CF Targa W/Aluminum X-Brace**Gauging Interest**
- Thread starter Jayhall
- Start date
Adjuster has the right idea,carbon and foam,or carbon and honeycomb,but either of these combos should be vacuum bagged.Keeping the price below$1500.00 for a targa top would be hard to do,and you'd have to sell a number of these to pay for the tooling[molds]and the necessary brackets and fasteners.I just made a carbon hood, 6lbs,and am about to begin on carbon doors and a targa top.I'm doing this primairly for weight reduction,not for carbon look that alot of people want,although cosmetics could be considered.I'll post when these projects are finished[targa first]and anyone interested can contact me.I am building this stuff for myself,and if it works well,I'll be glad to make pieces for customers.
Adjuster said:
What im aiming for is for the brace to bolt into the stock location, having the CF top attached to the brace. Does that make sense? Because ive got a great idea in my head, and i sometimes find good ideas are hard to explain for others.
I do like the structural foam idea, that could cut back on costs greatly, and make production much easier
I had an idea on how to do this - I just have not had any time to see about how feasible it is. I don't have any technical drawings, so hopefully you can understand my explanation.
Create a targa brace that attaches to the stock mounting points and seals to the stock weatherstipping.
Create a fiberglass top that has weatherstripping to seal it to the brace. The fiberglass top would have a lightweight aluminum frame that held quick-release clamps that sealed the targa tight to the brace with pressure at the front and back. The top would also have to incorporate the rain gutters and window glass channels on the either side of the top.
Insulate the fiberglass top with foam that is shaped to fit around the cross sections of the targa brace (essentially the targa brace is visible, but sits in recesses created by the upholstered foam).
Anyway, good luck - I hope you can get it done.
Create a targa brace that attaches to the stock mounting points and seals to the stock weatherstipping.
Create a fiberglass top that has weatherstripping to seal it to the brace. The fiberglass top would have a lightweight aluminum frame that held quick-release clamps that sealed the targa tight to the brace with pressure at the front and back. The top would also have to incorporate the rain gutters and window glass channels on the either side of the top.
Insulate the fiberglass top with foam that is shaped to fit around the cross sections of the targa brace (essentially the targa brace is visible, but sits in recesses created by the upholstered foam).
Anyway, good luck - I hope you can get it done.
it seems like alot of people want an xbrace with a removable roof, im going to try to go this route if i can.
i think i may be able to achive this if the CF roof would be moreless a shell, with guides in and X shape on the underside, so that the xbrace would fit inside these guides. Along the side of the guides, there would be holes, for bolts, that would hold the guide to the brace. The brace would have a threaded hole for a small bolt to attach the 2 peices together. Only thing with this idea is that a intergrated headliner would have to be removable.
i think i may be able to achive this if the CF roof would be moreless a shell, with guides in and X shape on the underside, so that the xbrace would fit inside these guides. Along the side of the guides, there would be holes, for bolts, that would hold the guide to the brace. The brace would have a threaded hole for a small bolt to attach the 2 peices together. Only thing with this idea is that a intergrated headliner would have to be removable.
Here is a really crude drawing of how I was thinking of doing it.
The light blue section is the aluminum cross brace. It is connected to the car by the factory mounting points. It needs be made precisely so that it seals against the factory weatherstripping.
The grey section is is the top. It can be foamed for sound and upholstered in such a way that there is a channel in it that accommodates the targa brace.
The front and rear of the top piece need to have weatherstripping to create a watertight seal with the targa brace. The sides need to incorporate the exterior rain channel and interior window channel.
The black section is aluminum framing that is the backbone of the top piece.
At each corner there is a toggle latch (as pictured - there are very nice automotive-use toggle latches available).
The toggle latch is permanently affixed to the aluminum framing of the top. There is a receiver in the targa brace that the toggle latch attaches to. Engagement of the toggle latch pulls the top DOWN and secures the top to the brace. The weatherstripping on the top is compressed, making a watertight seal.
The underside of the targa brace could be upholstered to match the headliner to give a perfectly finished look.
The light blue section is the aluminum cross brace. It is connected to the car by the factory mounting points. It needs be made precisely so that it seals against the factory weatherstripping.
The grey section is is the top. It can be foamed for sound and upholstered in such a way that there is a channel in it that accommodates the targa brace.
The front and rear of the top piece need to have weatherstripping to create a watertight seal with the targa brace. The sides need to incorporate the exterior rain channel and interior window channel.
The black section is aluminum framing that is the backbone of the top piece.
At each corner there is a toggle latch (as pictured - there are very nice automotive-use toggle latches available).
The toggle latch is permanently affixed to the aluminum framing of the top. There is a receiver in the targa brace that the toggle latch attaches to. Engagement of the toggle latch pulls the top DOWN and secures the top to the brace. The weatherstripping on the top is compressed, making a watertight seal.
The underside of the targa brace could be upholstered to match the headliner to give a perfectly finished look.
The way Rajunz did it was perfect, it was like taking off a normal targa. And the brace was on at all times.
steven89 said:
I finally found some pics of it - I'm with you now - that looks like a fantastic (and simpler) way of doing things.
Here is a thread with some pics:
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31071&highlight=targa
dugums said:
Heres for the lazy people
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showpost.php?p=414638&postcount=32Its in the least bit.. awesome!
CTsupra
Supramania Contributor
hitman said:
then get stay out of my thread and have a nice day. Im motivated to make this part as cost efficent as possable. Another thing I said was, that it might be more, and thats its still to early to tell. Your comments are not wanted in this thread.
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personnally, when i take the top off, i don't want anything there.:icon_bigg
Rajunz's targa brace is exceptional, a very nice piece of work. but i prefer jayhall's original idea!! imho of course!
Rajunz's targa brace is exceptional, a very nice piece of work. but i prefer jayhall's original idea!! imho of course!
marc3 said:
Well, i will be going with the original idea first, but once that is done and i have the molds made, i can work on changing it around a little bit. From the sounds of things though, im might be on my own for getting this started. Most people want and "evolved" version of what ive got in mind
im definatly interested. You can count me in for sure as long as the completed piece is at least half as light as the orginal top and has all the provisions of the original top (rain gutters, weatherstripinng, etc.) so the parts can be transferred over. And of course great quality overall.