badass98svt
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What a poor idea
Convertible poll
- Thread starter SouthernGorilla
- Start date
What a poor idea
ttocs
Post Whore
yea I had a WTF look on my face as I kept noticing different things and yet the other part of me appreciates that someone spent a lot of time on it.
ttocs
Post Whore
There was another one where there the b-pillar was the start and there wasn't that little bit sticking out in front of it that I thought looked better. But yea what happened to these cars?
badass98svt
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They probably all developed piss poor water leaks and ended up in the local boneyard.
ttocs
Post Whore
I thought I had heard the fit/finish wasn't bad, but not bad isn't what you want for a targa top. If it isn't perfectly perfect than it will leak.
Gregomatic
Active Member
I owned three different German cars and all of them, just by coincidence, happened to be 74's. While the last one was a Volvo 164 E that I bought to fix up for my sister, my other two I considered 'Volkswagens'
One was a Karmann Ghia, but the one I want to talk about is the little Porsche 914. (Basically a glorified Volkswagen)
That car was the coolest thing, and a chick magnet to boot.
(Which was a plus beings I was in the Navy at the time.)
That car was nothing but a joy to drive, but the biggest hit was the top. Which I hardly put on. With the flip of a couple levers, the whole thing lifted off and snapped into the underside of the trunk lid!!
I thought that function was pretty neat.
That Stang with the Targa top makes me really miss my little 914.
(Had it for two years before getting rear ended by a drunk driver. If Dr. Porsche had designed the 914 with the fuel cell in the rear instead of in front of the firewall, I wouldn't be here.)
While I'm glad my New Edge is a hard top, I can see where the fun and freedom is with a vert. And if mine was a vert, that top would rarely be up.
One was a Karmann Ghia, but the one I want to talk about is the little Porsche 914. (Basically a glorified Volkswagen)
That car was the coolest thing, and a chick magnet to boot.
(Which was a plus beings I was in the Navy at the time.)
That car was nothing but a joy to drive, but the biggest hit was the top. Which I hardly put on. With the flip of a couple levers, the whole thing lifted off and snapped into the underside of the trunk lid!!
I thought that function was pretty neat.
That Stang with the Targa top makes me really miss my little 914.
(Had it for two years before getting rear ended by a drunk driver. If Dr. Porsche had designed the 914 with the fuel cell in the rear instead of in front of the firewall, I wouldn't be here.)
While I'm glad my New Edge is a hard top, I can see where the fun and freedom is with a vert. And if mine was a vert, that top would rarely be up.
OP
OP
SouthernGorilla
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I saw a slo-mo clip of a 1,000 HP Supra doing a burnout. It had a targa top and it was absolutely terrifying to watch the door gap wiggle under the stress. I can only imagine the car handled like a Radio Flyer on a slip-n-slide. Probably taco'd within a thousand miles. Granted, a more sane power level would wouldn't be as dramatic. But I'd bet money any car so retrofitted would end up swayback before long.
Flade
Member
Having 4 convertibles, I know both the reason to keep it up and drop it down.
Even on a beautiful day I might keep the top up if I am going to work or other event, and don’t want my hair standing straight up or get a bit sweaty. If I don’t care what my hair looks like, the top is down. Here in FL the A/C is likely on either way. When it gets really hot and humid in Jul or Aug I may keep the top up all the time. Yet in winter months when it hits 70 the top is down
Even on a beautiful day I might keep the top up if I am going to work or other event, and don’t want my hair standing straight up or get a bit sweaty. If I don’t care what my hair looks like, the top is down. Here in FL the A/C is likely on either way. When it gets really hot and humid in Jul or Aug I may keep the top up all the time. Yet in winter months when it hits 70 the top is down
Bronco2Fan
Member
And I never really noticed it, but a fellow mustang owner, next door, told and showed me, only convertibles have all 4 windows go down. Learn something every day lol.
OP
OP
SouthernGorilla
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And they really need an "express all" button for them. Quite a nuisance having to hold all four buttons to move the windows when you want to move the top.
TrickVert
Active Member
Yeah, hideous.
I will say, though, that the late-80's Foxbody verts looked terrible with the "stack in the back." I like mine top-down even better with the cover on, but that usually only comes out for car shows and cruises.
PSA - That cover has a max speed limit of 120 MPH, and puts on its own airshow past that.
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TrickVert
Active Member
I added this along with a relay to latch the top-down circuit. Now, one momentary press of the button activates a 4-window roll-down module and drops the top. (If the E-brake isn't pulled, it only rolls down the windows.)
RAU03MACH
Legend
There is no way any one in my area would want a convertible
1 crime , looks easy to break into , and crime is bad in the area
2 we have bad sand storms , blowing sand at 60 mph wind up to 70
3 the sun is brutal it would cook every thing inside the car if the top is down , and if up would dry rot the top
4 the monsoon rains we have hear are ridiculous
These are just a few reasons why we dont see many convertible
Sounds crazy but it is a fact hard top mustang's and other cars with hard tops are more on demand
1 crime , looks easy to break into , and crime is bad in the area
2 we have bad sand storms , blowing sand at 60 mph wind up to 70
3 the sun is brutal it would cook every thing inside the car if the top is down , and if up would dry rot the top
4 the monsoon rains we have hear are ridiculous
These are just a few reasons why we dont see many convertible
Sounds crazy but it is a fact hard top mustang's and other cars with hard tops are more on demand
OP
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SouthernGorilla
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Is that a kit? Or are DIY instructions available?
TrickVert
Active Member
The roll-down module is a DEI 535T. It's triggered by the output of the "top down" button.
The "one-touch-down" was a bit more complex, but it's basically a latching relay circuit that's interrupted by a lever-style microswitch which activates as the top comes to rest in its fully-open position. That's the power side. Somewhere I tapped into the E-brake for the ground so it would only work the top with the handle pulled, but that part is a bit foggy at this point.
THIS PAGE explains how a latching relay circuit works. In my design, Button 1 is the convertible top "Down" switch, and the microswitch is Button 2. I think I grounded the relay coil to the same wire that lights the "BRAKE" lamp in the instrument cluster. (That would explain why it's always lit very dimly after the mod.)
The "one-touch-down" was a bit more complex, but it's basically a latching relay circuit that's interrupted by a lever-style microswitch which activates as the top comes to rest in its fully-open position. That's the power side. Somewhere I tapped into the E-brake for the ground so it would only work the top with the handle pulled, but that part is a bit foggy at this point.
THIS PAGE explains how a latching relay circuit works. In my design, Button 1 is the convertible top "Down" switch, and the microswitch is Button 2. I think I grounded the relay coil to the same wire that lights the "BRAKE" lamp in the instrument cluster. (That would explain why it's always lit very dimly after the mod.)
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TrickVert
Active Member
Yeah, there are times it's too hot to have the top down, but I try not to drive the car much in those conditions. That's especially true right now, as I still (for the third year now) need to fix the shaft seal on my A/C compressor.
P. S. My top-up pic didn't post earlier (added). I dunno. I think she's pretty sexy fully dressed, too.
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