Glass roof
Mitsiboy
Band Wagon
I have been searching for this, but cannot find any info. Has anyone ever done a solid glass/plexi roof? My wife had a Scion TC and I loved the glass roof. I figured that someone must have done that to a wagon.
Comments
Good luck! Keep us posted on this if you can or do it.
i want to ragtop my wagon. one of my friends was always threatening to sawz-all the roof off my hatch
google image hollandia grandview panoramic #524 and the rag top is called hollandia power folding sunroof #400.
I did both to my scions.
I wouldn't do this to a civic wagon, its to rare. only my opinion.
It's leaking between the frame and the canvas part of the roof. http://store.gaugemagazine.com/
The center section of the roof structurally does very little so there is no reason why it would be weakened. For being a heavily modified 21 year old car it is fairly quiet, no more rattling than you would expect.
Don't worry about losing any support. If you drive on the freeway on a windy day with the windows down, you can hear / feel the roof pop up and down and sounds exactly like what it is: one big piece of unsupported sheet metal.
Have you driven a wagon with a ragtop? I drove 6 hours each way with the roof wide open to IA with no "popping up and down" of the roof. There's a reason there is a metal frame: to help support the roof. Also if you take a look at the pics again you will see that there isn't enough roof there to classify it as "one big piece of unsupported sheet metal." Actually I would probably go out on a limb and say that the roof is quieter now when it is closed than the factory tin can roof.
I received a business discount so after shipping it was a little under $600.
I would imagine the glass would need a bit of a frame underneath it?
im sure you and do pretty much the same thing as MrM3 and just mount a piece of glass to a metal frame and drop it in your roof...< obviously not that easy haha
Yes it leaks. I'm from central Indiana so I know all about midwest winters.
That was my original plan.
cluster/ "coin box" / mirror-map lights/ illuminated bumper pole-switch/ headlights (h4)
It has pwr windows-AC- and the glass roof and a its a Automatic w/16valve dual carb.
My build will be a budget build, but I'm not gonna sacrifice quality if I don't have to. I just am going to buy/build everything instead of buying it prebuilt. Overall, it looks like a fairly cheap project, but before I go ahead and buy anything, I'm gonna ask for opinions.
Here is my Pro-CAD designed mock-up.
Okay, now for a basic explanation. I would like the roof to be removable which is making it a little more complicated, but I believe it will be worth it in the end. It would basically be a sheet of Lexan (most likely) set into a frame on the roof. I am hoping it to be around the same size as MrM3's ragtop as that looks really good. In between the Lexan and frame would be a padding (something along the lines of felt) to not only reduce vibration, but to help with waterproofing. Also, for waterproofing, in between the window frame and the wagon would be Silicone caulk made for metal.
Some problems I have with my concept..
1. How should I hold the glass to the vehicle? I want it to hold the glass down well, yet still leave me the ability to remove it when I want. I was thinking some sort of latch system, but it seems too gaudy. A friend also brought up the idea of magnets, but I'm not too sure about that.
2. What are the types of places that would build the frame for me or will I have to find someone to personally weld it for me?
More questions to come. I'll put together my own thread when I feel I have a solid idea down and some of the supplies.
More questions to come probably. I'll open a thread for my own build when I feel I have enough of the idea together.
A latch along those lines, but MUCH smaller, less noticeable. Sort of like you would find on an old wooden trunk.
I have also toyed with the idea of using these...
But the issue is that they are so expensive. (around $75 each)
So at the moment I am stumped. Any ideas?
Another idea would be to use a frame similar to mine that has a lip inside that the lexan can sit on and drill some holes through the lexan to run bolts down through into welded in nuts on the inside frame. it wouldn't be a quick removal but with 8 or so bolts it would be very secure and less than 5 minutes to remove. With a flexible weatherstrip it would seal pretty well too.
Also, check your PM box when you get a moment.