Wedge Glass Top?
Discussion
Has anyone ever thought of making or having a glass top made for the Wedge? the sort of smoked glass top they have on the Corvette. How feasible is it to get one made? I know most of us leave the top off most of the time but think it would look great on the Wedge and make the inside lighter during our long winter months. Let's have some ideas. How many would be interested?
Tony. TCB
Tony. TCB
mrzigazaga said:
Hi Tony..Its called a sunroof and they are fitted to hard tops..
I don't mean a sunroof. I mean a proper one piece glass or perspex top to fit in place of the hard top. It shouldn't be that heavy, especially if its perspex with a sturdy frame. Maybe even a mirror effect would look good.Tony. TCB.
...jeff m2 said:
A one piece would be heavy, although with the muscles developed from parking the non power assisted cars that shouldn't be a prob.
My Mk.3 Spitfire had a steel hardtop with glass rear window, it was only a one-man job to put on and take off.There's a recurring topic on here about hardtops for the Wedge: the factory was supposed to have made one but no photos exist, however TVRcarparts were rumoured to have acquired the mould from the factory sell-off. That would probably be a starting point. Otherwise, I'm sure it wouldn't be that difficult to take a standard roof panel, chop the centre out and have it glazed in polycarbonate, Lexan or whatever with minimal difference to the overall weight. The panel is only GRP and a bit of wood anyway...
The only wedge I've ever seen with a hardtop is Graham Walden's racecar - as I recall he basically used the standard roof covered in a plastic bag and laid-up some GRP over it! Think he had to incorporate a dome for his race helmet
Wedg1e said:
My Mk.3 Spitfire had a steel hardtop with glass rear window, it was only a one-man job to put on and take off.
There's a recurring topic on here about hardtops for the Wedge: the factory was supposed to have made one but no photos exist, however TVRcarparts were rumoured to have acquired the mould from the factory sell-off. That would probably be a starting point. Otherwise, I'm sure it wouldn't be that difficult to take a standard roof panel, chop the centre out and have it glazed in polycarbonate, Lexan or whatever with minimal difference to the overall weight. The panel is only GRP and a bit of wood anyway...
The only wedge I've ever seen with a hardtop is Graham Walden's racecar - as I recall he basically used the standard roof covered in a plastic bag and laid-up some GRP over it! Think he had to incorporate a dome for his race helmet
Could you not cut the top of a FHC and use modify it, take the boot lid off and fit so it uses the boot rubbers for a seal.There's a recurring topic on here about hardtops for the Wedge: the factory was supposed to have made one but no photos exist, however TVRcarparts were rumoured to have acquired the mould from the factory sell-off. That would probably be a starting point. Otherwise, I'm sure it wouldn't be that difficult to take a standard roof panel, chop the centre out and have it glazed in polycarbonate, Lexan or whatever with minimal difference to the overall weight. The panel is only GRP and a bit of wood anyway...
The only wedge I've ever seen with a hardtop is Graham Walden's racecar - as I recall he basically used the standard roof covered in a plastic bag and laid-up some GRP over it! Think he had to incorporate a dome for his race helmet
said:
Could you not cut the top of a FHC and use modify it, take the boot lid off and fit so it uses the boot rubbers for a seal.
Rather than go to such great lengths and complicated procedures, there is a cheap shoddy wedge hard top for sale on ebay. I was thinking of buying that to experiment on by cutting the centre out and gluing in a glass section and then painting the remainder of the edge in black. This would be a prototype for a wedge glass top. If it's not a success I'll turn it into a coffee table for the Mrs. What do you think?Tony. TCB.
pistolar said:
Lets shut this topic down. The price of a hardtop assuming you can get 10 buyers will be approx £1200
Oh My God! Is that in platinum or plastic? No. What we need is a budget glass top. Where there is a will there is a way. Let's think Chinese. How do they do it?Tony. TCB.
king Chimps Lean Machine said:
Oh My God! Is that in platinum or plastic? No. What we need is a budget glass top. Where there is a will there is a way. Let's think Chinese. How do they do it?
Tony. TCB.
I think pistolar is on about a full hardtop and he has a point if you look at the manufacturing costs: fibreglass mat and resin has always been outrageously expensive. First you need to make a master mould (a week? plus materials), then materials on a per-roof basis, time wasted till the lay-up goes off during which you can't do much and the master is tied up (even TVR only had one or two complete body moulds for most of the models), labour/materials to finish the part to a reasonable standard, VAT, window tax... then how many people want one? Not enough to occupy a GRP moulder full-time, that's for sure.Tony. TCB.
For a glazed targa panel ONLY then yes it's doable a lot cheaper but you'd probably still be doing it only for yourself and one or two mates.
You can get away without a master mould for a one-off, but not if you are making a batch (semi-)commercially.
The plastic bag idea with GRP laid over the top DOES work, but it takes ages and ages, and masses of patience to smooth off and fill the new 'outside' so it's suitable for paint. Or, you could make it a hardtop covered with vinyl so it looks like the original, which would be much quicker.
I filled in a Scimitar sunroof once, after its mechanism corroded beyond repair, and used an ally sheet and bolted it down through sunroof bolt holes. Then added a larger grp layer to bond into the roof. Worked well enough for a vinyl roof.
The plastic bag idea with GRP laid over the top DOES work, but it takes ages and ages, and masses of patience to smooth off and fill the new 'outside' so it's suitable for paint. Or, you could make it a hardtop covered with vinyl so it looks like the original, which would be much quicker.
I filled in a Scimitar sunroof once, after its mechanism corroded beyond repair, and used an ally sheet and bolted it down through sunroof bolt holes. Then added a larger grp layer to bond into the roof. Worked well enough for a vinyl roof.
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