240 fastback "targa" or "t-top"

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DrIfT_FoReVeR
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hey everyone, ive been wondering for a while, if i ran into a lot of money, could i possibly custom fabricate a targa top, or a t-top convertable? i mean, with the right amount of money and the right design, it could work.

i was just thinking about the idea, and the "convertable" forum was right there, so i figured that id ask.

does anyone have any idea how i could go about doing this? supports, clamps, etc?

figured id jog a lot of people's minds. who thinks this would be cool?


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Hijacker
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i'm sure if went to a good body shop, they could convert it to a targa top. I've seen a picture of a targa topped 240 soemwhere, i just don't remember.

Personally, it would be neat for the rarity value, but the structural weakening and added weight would be detrimental to the overall performance of the car

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TrunkMonkey
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tenkawa_akito wrote:I've seen a picture of a targa topped 240 soemwhere, i just don't remember.
i've got a couple of pics on my computer at home. i'll post them later.

pimpness > structural weakness :D .

-demetrius

charlotte240
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I was thinking about doing it to my parts car for grins and giggles so I ripped out the headliner. There's almost nothing to the roof. just some very thin sheet metal and a longitudal bar. Well, it's not really a bar. It's just another peice of sheetmetal that is shaped like a canoe glued/welded to the roof. It's probably just to keep the roof from caving in when you put something over 10lbs on it.

The hardest part would be getting the molding looking good around the windows. You would have to cut that rubber molding and then go back and make it seal when the top is on. Seatbelts shouldn't be that big of a deal.

The only other part that I would think would be very hard would be to fill in that area between the headliner and the roof (about an inch or two) with either fiberglass or sheetmetal.

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TrunkMonkey
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found one of them. i also had one of a silver fastback, but it must have gotten deleted.



-demetrius

DrIfT_FoReVeR
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hell yes! i was scared that people would be like "omfg you = teh l0se!" but yeah. i think i could do this. i mean, i know it would be a good idea to take it to a body shop, but with the right tools and parts, i could do this, right? i mean, the way i see it, i could put in a support beam through the pillars and above the front windshield for support, and since my gf's dad works in a machine shop, he could fab and weld these components, and possibly even help me for next to nothing.

man, now that someone else has done it, i wanna do it too. w00t!

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AZhitman
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I made my 84 CRX into a targa top... Don't ask. :)

IveBeenBad
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T tops would be fairly easy seing as how the car already has a brace right down the middle of the roof and the roof is not a structural piece

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Hijacker
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chainsaw > roof top

Ricer240sx
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i was planning on doing it in my fastback when i had it, and then put in a roll cage and have some type of connectoon to the top of the a and b pillars to the cage to keep things stiff!!! it should work, i would do it to the coupe, but that would be the ghey!!!

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AZhitman
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IveBeenBad wrote:T tops would be fairly easy seing as how the car already has a brace right down the middle of the roof and the roof is not a structural piece


Not true. The roof is very much a structural part of the car. Don't be fooled by the thickness, it's very critical to the structural integrity.

Think of it as a sheet of paper - Pretty strong if you pull it from the edges.

That brace is just to support the roof panel - The real rigidity comes from the parts right over the windows.

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AZhitman
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p.s. Cut your 240 roof, take a corner real fast, and then tell me if your doors still open and close - Chances are they won't.

Buy a 'vert - They're sloppy enough, even WITH the added bracing.

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Hijacker
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at least with a vert, you can jack the nose up and the doors still open and close like normal

S13supercoupe
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lol yea when my 240 coupe's motor went i want to do a targa to it for ****s and giggles but didnt have the balls to chop the top on a coupe. i loved the look of the targa hatch though!

DrIfT_FoReVeR
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tenkawa_akito wrote:chainsaw > roof top


HAHAHHAA pwnage!

so what you guys are saying is that if i chop the top and targa it, then the structure will become so unstable that the doors will fly open in hard turns and whatnot? what other sacrifices would i have to make?


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