Thanks John, I'll keep an eye out for it.

As we get closer, it may be worthwhile sending a few to AUS in one shipment.

I am wondering if your top will fit and work on a earlier 1972? nice piece.
What is the cost of fiberglass unit?
thanks

I'm not 100% certain, but it think it does fit the earlier cars by changing the rear guide pins.

Perhaps another pelican can confirm.

I have seen quite a few early cars with the factory '75 hardtop that your version is patterned after...so obviously it can be done. Those used the original factory latches in the front.

His problem has been trying to find replacement latches for the early type fiberglass roofs - NLA and no reasonable alternative that isn't cost prohibitive. I used to own a 75 with the solid top, and it was nice. I'm hoping to be able to get one for my '84 Targa when finances permit.

Thanks Jack,
you are absolutely correct. We have tooling for the factory hardtop clone and have built a few for peeps who still had OE hard top latches available however that crowd is small.

Hence the move to redesigning a bottom frame that incorporates the J-Hook latches which apparently work on everything up to '86.

That tooling is done and we're ready to produce however we're down on capacity with every product right now to to moving into a new facility.

Soon, very soon.

Right...but if it will fit an early with the '75 style latches, there is little reason to believe it will not with the J-hooks...which seems the perfect solution (other than originality or a little more weight than the ''75 style hardtop latches). This is exactly what enthusiasts have been asking for for decades. The only thing keeping me from ordering one so far is that I never put the top on either of my targas and I have very nice soft tops and a spare soft top.

Any word on the roller latch model for 87-89 cars?

The only reason the factory added a third pin is because the soft top would bow up at speed and let away from the seal. A rigid top will not do this so a 3d pin is unnecessary.

I'm also in desperate need of a top...I would love to hand you my money! :D

I apologize for not replying to the previous roller latch question.... Whirlwind of activity here.

We're just now getting the first few J-Hook latch tops built and are focused on delivering them.

I really would like to get the roller latch tops going before the snow flies. In order for us to do that, we'll need someone to provide a sacrificial but straight roller latch frame with functional latches and guide pins for the modeling phase....

Regards,

I hesitate to offer you my slightly torn top, because it's the only thing keeping out the Tampa rain for me. How long would you need it, and will it be in pieces when you return it?

Hi Mike,

the roller latch frame we need will indeed be sacrificial. the front section of the frame will be consumed during the modeling process. It will not be returned. The sides however would be.

Regards,

Can someone please remind me if the targa top can be stored, unfolded behind the front seats? I am leaning towards one of todds tops instead of refurbishing my targa soft top, but want to check its storable when out on the road.
Thanks
Ed

Yes it will fit behind the seats unfolded.

Its now coming up on 2 years since I first encountered this post. Personally I am waiting for the roller version since I have an 89 Targa. Knowing what it has taken to get this far in the process do you expect any to be available before 2016?

Good question. We're just now building the first few of the j hooks. I anticipate starting the roller frame as soon as we can source a sacrificial frame. From frame to first proto should come late this year with production coming in early 2015

Finally in production!

Great news, now on to the roller frame!!! Here's hoping you can source a roller frame quickly. I'd give you mine but I still need it to keep the rain out.

And another J-Hook
 

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1416922297.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1416922324.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1416922356.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1416922385.jpg

These are awesome.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1416922617.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1416922638.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1416922658.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1416922680.jpg

I just pooped a little

Oh, sure...I see how it goes. The same month I sell my Targa, Todd comes out with this fantastic piece of bling I must have! Seeing some of your work first hand, I'm certain these are a beauty. Might almost convince me to buy another Targa someday. :)

Nice work Todd!

These are unbelievably beautiful Todd. You are a true craftsman.

Great work, very impressive. So, where can the Targa hard tops be ordered and what is the pricing?

Thanks for the compliment.

Until I put together a for sale posting in the other section with all the details, I'd rather you contact me via email or PM to discuss ordering: Tops are built to order based on the options and take 2-3 weeks to get through all steps of the process. I expect that timing to improve as we continue to build various skins.
Pricing starts at $2700 for a full turn key-key clear carbon and goes down from there based on a variety of options such as bare frames for you reuse your existing hardware or full fiberglass frames or a combination carbon and glass.

Hope this helps a little.

Regards,

This Hard Top makes me wanna buy a Targa..... ;-)



Benny

Thank you, toddc, for your detailed reply. Your Targa hard tops are certainly something to consider.

Work of art gents. Well done!

Thanks Wew!

I have some very bad news. On friday Cory the lead fabricator for Helion was backing the truck into the shop to load up parts to send out and had a massive heart attack (he is 29). The truck rolled on it's own with him in it and did a ton of damage to the boxed parts that were waiting on the floor to be loaded, including a few targa tops, a roof, a pair of doors for an Aston program and a few other odds and ends. Nothing that was ready to go was salvageable. The truck got wedged into the side of the building between the wall and the paint booth doing massive damage to both the booth and the building, not to mention the truck.

The ambulance was called immediately and got there within 15 minutes and he was rushed to the hospital. He was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect and underwent a quadruple bypass on saturday morning. Todd spent the weekend at the hospital with the family and returned to work today to start dealing with the aftermath, including the ensuing OSHA investigation, insurance claims/investigations, dealing with the landlord AND all those who had parts to be shipped out.

Needless to say things are not going well right now at Helion. If you have paid for parts from Todd please send me a pm and I will do my best to help out, whether that be getting alternative parts or a refund. Please send me specifics like your name, address, part ordered, payment date and amount, etc so I can help Todd as best that I can. While I am no longer a part of Helion as I once was Todd is still a great friend and really needs the help right now.

I also ask that you take a moment out of your day and think about/pray/worry for Cody as he has a long, painful recovery ahead of him.

I would like to take a minute and thank Kris for communicating this to our community. I would also to mention that Cody is recovering, his surgery went well. Hopefully he will continue to improve at a good pace.

Luckily, most of the parts that were damaged are salvageable. Unfortunately we did have one top and one roof that are total losses.
Our paint booth on the other hand may or may not get repaired. Luckily we have one available next door in the interim.
The damage to the building, where the paint booth got smashed into it, was minimal and fortunately requires no more than a few cinder blocks.

I would like to state that we're down but not out. We're committed to staying on track. This means that I am back to spending more time in the shop and Corey, my number two has gone from part time to full time and is rapidly picking up the pace and both of us are pulling extra hours to make sure we meet our targets as faithfully as we can.

Thanks agasin for your support and I'll keep you updated as I can.
Meanwhile, can can PM Kris like he suggested or you can email me. I'll respond as I can,

Regards,

Sad to hear.

Best of recovery to Cory. Good luck to you guys on rebuilding. You've had quite a year.

Sorry to hear about Cody's heart attack and wish him a speedy recovery. Todd take the time necessary to get things back on track. I continue to look forward to my future Targa top and am willing to wait for you guys to get everything sorted. The best to all you guys.

OMG! Guys, so sorry to hear of this disaster. Best wishes to all of you. I always look for a silver lining and I gotta say, the timing of his heart attack could have been soooooo much worse with multiple deaths easily imaginable so, thank God for this particular disaster vs worse! Hang in there guys, this too shall pass!

Chris

stuff is stuff, it can be replaced. Same can not be said for a life. Happy to hear he is recovering.
godspeed

Any news? Hope all is well.
-C

Hi All,
Thanks Charles for waking the thread back up.

Cody is not going to be returning. His road to recovery has led to a variety of other issues. In the grand scheme of things, he is doing well, but not fully functional and I doubt that he will be.

Meanwhile, I have been eeking out tops as I can, there are a few out there now, but the going has been slow based on being a one man shop and playing catch-up.

I've tried a couple of replacement techs but as they say, good help is hard to find.

Long and short, down but not out, making parts as I can, trying to catch a break and get back to the new normal.

Best,