Philbert

iTrader: (2)

Looking GREAT!

I think the sliding windows actually flex and pop out. I had one broken into years ago and my mechanic replaced it for me (he used to own one too) - he told me that.

derockus

iTrader: (1)

Haha, bummer!! If I had a garage I'd let you use it if you broke down through here again. Got street parking but plenty of tools if you're ever in a fix out my way again

You out wheelin in Moab or biking or what?

I'm interested to see how this chop works out. I may need to trip out to YodaJims for a spare top and copy you if it works out good!

corich

We were mountain biking. My kids and my brother and I were trying to ride the Kokopelli Trail. It didn't work out - we were carrying too much gear to cover the mileage between our food & water caches. But it was fun, and we learned a lot about how to do it right. And placing those caches required a little poking around on the 4x4 roads, which definitely got me interested in going back to do some wheelin some day soon.

Ahenry014

i need to find another top so i can do this to my current crappy one.

corich

Slider windows are out. Man, that was not easy. The goop sealing them was strong and sticky and cutting it didn't help - it would just reseal behind the knife unless you pressed the window outwards as you cut. If I ever go to Mars and they tell me that's the stuff holding the windows in place on my spaceship, I'll sleep easy.

The remainder of the top is really light now. I'm pretty happy about that.

I'm planning to use left-over boatbuilding epoxy to seal the cut edges and repair the failing seam, but that stuff only cures above 60deg or so. As you can tell from the pictures, I'm doing all this outside. So I'll be waiting for a good weekend weather window to do that job.

Co_94_PU

iTrader: (-1)

Expoxy cure times, rule of thumb.. Double the flash cure time for every 10 degress below 60. Thin/light layers will cure in anything above freezing, it'll cure at freeze temps to some extend but tends to cloud up. Thick heavy layers will cure even in a snow bank, if allowed to gel first, due to the exotherm'. Once the initial cure is done it will full cure even in freezing temps.

I did a camper repair this winter just needed to put the some hot air(hair dryer, w/ AL foil shield) to make sure it was setup before the temp got below 40.

az_eaglescout_pilot

iTrader: (1)

How's this coming? I just picked up a top to chop today...gonna start making my cuts this next weekend.

Gizler00

iTrader: (1)

Top looks great! This is an interesting project. Im curious to see how it turns out.

corich

Sorry to leave you all hanging, we had a couple of good snowstorms blow through and I've been out of town a bit.

I sealed the cut edges and filled the open channels with epoxy last night. It came out pretty well, though one edge appears to have squirrel footprints on it } Wish I had a garage....

We are enjoying a really nice weekend. I might put the half-top on the truck today, if I can muster enough helpers to lift off the old one. If I do get it off, I might be able to start mocking up the fabric part. There will be pics either way - I have some process photos of sealing the channels.

corich

Okay, pics are loaded. First of all, here's the epoxy I'm using. I think it's made of unicorn tears, judging from the price.

It's a 5:1 mix ratio; I used plastic spoons to measure out as little as possible.

I was hoping to A) coat all cut edges to protect the fiberglass, and B) seal off the big hollow channels exposed by the cuts. I took some scraps of pool noodle and cut some pieces to fill the channels so that I wouldn't have to pour $3000 worth of epoxy in there:


Then I did the coating with pure epoxy, using the plastic spoons to dispense & spread it. We run a high tech operation.

When the coating was finished, I mixed in some "microballoons" (glass bubbles) and silica powder to the remainder of my batch. These are additives designed to make the epoxy fluffier (therefore cheaper) and also stiffer. Pure epoxy is like working with maple syrup; with these additives, it's more like working with, I don't know, whipped cream or peanut butter. I'm hungry now....

The remaining epoxy was just enough to fill the channels on top of the foam. I did my best to leave it smooth, but the epoxy sometimes shrinks slightly as it cures, and there was one spot where a shred of foam ended up protruding. No big deal, as long as it stays sealed.


With all that done, I rounded up the kids and swapped the top on. Here are some pics of it in place:




You can see in this next one that I've created a challenge for myself. I was planning to take the fabric along the angle of the sides, but the roll bar won't allow that. Going to have to get creative.... I kind of wish I'd handled it differently, but with those windows in the way, I'm not sure how I could have.




Driving around, the half-top is much airier than the full top, even with all the windows open. But it keeps my kids from being able to climb into the back seat via the rear tires and bed sides, which they always loved. I guess this is a cooler, more comfortable (and maybe more weather-proof) option for longer trips on hot, sunny days, but we'd still rather just go topless.

Of course, topless means the interior gets wet when it rains. If I can figure out a decent fabric cover for the back, and some acrylic "window" panelsfor the sides, this might offer a decent compromise that doesn't leave me scrambling for cover when the clouds roll in.

Philbert

iTrader: (2)

"Unicorn Tears" LOL!

Great work - I've heard of micro balloons too in my online research, as I plan to fix my 33 year old Datsun 280ZX dash with fiberglas soon.

Good luck with the roll bar issue - I really don't have any advice....unless you're cool running around without one (based on your safety concerns with the kids, I'm guessing that's a "no").