Chim Hard Top Pics
Discussion
Bassfiend229hp said:
Alexdaredevils said:
Thats not my house........
Its not for sale.......
...but what does it look like just even placed on the car??? Its not for sale.......
the roof is a little higher than standard as it's deigned to go over a fia/msa spec cage which unless your 3ft tall you cant do under the stock roof height
Edited by Graham on Thursday 10th September 16:58
Steve-Edwards said:
After butchering an old hardtop I've come up with this as a quick mock-up.
I reckon something along these lines could work.
That does look to follow the original malaysian roof lines, and looks good and better than a roof that looks like a smooth hood as it has extra styling.I reckon something along these lines could work.
the original malaysian roof looked good but fitted in the few places it fitted, and didnt have any weather proofing as it was only a quick one for racing..
That's very interesting and must represent a lot of work.
To my mind the secret to a successful hardtop is to create one you can quickly and easily fit to the car without removing the rear folding section of the existing .
Why? Simple.. Convenience and flexibility.
No one wants to remove the whole rear folding section just to add a hard top for the winter or when they just fancy a bit more comfort/weather protection for a day or two.
The challenge here is the rear folding mohair roof on a Chimaera ends right at the boot lid to rear deck shut line leaving nowhere to mount/seal the rear edge of the hard top without removing that rear section.
The person who solves this challenge is the person who will sell a meaningful quantity of hard tops.
To my mind the secret to a successful hardtop is to create one you can quickly and easily fit to the car without removing the rear folding section of the existing .
Why? Simple.. Convenience and flexibility.
No one wants to remove the whole rear folding section just to add a hard top for the winter or when they just fancy a bit more comfort/weather protection for a day or two.
The challenge here is the rear folding mohair roof on a Chimaera ends right at the boot lid to rear deck shut line leaving nowhere to mount/seal the rear edge of the hard top without removing that rear section.
The person who solves this challenge is the person who will sell a meaningful quantity of hard tops.
Steve-Edwards said:
After butchering an old hardtop I've come up with this as a quick mock-up.
I reckon something along these lines could work.
That looks nice Steve! If you made this available as a two piece set, unpainted, no window etc, Id buy it.I reckon something along these lines could work.
Do you expect to fit a lexan window?
Steve-Edwards said:
After butchering an old hardtop I've come up with this as a quick mock-up.
I reckon something along these lines could work.
Looks good and must represent a significant investment of time.I reckon something along these lines could work.
I think the key question here is do you have to remove the rear folding section to fit it?
If the answer is yes, I'm of the opinion it becomes too permanent to be a practical occasional option.
If if takes an hour or more to return the car to a convertible what's the point?
You buy a convertible because it converts in seconds to an open car and quickly back again to a closed car if there's a cloud burst.
A hard top isn't about turning a convertible into a perminant coupe, its about adding an additional but equally flexible option to what is already a flexible package.
If you've ever owned a convertible with a hard top what you tend to find is the hard top stays put because its often a real faff to remove even when the sun comes out.
What you end up with is a coupé that hardly ever gets used as a convertible, so you end up thinking you would have been better off with a proper coupé.
ChimpOnGas said:
To my mind the secret to a successful hardtop is to create one you can quickly and easily fit to the car without removing the rear folding section of the existing .
Why? Simple.. Convenience and flexibility.
No one wants to remove the whole rear folding section just to add a hard top for the winter or when they just fancy a bit more comfort/weather protection for a day or two.
The challenge here is the rear folding mohair roof on a Chimaera ends right at the boot lid to rear deck shut line leaving nowhere to mount/seal the rear edge of the hard top without removing that rear section.
The person who solves this challenge is the person who will sell a meaningful quantity of hard tops.
Leaving the soft top on with a hard top would look a right mess in my opinion and the rear view would be almost zero, it would look like you'd shoved a pram inside and I'm with Mack on the potential of what it might make the car look like.Why? Simple.. Convenience and flexibility.
No one wants to remove the whole rear folding section just to add a hard top for the winter or when they just fancy a bit more comfort/weather protection for a day or two.
The challenge here is the rear folding mohair roof on a Chimaera ends right at the boot lid to rear deck shut line leaving nowhere to mount/seal the rear edge of the hard top without removing that rear section.
The person who solves this challenge is the person who will sell a meaningful quantity of hard tops.
Having been involved with a similar project I do have some relevant experience and the challenge is two fold imo.
The first would be to make some sort of frame that that existing soft-top attaches to that enables it to be removed quickly by undoing a few bolts/fasteners. This frame would then double up as the mounting that the rear hardtop is attached to.
Secondly producing it cheaply enough for folk to buy it. TVR owners are notorious for being interested in projects but many of them have ridiculously infeasible prices in mind when it comes to what handmade low volume products cost to prototype and then sell at to make it all worthwhile.
I believe the advantage with Steve's, (what you guys are overlooking) is that the rear section can stay in place and that the Targa top can be removed, put in the boot or the whole 2 pieces can be stored in the boot together for a full open look!
If that is the case it makes the whole affair very attractive, (both in looks and fitting design).
If that is the case it makes the whole affair very attractive, (both in looks and fitting design).
phazed said:
I believe the advantage with Steve's, (what you guys are overlooking) is that the rear section can stay in place and that the Targa top can be removed, put in the boot or the whole 2 pieces can be stored in the boot together for a full open look!
If that is the case it makes the whole affair very attractive, (both in looks and fitting design).
Agreed ... The Chim with the folding roof completely removed looks *LOVELY*.If that is the case it makes the whole affair very attractive, (both in looks and fitting design).
Shame that the hard rear section takes up so much room in the boot but hey, what else can you do about that?
I'd have one but it's just bloomin' expensive!
Phil
Bassfiend229hp said:
phazed said:
I believe the advantage with Steve's, (what you guys are overlooking) is that the rear section can stay in place and that the Targa top can be removed, put in the boot or the whole 2 pieces can be stored in the boot together for a full open look!
If that is the case it makes the whole affair very attractive, (both in looks and fitting design).
Agreed ... The Chim with the folding roof completely removed looks *LOVELY*.If that is the case it makes the whole affair very attractive, (both in looks and fitting design).
Shame that the hard rear section takes up so much room in the boot but hey, what else can you do about that?
I'd have one but it's just bloomin' expensive!
Phil
And I love that hardtop so far, good job Steve.
I'm even thinking a bit of buying a Chimaera 500
such Malaysian style 2-part hardtop/targa would be lovely, no need to get soft (word spell)
ChimpOnGas said:
Looks good and must represent a significant investment of time.
I think the key question here is do you have to remove the rear folding section to fit it?
If the answer is yes, I'm of the opinion it becomes too permanent to be a practical occasional option.
If if takes an hour or more to return the car to a convertible what's the point?
You buy a convertible because it converts in seconds to an open car and quickly back again to a closed car if there's a cloud burst.
A hard top isn't about turning a convertible into a perminant coupe, its about adding an additional but equally flexible option to what is already a flexible package.
If you've ever owned a convertible with a hard top what you tend to find is the hard top stays put because its often a real faff to remove even when the sun comes out.
What you end up with is a coupé that hardly ever gets used as a convertible, so you end up thinking you would have been better off with a proper coupé.
I very rarely take the top off. Too noisy, windy etc. Bought the chim because the cerb is more high maintainance and more expensive to begin with I think the key question here is do you have to remove the rear folding section to fit it?
If the answer is yes, I'm of the opinion it becomes too permanent to be a practical occasional option.
If if takes an hour or more to return the car to a convertible what's the point?
You buy a convertible because it converts in seconds to an open car and quickly back again to a closed car if there's a cloud burst.
A hard top isn't about turning a convertible into a perminant coupe, its about adding an additional but equally flexible option to what is already a flexible package.
If you've ever owned a convertible with a hard top what you tend to find is the hard top stays put because its often a real faff to remove even when the sun comes out.
What you end up with is a coupé that hardly ever gets used as a convertible, so you end up thinking you would have been better off with a proper coupé.
phazed said:
I believe the advantage with Steve's, (what you guys are overlooking) is that the rear section can stay in place and that the Targa top can be removed, put in the boot or the whole 2 pieces can be stored in the boot together for a full open look!
If that is the case it makes the whole affair very attractive, (both in looks and fitting design).
That's true of his original offering but I'd be interested to know if this modified version with the much thicker cant rails on the front panel will still fit into the boot with the rear section.If that is the case it makes the whole affair very attractive, (both in looks and fitting design).
semaj said:
Just my opinion but if someone wants a hardtop maybe they bought the wrong car! To me its like buying a house and then knocking walls down because its actually not what you wanted!
I understand your point, but it's not always that simpleThe best TVR for for my circumstances was a Chim, I wasn't bothered about taking the lid off.
In an ideal world I'd have a Cerbera, but a hardtop Chimaera would be more than acceptable
V8 GRF said:
That's true of his original offering but I'd be interested to know if this modified version with the much thicker cant rails on the front panel will still fit into the boot with the rear section.
Yeah it'll go in the boot even with the extra profiles added to the shape. I haven't tried it yet but there's no reason why it shouldn't, because although this looks like the Malaysian hardtop - underneath the filler it's a standard rear hardtop with the important mating faces untouched, so the rear deck shape and header profile are the same as standard, and only the minimum amount of filler was used to create the Malaysian style over the top. The depth of filler to create the cant profile has only added 4mm at the join between the rear section and Targa panel.
It's thicker in the middle of the rear pillar - maybe 10-15mm or so, but that won't affect getting it within the confines of the boot aperture.
When I get time I'll take a mould from this mock-up and laminate a prototype to test out over the winter.
Ideally the Acrylic windows won't need thermoforming and can be cut from flat sheets making the job cheaper to produce.
Steve-Edwards said:
Yeah it'll go in the boot even with the extra profiles added to the shape. I haven't tried it yet but there's no reason why it shouldn't, because although this looks like the Malaysian hardtop - underneath the filler it's a standard rear hardtop with the important mating faces untouched, so the rear deck shape and header profile are the same as standard, and only the minimum amount of filler was used to create the Malaysian style over the top.
The depth of filler to create the cant profile has only added 4mm at the join between the rear section and Targa panel.
It's thicker in the middle of the rear pillar - maybe 10-15mm or so, but that won't affect getting it within the confines of the boot aperture.
When I get time I'll take a mould from this mock-up and laminate a prototype to test out over the winter.
Ideally the Acrylic windows won't need thermoforming and can be cut from flat sheets making the job cheaper to produce.
Hope I'm not being cheeky but is it possible to make the side window like on my drawing?The depth of filler to create the cant profile has only added 4mm at the join between the rear section and Targa panel.
It's thicker in the middle of the rear pillar - maybe 10-15mm or so, but that won't affect getting it within the confines of the boot aperture.
When I get time I'll take a mould from this mock-up and laminate a prototype to test out over the winter.
Ideally the Acrylic windows won't need thermoforming and can be cut from flat sheets making the job cheaper to produce.
What ever happens to this project Id gladly buy a cast from the mold and finish it my self... do you know a company which could make the rear window? Id love a copy of the roof mold too and paint body color!
Steve-Edwards said:
V8 GRF said:
That's true of his original offering but I'd be interested to know if this modified version with the much thicker cant rails on the front panel will still fit into the boot with the rear section.
Yeah it'll go in the boot even with the extra profiles added to the shape. I haven't tried it yet but there's no reason why it shouldn't, because although this looks like the Malaysian hardtop - underneath the filler it's a standard rear hardtop with the important mating faces untouched, so the rear deck shape and header profile are the same as standard, and only the minimum amount of filler was used to create the Malaysian style over the top. The depth of filler to create the cant profile has only added 4mm at the join between the rear section and Targa panel.
It's thicker in the middle of the rear pillar - maybe 10-15mm or so, but that won't affect getting it within the confines of the boot aperture.
When I get time I'll take a mould from this mock-up and laminate a prototype to test out over the winter.
Ideally the Acrylic windows won't need thermoforming and can be cut from flat sheets making the job cheaper to produce.
I do think that it's definitely a worthwhile alternative to the standard fold down roof if you're happy to sacrifice the boot space though and I reckon that you could pretty easily pack around it. Seems easy enough to pop on and off with the weather (well, easier than an Elise roof) too.
Phil
Top marks Steve, that's almost exactly what I was thinking of when envisaging this product...
Only thing is that IMO a curved rear screen is needed to make the whole curved roof thing work - a flat screen, while cheaper, doesn't seem to work with the lines.
I think it is this fully curved profile that makes the Malaysian hardtop look so beautiful... Perhaps there is a ready made screen that can be adapted from somwhere else?
Also, is it possible to extend the rear screen further down towards the boot as per the Malaysian hardtop, or would this compromise structural rigidity?
Dom
Only thing is that IMO a curved rear screen is needed to make the whole curved roof thing work - a flat screen, while cheaper, doesn't seem to work with the lines.
I think it is this fully curved profile that makes the Malaysian hardtop look so beautiful... Perhaps there is a ready made screen that can be adapted from somwhere else?
Also, is it possible to extend the rear screen further down towards the boot as per the Malaysian hardtop, or would this compromise structural rigidity?
Dom
Edited by domV8 on Monday 14th September 12:24
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