I know today's adhesives must be a quantum leap from those of 30 years ago but is there any fear of separation like the Saratogas suffered from? I still have a nice front frame piece while a chunk of smoked lexan lives somewhere on the side of the highway in New Jersey :).

Jcc, its secures to the car with hard top type latches, Soba, we bond all of the metal backing plates inside the top and the skins thmselves with methacrylate adhesive that is designed foe thia purpose. In using it successfully for 10+yrs, i have no worries about dwlamination.
Mow that the top is trimmed, i've weighed it and the result is.......

Wait for it.......

10.5 lbs

Holy smokes, I have guitars that weigh more.

just for a point of reference, a gallon of whole milk weighs 8.6lbs :)

fully trimmed and bonded!!

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3.../IMG_0512.jpeg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3.../IMG_0511.jpeg

Good lord that's pretty. You realize you have created targa owner wood all over the world right?

So when do we see it on your car?

Well depending my drive to kris's wiil either be to night or tomorrow. Either way we'll have it at hershey

Absolutely amazing. Well done!!

my seat swap is done, wheels are changed, h4s and a new to me used cruise brain (god i hope this one works) are about to be installed. can't wait for todd to get here!

I hesitate to ask, but I must--how adjustable are the pin positions? I'm sure not everybody's flexi-flyer chassis is perfectly straight.

yes the pins are adjustable both front and rear, to a degree. they have the same range of motion as the factory soft and hard tops.

top fit great on our first test fit...

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_1990.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_1988.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_1987.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_1986.jpg



ran into a slight problem... my 83 does not have the cutout for the escutcheon which leads us to believe they may only have the cutouts up to 1977, which (i believe) was the last year of non-power brakes, which makes sense as you cannot fit the hardtop in with the master cylinder in the front. here is a shot of the front not pulled down into place.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_1985.jpg

tomorrow morning we will tackle the problem and cut the openings with my dremmel so that we can full mount the top.

Wow!, that is incredible. 10.5 lbs.

I hope you haven't been breathing in too many fumes, your spelling is a bit off.;)

You spelled meow wrong.

If you're going to cut the holes for the escutcheon plates please grab and post some pics of the procedure. That would be really helpful as I think many of your potential customers will have to do the same..

Well, you knew it was going to be a battle right down to the wire. Don't rush it and risk your prototype! Great work guys, I hope you've gotten enough sleep to function (and especially DRIVE!). Good luck at Hershey. Wish I could be there.
cd

1977 was the first year of power brakes. Great work, guys. How did you reproduce the clamps? I thought that would be the hard part.

for the prototype we are actually using factory latches. the stamping tools for out latches are not quite done yet but we wanted to having a working prototype for hershey. we 3d modeled the factory latches and will be reproducing them.

Please make extra latches and those of us who have the factory top will buy them from you!

Great work BTW!

so here are shots of us making the openings for the escutcheon plates. it took a combination of drilling, a dremmel, an airsaw and a file or two but we got it.

removing the trim piece

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_1991.jpg

partially removing the leather

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_1994.jpg

various tools to get the opening we need

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_1995.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_1996.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_1998.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_2007.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_2003.jpg

plate installed, trim back on

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_2017.jpg

weldwood being applied to the seals and top

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_2019.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...n/IMG_2021.jpg


if all goes well we should be on the road within 2 hours and arriving in hershey around 10pm tonight. see you there!

That looks great. I rarely drive with the top on, but this may change that :).

The topic of what year the cutouts were no longer made came up recently (was it earlier in this thread?). I can confirm that my '77 has them. And as Howard stated, '77 was the first year for power brakes.

If only there were a way you could mount the factory J hook latch (and, for the later 80s cars, the roller style latch) to that, so it could mount like the factory roof.

All that cutting, etc. on the header, hmm. I think a lot aren't going to have the stomach for that.

+1

You would prefer this?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1366398315.jpg

I doubt it (and I didn't have a huge problem with this solution)

No, I wouldn't prefer that. Nor would I prefer Bungie cords!

But, to me personally, they are all the same: They are all equally a "no go" for me.

I'd prefer this!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1124758483.jpg

With that setup, I'd buy the top for sure.

10.5 lbs! Excellent. Since it is a "topless car" and only comes out on nice days for many...and most folks already have a top of some sort...crazy prices will only sell a few. If the price is right...you should sell a lot of tops.

At 10.5 lbs, that leaves room for structural improvements if needed. A test drive will reveal any effects or buffeting from wind turbulence etc.

I am interested in reports at 50 MPH, 75MPH and up to 100 if you can swing it.

Some things that should be considered by people making comments about pricing is comparisons to other tops and options.

This top is designed well with minimal parts so there should be a low failure rate and a slow wear out rate, this top uses modern materials and manufacturing methods.

I would expect quality to be expensive, you get what you pay for.

So how did Hershey go? Got pics? Full report, please!

Any projection on when production of the finished product will begin?

hershey went very well. getting there was not quite so great - we planned to leave at 10am and by the time we had the top finished, adjusted and mounted it was 4:30pm. arrived at the hotel around 11:30pm, ordered a pizza and crashed. got up awfully early saturday, had breakfast and headed over to the meet. we met quite a few pelicans and tons of great people. had lots of good feedback on the top and the covers, took a few orders and even had someone from a magazine snapping pics like it was a one day only showing. we will see if we make it in :)

our 12 hours of r&d paid off and we have a few tweaks here and there to do but overall it was a huge success. due to the 30 year old seals on my car the wind noise was about the same as my folding top, which was in pretty good shape a few weeks ago before we tore it open for more r&d. i picked up a new front seal from dan and i have a good used rear seal that i will be installing soon (left my folding top with him to be rebuilt as well). on the drive we had absolutely no buffeting or movement, the top was rock steady in speeds approaching triple digits and while we only had a light rain for about 30 mins had no water. after todd tweaks it some more and my seals are in i'll report back with an update.

pricing has been set at $2599 for a complete carbon fiber top. you can find them here:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-used-parts-sale-wanted/745761-carbon-fiber-targa-hardtops.html#post7399218

And fiberglass?

after hershey all i had on my mind was the cf version :) fiberglass will be $2199. it will be finished in a sandable gelcoat that can be surfaced and painted.

Great feedback.

I have the same issue with my factory top and have not found the time to change out the front seal, so just put some clear sealing tape between the windshield frame and hard-top and it works fine until I find the time for the seals!

Nineball, Todd, It was nice meeting you yesterday and chatting about the top. The product looked awesome.....nice work.

Bill

Very nice.
If I didn't have a factory one I'd be getting in line for one.

FYI my '78 had the cut outs for the escutheons, so who knows when they changed...

I would be interested in a set of latches some time in case mine break. I've been watching this thread and haven't seen a pic of them yet.

Can this be shipped internationally? Or is the risk of having it damaged too high?

Also for the non-initiated. What is the difference between Carbon Fiber and Fiberglass versions?

Thanks!!!

Wow the top looks awesome and the finish underside looks just perfect! Too bad I couldn't be there this weekend to meet you guys and see the product in person. However great job to both of you!

Paco,

we've shipped out carbon roof's internationally from airport to air port without damage, I'm sure we can package this appropriately as well.

There are a couple of differences between fiberglass and carbon.

The carbon tops are lighter by a few pounds and they have a very distinct look.

The fiberglass tops are functionally the same however they require paint.

Can you do a raw amber fiberglass top to match the color typically used on engine shrouds?

Yes, just need a sample for color match

I got a chance to look to talk with Todd and check out the top in person at Hershey. Needless to say I was impressed and is definitely something I would consider if I had a targa.

I even mentioned it the story I did as one of the event highlights for me.
Pictures and Recap of the Hershey Porsche Swap Meet | @FlatSixes - the blog about Porsche

Keep up the good work guys. You are a good example of what makes the Porsche community so great!

Great job! I couldn't make the show this year. Really enjoyed your guided tour. The top really looks AWESOME. Unfortunately a couple of head studs hit the shop floor during a valve adjustment so me and my car won't be seeing each other for a while and my wallet is going to be at least a couple grand lighter.

I recon someone had to take the ball and run with it. Glad I teed it up for
ya NINEBALL. Hope your able to make it last.

Best of luck,
Scott