Composite Targa Top Development

[nineball]

here is a shot of the dry fabric tacked into the clear gelcoated tool getting ready for infusing. it shows how tight we have to have it to the mold surface in critical areas like the rain gutters and edges.

[vulcan300]

For those of us with the new cars are planning to provide templates for cutting into the wind shield frame to accommodate the hardtop-type latches?

[964TargaC2]

Any hope of these for the 964 Targa??

[nineball]

Originally Posted by targamaniac

For those of us with the new cars are planning to provide templates for cutting into the wind shield frame to accommodate the hardtop-type latches?

maybe at some point but as of now we can't supply that. my car is an 83 so i have them already. i'd suggest re-reading this thread as i know someone posted they modified their 84+ car to accommodate a factory top. conversely if you purchase a top when we have them ready it would be relatively easy to loosely install it on your car and mark the hole areas and then further detail it with the provided escutcheon plates as you will not only need the hole for the latch but for the screws to hold the plate in place. the plates are needed for added strength for the latch areas.

Originally Posted by 964TargaC2

Any hope of these for the 964 Targa??

again, can't say for certain as we don't have a 964. anyone with a 964 want to chime in?

[vulcan300]

Originally Posted by nineball

maybe at some point but as of now we can't supply that. my car is an 83 so i have them already. i'd suggest re-reading this thread as i know someone posted they modified their 84+ car to accommodate a factory top. conversely if you purchase a top when we have them ready it would be relatively easy to loosely install it on your car and mark the hole areas and then further detail it with the provided escutcheon plates as you will not only need the hole for the latch but for the screws to hold the plate in place. the plates are needed for added strength for the latch areas.

Sounds like a reasonable approach. It also allows for slight variations in positioning as there is always the potential for a little variation in the position of the plates.

Please share your experience with the level of noise after fitting one of these tops. I have a rebuilt fold-able top and the noise is really bad over the passenger side of the car. I'm interested in the hard top largely to make driving in the car at speed with the top on more bearable.

[nineball]

i will once we get back from hershey. since it's approximately 6 hours each way i should have a good opinion. that being said i know my seals are 30 years old and i plan on buying a new front seal from dan at hershey, so my results may not be typical.


getting ready for the infusion....

[nineball]

bagged and curing



bagged removed after infusion. those are some sexy lines todd has created



my car is getting more and more excited by the day...

[nineball]

bottom is bagged



and the bag is removed



so we have both halves of our prototype sitting in their molds and soon they will be trimmed and bonded.

he would never say it but i will... todd has done all of this work left handed only, and he is a righty. poor guy sprained his right hand on saturday but still puts out this amazing quality one handed. somebody better buy him a beer or three at hershey

[rokemester]

Originally Posted by sobamaflyer

I'm not sure I understand why there is a thread of derision coming in here in the first place. These guys are trying to take something that almost every Targa owner wants, at least once in a while and in theory, and make a quality version that addresses the downsides of all the repros that so far have come before it.

1) who cares what having a GOOD repro of the factory does, it's not going to devalue the "real" ones because there will always be someone who will pay a premium to have a "real" one.

2) As mentioned before there have been attempts to have this better sealing and looking object and the attachment is always left wanting, these guys are addressing that problem.

I've personally lived through a love/hate relationship with a Saratoga and ultimately let it pass on to other hands. I'm hoping you manage to bring these to market somewhere in the affordable to normal people range so I could have both your's and my foldable one on-hand. Regardless of price there are still going to be a large # of Targa owners that are willing to shell out for something that looks good and seals at speed.

Good luck, been subscribed for a while, anxiously waiting to see the final post.

+1, Couldn't agree more. I'm amazed at the level of innovation and engineering expertise I see on this forum. To sobamaflyer's point this is a tremendous example of that.

[antares]

Gee I did'nt mean to piss off all you newbies. Just asked the question. As for your creation, go for it and see what flies.

[rokemester]

No, not at all. We're just so happy that someone is showing the Targa owners a little love Tired of all the coupe guy purists giving us a hard time about our need for some fresh air and sunshine!! We try all we can in Northeastern Ohio.

[JeremyD]

Makes me want to buy a targa just to put that top on - looks awesome - and I know how hard CF is to work with.

[Karaya]

Hi Nineball,

I been watching your work on this thread and it's very excellent.

My question is in one photo where you have what looks like 4 longitudinal 2-3 inch wide carbon strips...that's there for reinforcement of the outer skin, correct?

[toddc]

Karava,
no, those strips are my resin distribution lines. As you see in the following picture, they get removed after the resin is drawn completely through the skin.

The top skin doesn't need any additional support due to it's laminate structure.

[Karaya]

Originally Posted by toddc

Karava,
no, those strips are my resin distribution lines. As you see in the following picture, they get removed after the resin is drawn completely through the skin.

The top skin doesn't need any additional support due to it's laminate structure.

Ok I get it...The black stuff is like some fluffy material that lets the resin through...correct?

[toddc]

K, sort of. It's a semi rigid very porous material that allows resin to flow quickly.

[Charles Freeborn]

Isn't vacuum bagging great? One of my favorite clamping methods.
Looks great gents. Looking forward to the final product. Hope I can afford one.
-C

[toddc]

Thanks for the compliment Charles,

What I like about the infusion process is that we can tack all the laminate in dry, then suck it down tight to the tool ensuring no voids or bridging, then use that vacuum to pull the resin through the fabric. Very slick and a lot less messy than typical open layup/bagging.

[Charles Freeborn]

Slick! I'm guessing you already know about the bag material that the boat guys use. Can withstand up to 300º or so. That lets you use a slow hardener, hit it with external heatlamps to get it to set faster. I get it at West Marine, as I recall, or maybe West Systems.... My favorite resin these days comes from System 3.
Ciao!
-C

[jcc911]

Love the continuous updates. Again great work Todd!
I'm hoping the price and finish of these are so desireable (as im sure they will be) that they kill the market for the factory tops. ;-)