantara, in Charcoal/Black.  It's diamond-stitched, slightly padded and I think it'll look great.  I got 5 metres for something silly like 150 quid - enough to do the job twice, so if I screw it up I get another go!





I've got two cans of spray-on contact adhesive on order - I went for Evo-Stik brand -reason being that I want it to last a long time and can't risk cheapo glue drying out in two years' time and my headliner fall down.  My plan is to glue the main section of headliner directlyto th inside of the roof, as it's fairly flat over a large area, with the side panels covering the curvier areas at the extremities.
   The panels will probably be trimmed using a pot of brush-on glue.

I expect to make a total of seven panels.  Two panels per side - split at the 'B' pillar. One above the door, and the rear quarter panel. The rear quarter panel needs to be removable for access to the mounting bolts, obviously.  I'll make a trim panel to go across the top of the windscreen.  I also expect to make two small trim panels - one to go either side of the tailgate hinge mounting bracket.

I'm currently hunting for suitable cardboard to start making the templates - then I can start.  Also, i'll keep the templates because if somebody feels they could use them, I could send out paper copies of them for...ONE BILLION DOLLARS!!!   

[KevinW]

Looking  good  - and looking forward to seeing your updates on this, especially the internal trim.

You might remember I've been working on a 289 bubble top adapted to fit a Crendon 427-style body, with DIY paint job. Starting to think about internal trim, so this thread looks very relevant!

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0B_9zDOgmKk

[Bannon]

I couldn't find any other suitable handles anywhere, but these are fine.  Cobra bonnet handles are an option,  but these handles came fitted with a theaded shaft rather than the square drive type.   This suited me, as I wound on a cam-lock which is held still by a locknut,  then I bought a finger-sized marine eyelet from a boat chandlery and wound that on, securing it with a grub screw in the side.  Easy to operate, neat, lockable.



Fitting the glass rear window involved more than a dozen dry-runs, using proper suction handles and a trestle to keep the glass in one piece.  Once I had installed the required packers in the lower corners to get the glass in exactly the right place and studied the variable gap around it to gauge the required quantity of adhesive required to fill the gap without excessive squeeze-out everywhere, I went for it.
  The results were near -perfect, with no squeeze-out and only a few small gaps along the bottom edge which I simply back-filled with a dyringe and a bit of tubing.   A weather seal around the GRP inside the tailgate neatly finishes off and hides the adhesive from view.
   What a relief it was to finally get the glass safely in.   It opens and closes beautifully too.

[Bannon]

A few memory joggers...


Screen re-positioned and GRP work to correct the front channel moulding...



Construction of sidescreens...



Tailgate install...



Next I'll post a couple of pics of the final solution to the sidescreen latches, rear window, finished shots and then we're up to date.

[Bannon]

Well, I finally made it across to this new forum.  My motive for signing up was that a year or so on from getting the hardtop painted and put back together, I've now made a detailed plan to complete the headlining to finish the whole thing off and I'm about ready to start - but I can't not share my journey with you lot cos that would be mean.
   So - my next post will be a brief recap of the hardtop project so far,with a few details around the sidescreen latches/locks  and installation of the rear glass in the tailgate.  - Glenn. 

Some of you may remember where it all started...