boodlefoof Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Hey guys, I haven't been on in awhile... been busy working on my Z! I decided to chop the top on the car... and well, it only took about 8 hours today to do! Most of the work was just overcoming the nervousness of cutting off the roof! Now it is quite low and the windshield has a real rake to it. I've got pics on my website at... http://www.geocities.com/boodlefoof/Project_Racer-Zroof2.html Geocities tends to shut me down if I exceed my allocated bandwidth... so if the page is "unavailable" just try back later. Next step in the project... starting to build the fiberglass molds for the custom bodywork! Thanks to all for giving me the inspiration to do this project, particularly BlueOvalZ. Your car is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Very cool!!! Nice job!! Do you have a solution for side windows and windshield yet (or will the original windshield still fit?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmoknR6 Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 looks good. im jealous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilRufusKay Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Awesome work man. The line is super sleek!! I too am interested in your "have glass made" quote. Do you mean lexan? Looks great in any case!!! Rufus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iskone Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Very nice! I just love what you did!! I've wanted to do somthing like that since the first ride I ever had in a Z. Can't you just call up a hotrod shop and ask them where they get there windsheilds from? Isk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stony Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 bandwidth exceeded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 I'd like to see this one in person... I'm truly impressed... That roofline is simply awesome! Where in Virginia are you located? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spork Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 hmmm...I had planned to do this at one time and decided against it because of the glass problems one would have on a 280zx (with t-tops). One of these days I'm still going to do it. I cut up several plastic model cars and got everything figured out...short of the side window glass. Tempered Glass is a funny thing... Now on a side note, did you simply weld the seams together or did you put sleeves in the pilars and off-set your cuts to keep all the strength? Or is all this superficial and you have plans of putting in a cage to keep the proper strength? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boodlefoof Posted May 29, 2005 Author Share Posted May 29, 2005 Thanks for the compliments guys! Sorry about the exceeded bandwidth... I posted this on a few other car sites I frequent as well. To answer questions... spork, I just welded the outer layer of sheetmetal all the way around the perimeter. I plan on building a complete spaceframe for the car and will probably be cutting out much of the current supporting structure anyway. Mike, I'm in Northern Virginia for the summer and that is where I have the car. I'm still kind of transient though... I'm finishing up grad school. About the glass... the windshield will no longer fit (not even close). I don't really want a lexan windshield... so when I commented about "having glass made" I mean that I'm going to see if I can find someone to make a custom windshield. I do plan to call hot rod shops and see what they think. The rear hatch no longer fits (because I moved the roof back about 3''). But, I didn't plan on retaining a functional hatch... I want to smooth the hatch into the roofline. I'll either make the hatch out of fiberglass and rivet it in, or I'll modify the existing hatch and weld it in. I'll probably make the glass out of lexan. For the side windows... the quarter windows will be lexan. The door windows I'm hoping to keep functional (i.e., roll up and down) so I plan on using real glass. I'm not sure if I'll be able to modify the windows I have... I hear that cutting tempered glass is pretty tricky. I will be sure to post back when I figure out the glass situation, but for right now my next step is going to be some custom fiberglass bodywork. I'll keep you posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 I hear that cutting tempered glass is pretty tricky. Only in the Twilight Zone. Here in the real world it's imposible. The temper must first be taken out of the glass for it to be cut. Then the glass must be re-tempered. It's very likely the piece would not survive the process. This also requires some very expensive equipment (read industrial). I would think formed Lexan would be a more viable alternative for side windows and then just get used to polishing out the scratches. Sorry for the disappointing news. This is why chopped top cars with curved glass are so rare. Any chance a couple of pics can be posted here in the thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO-Z Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 I have seen a post on water cutting windshields you might look. Also I built a convertible 260z. I would reinforce the chassi before doing any cutting, the top adds a lot of stiffness to the car and it will flex after you cut it unless you support the car in more than just 4 places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Battle Pope Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 Damn! That makes the car about 12.3 times meaner looking! Me likes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zdmz Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 I would be very interested in doing a chop top if the glass issue can be resolved. I saw a truck magazine that showed the installation of a windshield in an older truck using the modern glue in method. They installed a metal strip around the window frame that the glass was glued to and finished it out with caulk and a plastic "T" strip. It looked very nice. Of course, it used flat glass. To frame out the z car to accept flat glass would look really weird. It will be interesting to see what you come up with. I'm also interested to see how your hatch turns out. I am impressed with how the car looks, and how easy you made it look to do. Are you comfortable with the head room that the chopped top leaves you with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks280zt Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 I have seen a post on water cutting windshields you might look. Also I built a convertible 260z. I would reinforce the chassi before doing any cutting, the top adds a lot of stiffness to the car and it will flex after you cut it unless you support the car in more than just 4 places. Yea, I saw the same post about the convertible where the owner had the glass cut with a waterjet, took him two times but got it right. But amazing look man, good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 I think this is why the other choptop Z guy designed his modifications around a stock windshield from another car...didn't he use a Peugeot windshield? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iskone Posted May 29, 2005 Share Posted May 29, 2005 I think I'm gonna some poking around here in Washington to see what i can come up with for custom windsheilds as well. Finding a wind sheild out of another car would be nice but since you've already got yours done it made be a pain to fit in a different one. Some of the convertible guys use miata indsheilds. Isk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boodlefoof Posted May 30, 2005 Author Share Posted May 30, 2005 Henrik, who did the other choptop 240 used a Peugeot windshield. But as I recall from reading his web writeup... it was just serendipitous that the windshield fit. He did his thing and then went looking for a factory windshield that would fit... and the Peugeot did. zdmz, The head room actually isn't going to be too bad. I'm about 5' 10'' and I will have a few inches of room left once I do the interior. However, with the stock seats... it would be tight. I'm planning on a custom frame that will allow me to lower the seats a bit... I'll be sitting about 4-5'' off of where the current floor is. This gives me about 3-4'' of head clearance. I think when all is said and done and the car is at normal ride height the roofline will be about 42'' off the ground. Just a hair taller than the original Ford GT-40. Dan Juday, I think that lexan will be my best bet for the rear, but for the sides I am going to get custom glass cut (I want to maintain window functionality)... for flat pieces it is pretty cheap. The windshield is the big problem. I'd rather not do lexan for it... so I'll be looking into the cost of having a custom piece formed. I've heard it is very pricey (on the order of $1k). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 Very, very, (I'll say it one more time) very nice. Keep the photos coming. I like!! Especially the front 1/3rd of the new roof line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody 82 ZXT Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 Just got to see it. Looks great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Here comes trouble Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 http://www.zparts.com/photoads.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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