Got Bored

[72911]

So I made this. $35 worth of steel and about 15 hours in the garage. What can I say, I have tinker-itis pretty bad. I think I'll have it powder coated silver. I am planning a massive road trip to Monterrey this coming August so I needed some extra room inside the cab. 3/4 tubing with .065 wall with solid steel bars at 7/16. I milled the ends of the solid bars down to 3/8 so they could be inserted into the 3/4 frame then welded. The hold downs aren't the most elegant pieces but they are stout. I'll plasti-dip the feet and hold down tabs. Well on to the external cooler.....

[Cooper911SC]

Nice work! Like the "retro" early look.

This was our rig for RRV. Worked out great for all our camping gear. Plus child seat in the back.



Cooper

[72911]

I saw a picture of an old Amco rack and had to guess at it's dimensions. I think mine looks to be about 1" lower than the Amco. I like the size of the one you built and the wind deflector. How is it for noise (not that it would stop me from driving across the country....)

[Cooper911SC]

Your's looks nice and tight to the roof up front. I like that.

I can only take credit for borrowing the "KargoSled"

A PCA friend of ours fabricated it and was hoping to sell to the auto X crowd. It will hold an extra set of wheels/tires laying flat.

It's frame is carbon fiber rectangle tube both bonded and bolted depending on location. The deck is .125 diamond plate aluminum.

He used aircraft quick release tie downs that run in extruded aluminum chanels mounted on top of the deck. My memory is the whole thing weighs less than 30lbs.

It mounts on generic Yakima racks, so sits up fairly high.

I think he was selling them for around $2k.

There is significant wind noise when cruising along at 75-80.

I pushed to 95 at one point to pass some trucks, felt scary! Could definitely feel the aero effects pulling the car around some.

I might do a father/son trip to Monterey this August. Haven't been to car week in a few years.

Prior to that I went every year from '92 to '05.

Have always camped at the track. Much less expensive than going the hotel route.

[Tom '74 911]

Originally Posted by 72911

So I made this. $35 worth of steel and about 15 hours in the garage. What can I say, I have tinker-itis pretty bad. I think I'll have it powder coated silver. I am planning a massive road trip to Monterrey this coming August so I needed some extra room inside the cab. 3/4 tubing with .065 wall with solid steel bars at 7/16. I milled the ends of the solid bars down to 3/8 so they could be inserted into the 3/4 frame then welded. The hold downs aren't the most elegant pieces but they are stout. I'll plasti-dip the feet and hold down tabs. Well on to the external cooler.....

Nice job! I've got a bunch of old VW & Porsche roof rack photos saved on my computer for just such a project... just never seem to prioritize it! I'd love to see a close-up of the feet & how you fab'd the gutter clamp section.

Looks great.

Tom

[72911]

I thought about using an "airfoil" of some sort. I'll have to stare at it for a while and see if anything bubbles to the surface. I built a roof rack for my Toyota FJ and put a wind deflector on that, it made a world of difference on noise. I too plan on camping at the track, (and along the way) got any suggestions at to what corner/camp site is best? The new rack will have a trial by fire for sure, it would be about 5K miles total (I live in PA)

[72911]

Originally Posted by Tom '74 911

Nice job! I've got a bunch of old VW & Porsche roof rack photos saved on my computer for just such a project... just never seem to prioritize it! I'd love to see a close-up of the feet & how you fab'd the gutter clamp section.

Looks great.

Tom

Tom,
I literally beat the tube ends shut with a ball peen hammer then welded a short rod to the bottom to spread out the load a little more. I bent the "C" clamps from some old steel straps that were in my scrap steel bin. The small diameter bolt guide was some tube stand -offs that were in my junk hardware tin. This is all hand formed and not every part is exactly the same so each hold down was welded on and custom fit. You can see that I still have to finish weld the bolt guides but even with just a tack weld this unit is stiff when tightened down. I'll clean all of the welds up with a hand file before powder coating. The bolts are aircraft hardware at 1/4-28 with about 85% non-threaded shank inside the guide tube.

[Tom '74 911]

Happy New Year!

Thanks for the photos & explanation on the clamps. I like the simplicity. You might consider some rubber hose or something similar around the base inside the gutter to help protect the paint.

From my stash of photos of similar racks:

[72911]

Tom,
Thanks for those. I will plasti-dip the feet when it is back from the powder coating. If that doesn't seem to hold up well then I'll add some rubber tubing like you suggested. Happy travels!

[matt930s]

72911-
I have two amco racks and that looks pretty close. The amco rakes back a bit, which follows the lines nicely. I can take any pics or get any dimensions you need if you want to start making these. The amco racks typically sell for $1k or more if you can find one.
If you can come in at a third of that price , you could sell quite a few..

MattR

[Tippy]

Drip rails have another purpose in life I see.

Cool

[yellowperil]

I don't know why, but I love roof racks. There I've said it. But.... They look like they might be a bit hard on the drip rails.

[OsoMoore]

Has anyone seen something like this for a targa?

[Charles Freeborn]

Originally Posted by OsoMoore

Has anyone seen something like this for a targa?

No rain gutters. Going to be a little trickier with attachment hardware.

[Bill Douglas]

There used to be a guy around here called Todd, also know as nostatic; well he had a luggage rack over the engine lid of one of his cars that looked like a gun rack - looked quite good. I've never had a roof rack on my 911 but all gutter fitted racks I've used in the past on other cars have given the paint some serious grief around the mounting points.

[72911]

[QUOTE=matt930s;9415762]72911-
I have two amco racks and that looks pretty close. The amco rakes back a bit, which follows the lines nicely. I can take any pics or get any dimensions you need if you want to start making these. The amco racks typically sell for $1k or more if you can find one.
If you can come in at a third of that price , you could sell quite a few..

MattR

Matt,
Your Amco pictures are what I used for my "guessing" of the dimensions of mine. I lowered mine about an inch from what I could see on your pictures. The one I built also has a slight rake to it and does follow the lines of both the front wing window frame and the rear door jamb/window frame. That was the only "style" that I was sure would look decent. I know my pictures aren't that great. I would be open to making more but it is really not what I intended. I saw yours and looked at prices for NOS and knew I could make one for A LOT less. So far I might have $60-70 into it for material ($6.50 for a can of plasti-dip!). I haven't checked my local powder coating yet but it might be $100 for that. Anyway I now have the roof rack I wanted for my blast out to Monterrey this summer. Here is one from the side taken when I tack welded it all together (cross brace still installed).

[LagunaSeca911]

Good work!
The photos that Tom 74 911 posted look like Pedro's Roof Racks - google or look him up on the Samba - usually they are made for VWs but I've seen them for Porsche and Minis as well