Harrisonbh

Hello everyone, I have a 2004 350z and I have recently been looking into existing removable hardtops for sale online. Through both Google and this forum I have found a couple of different options. However they are all, in my opinion, ugly and unattractive. In the winter my hard top takes a beating and by creating my own, I hope to preserve the attractive body lines of the Z while protecting my car.

Now, before you comment saying something along the lines of "you should have bought a coupe". I want a roadster and I would not trade it for a coupe of the exact specifications of mine.

Anyways, with that in mind, here is my question:

I have the opportunity to buy parts off of a 350z which is being parted out. I am interesting in buying the trunk lid, as well as the roof and side "windows."

Since the 350z coupe and roadster share the same body lines for the most part, the trunk lid should mate up to the places on my car without too much modification. As far as the roof goes, this will require the most modification as the side windows on the roadsters and coupes are slightly different. Obviously to put this on my car, I would have to remove my existing trunk and convertible compartment "lids".

I have that part figured out however I still have to figure out how to make all the weight anchor onto my car in a removable way.

For the most part I do need answers as to how to do this, but mainly what you all think of this idea. Costs and frustrations aside.

Harrisonbh

Anyone?

iideadeyeii

iTrader: (6)

If I was to do this I would make a welded wire inner structure for the top which would somehow mount on the car(good luck)(like the way they make custom replica cars)
Stretch fabric and fiberglass.

In those two easy steps you'll have a custom hardtop!

If you're thinking about using a coupe 350z roof/trunk to do this then you're looking at this the wrong way.

Another option would be to use wood as a placeholder for the inner part of the top. Might be easier to get it even since wood is much easier to work with than metal for this type of thing

Harrisonbh

What makes you say this? It would preserve the body lines, though adding weight, it seems feasible.

DeusExMaxima

iTrader: (1)

Harrison: So is your plan to cut the hardtop off the coupe and place it on the roadster with a latch mechanism?

iideadeyeii

iTrader: (6)

The 200lb removable hardtop

dcains

iTrader: (15)

There was an episode of one of those car shows on Velocity recently and the owner of a '63 Corvette convertible wanted a split-window coupe hardtop made. The guys in the shop took a fiberglass mold from a '63 Corvette coupe, and the recast the replica roof as a hardtop for the convertible owner. It turned out impressively well, but they didn't show any details of the interior or mounting system.

If one did something similar with a Z hardtop, and used plastic windows, it might have a reasonable weight, but to unless it was done as on that Corvette, to fit over the original trunk panel, it would just be far too much of a pain in the @ss to put on and remove. I've got a factory hardtop for my '92 Alfa Spider, but even that is rarely worth the trouble to use, and it's been several years since it's been on the car.

DeusExMaxima

iTrader: (1)

I saw this episode just last week - its called Fantomworks - and this thread reminded me of that. As dcains suggested, you may be able to use the shape of the factory hardtop to cast a mold and then make a copy of the hardtop in fiberglass, adding reinforcement, seas, and latches.

dcains: Id love to see a pic of your Alfa with the hardtop. I didnt even know they had one available.

KJFire4Life

iTrader: (6)

This sounds like a lot of extra unneeded work to cut the roof off a coupe and install it on a vert. That being said, you're gonna do what you're gonna do and that's all there is to it. But look at it this way, most of us here know what fiberglass is, most of us know what you can do with it. It's a comparatively cheap alternative to a lot of metal work and something that is truly a one of a kind things. If I was attempting this I would use the coupe roof as a mold as suggested above by dcains. It wouldn't be that hard and you'd have a little extra room to play with. Regardless, let us know how this goes! I love people doing original things and will offer any help I can from my limited repository of knowledge

dcains

iTrader: (15)

I use it so infrequently I've never snapped a picture of it, but here are a few I just snagged from Google:





It's fiberglass, very-nicely constructed, with a full headliner, dome light, and rear defroster. Weighs maybe 70 pounds, but it's unwieldy and takes 2 people to install it. Here's my car without the top:

iideadeyeii

iTrader: (6)

http://www.smoothline.com/nissan_350z.php

DeusExMaxima

iTrader: (1)

The Alfa looks beautiful. It would be nice to find a hardtop that wasn't so pricey.