Let's find out the preference for top down motoring then

spokey · Post by **spokey** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 10:19

How soon they forget the car that started it all!

DavidM · Post by **DavidM** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 10:19

with a little poll

DavidM · Post by **DavidM** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 10:39

I realised that ...

But you cannot change a poll after it is posted

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 10:54

Interesting....

I don't have a wind deflector coz I've got yummy Schnitzer chrome roll bars, so any deflector must be clear and not detract from the look of the hoops. Vote cast accordingly.

I know there are clear deflectors available from custom makers in the States, but I've decided to have a go at making my own.

Scott SLX 280 was kind enough to send me some photos of his one made by one of the companies in America, and I reckon with a bit of planning it should be pretty easy to fabricate something similar.

I have bought a piece of 4mm perspex which is big enough to make 2 deflectors (incase I fork it up on my first attempt!). This cost £18.

I've been trying to find seat belt webbing by the metre, but so far am finding this impossible, let alone in the silver colour which I need.
Any ideas anyone?

An alternative would be open type spring clips (tool clips I think is the proper name) but these are rare in 50mm diameter. They would also have to be lined with something to prevent them scratching the chrome.

Also, Scott's deflector was positioned to the cabin side of the hoops, but others I've seen are to the rear of the roll bars.

TonyCal suggested that the latter is better because the breeze rolls over the cabin and then comes forward between the seats. I guess it'll have to be a bit of trial and error.

A nice project for a wet winter weekend.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers!
A.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 12:24

Perhaps you could find something like this to attach the perspex -

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 12:36

Thanks Nick, and I must say that does look rather smart with what seems to be a chrome finish.

Trouble is, that's a bolted fixing, and I was intending to make the whole thing easily removable, ie: spring clips or seat belt webbing with velcro.

Suggestions always welcome!

Cheers!
A.

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 13:09

Alfie
Try a car breakers yard.
Once in a smash, seatbelts are usually worthless from a safety point of view. They might let you cut out a section. Once cut, you will probably need to seal the ends with a flame to stop any fraying and to tidy the edges. Some cars have silvery grey belts which may blend better with chrome.
If all else fails I might have some webbing at home, but I think it might be to narrow. I will have a look when I get home. How much do you need?
Steve.

spokey · Post by **spokey** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 13:29

Alfie wrote:I reckon I'll need about 250mm per strap, maximum 4 straps per hoop, so that's 2m total not allowing for errors.

So, that'll be 18m then?

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 13:32

Steve, you're a gent.

Silver / grey seat belts do exist, I know, but I think they're pretty rare, so finding some in a breakers yard might be tough.

(Contrary to popular opinion...) Width doesn't really matter.
If it's wide like a seat belt, then that'll look chunky and strong.
If it's narrow, it'll obscure less of the chrome.

If you've got something suitable at home, that'd be really cool and I'll buy you an 'orange juice' or two when we meet. Or maybe you could just let me know where you bought it?

I reckon I'll need about 250mm per strap, maximum 4 straps per hoop, so that's 2m total not allowing for errors.

Thanks.

A.

PS. Are we going a little off topic here?

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 13:38

spokey wrote:
Alfie wrote:I reckon I'll need about 250mm per strap, maximum 4 straps per hoop, so that's 2m total not allowing for errors.
So, that'll be 18m then?

Spokey....

Should be ok, I'm planning to get a grown-up to help with the scissors....

A.

BostonGreenZ3 · Post by **BostonGreenZ3** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 13:46

Alfie wrote: (Contrary to popular opinion...) Width doesn't really matter

Oh yes it does

DavidM · Post by **DavidM** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 13:46

Just a little OT - IMHO the straps look pants - they mess up the look of the polished hoops - Steve and I were playing with a fixing idea that looked smart as well as held it firm - main issue we ran into - which we have still not solved was bending the perspex to a shape that formed over the bend of the hoops - as the ploished ones have a kink - unlike the BMW ones

Dazza · Post by **Dazza** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 14:01

Hi all

Depending on how you need to bend the purspex a hot buld will usually give off enough heat to allow the purspex to flex - depending on purspex thikness.

A friend of mine who used some purspex in something or other used this technic and it worked.

pingu · Post by **pingu** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 14:37

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... ename=WDVW

Check this out for ideas. (not to buy, but to plagarise)

Instead of webbing strap, I'd be tempted to try Velcro.

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 14:50

DavidM (King Of Chrome) wrote:the straps look pants

David, I know exactly what you mean, but I was trying to find silver webbing which might just blend in with the chrome, unlike the black which doesn't look good. Only a guess.

DavidM (King Of Chrome) wrote:main issue we ran into - which we have still not solved was bending the perspex to a shape that formed over the bend of the hoops - as the ploished ones have a kink - unlike the BMW ones

Yeah, that's a bridge, come to, cross, when, etc.
I intend to try heating a piece of the perspex to see if it can be bent neatly using first a hair dryer (no comments please!

) and if that doesn't work, a paint stripper heat gun.

If the heating / bending is not a neat job, I was planning to install the deflector on the cabin side of the hoops and cut away four slots which would slip (diagonally) over the upright vertical length of the hoops. The deflector would then be fixed parallel to the sloping part of the hoops. Am I making sense?

The design is still in its infancy, and no doubt there will be several prototypes before success is acheived. Interesting that you have already gone down the same path!

Please keep the comments coming.

Cheers!
A.

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 14:59

Thanks Pingu, that's similar to what I was thinking of, except the perspex would extend to the outside edges of the hoops.

Those straps are exactly what I was imagining, except in silver to blend in with the chrome. Those shown are fixed with velcro, so what exactly do you mean? Make the whole strap from velcro?

A.

DavidM · Post by **DavidM** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 15:10

Alfie - you are now going through exactly what we (Steve Clack and myself) did - we had the design for the perspex sorted - we tried heating it with a hairdryer and a heat gun - neither worked and resulted in a snapped piece of perspex - the only thing that was resolved is that the fixing method we came up with was a winner. The economy of scale to get the perspex cut to a good quality was in units of 100 - this was OTT - therefore the only way would be to find some other method of cutting it - to a level of quality we were happy with and that was economic in time. We went through about 5 methods of fixing before deciding on the one we did.

Alfie · Post by **Alfie** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 15:43

DavidM (King Of Chrome) wrote:The economy of scale to get the perspex cut to a good quality was in units of 100 - this was OTT - therefore the only way would be to find some other method of cutting it - to a level of quality we were happy with and that was economic in time.

Having not tried it yet, I was imagining a cut with a jig saw followed by cleaning up with a sander. I guess you tried this?

DavidM (King Of Chrome) wrote:We went through about 5 methods of fixing before deciding on the one we did.

Which was?
Or is that a trade secret????

A.

*_they_* · Post by ***_they_*** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 15:56

Alfie wrote:
DavidM (King Of Chrome) wrote:The economy of scale to get the perspex cut to a good quality was in units of 100 - this was OTT - therefore the only way would be to find some other method of cutting it - to a level of quality we were happy with and that was economic in time.
Having not tried it yet, I was imagining a cut with a jig saw followed by cleaning up with a sander. I guess you tried this?

DavidM (King Of Chrome) wrote:We went through about 5 methods of fixing before deciding on the one we did.
Which was?
Or is that a trade secret????

A.

My suggestion would be to get a template in mdf, then use a router to cut the plexi.

Has anyone tried to make one of these for No roll hoop car? If so wher do you mount it?

spokey · Post by **spokey** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 16:07

BostonGreenZ3 wrote:
Alfie wrote: (Contrary to popular opinion...) Width doesn't really matter
Oh yes it does

Shirley

I'm now worried that my red throbber isn't big enough for you...

BostonGreenZ3 · Post by **BostonGreenZ3** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 16:48

spokey wrote: Shirley I'm now worried that my red throbber isn't big enough for you

Dont worry Spokey - its not the size - its how you use it that counts

spokey · Post by **spokey** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 16:55

BostonGreenZ3 wrote:
spokey wrote: Shirley I'm now worried that my red throbber isn't big enough for you
Dont worry Spokey - its not the size - its how you use it that counts

That's a relief - it might not have a lot of girth, but the way it moves is enough to make a woman scream.

Steve · Post by **Steve** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 18:47

Alfie
See photo.
The silver grey is only about 1" wide but I have over 2 meters on a roll.
The black is 1.5" wide and I can come up 4 lengths of about 60cm.
(did that make Spokey go quiet?

)

If you think either is any good, send me a PM with your address and I'll post them to you.
Cheers
Steve.

spokey · Post by **spokey** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 19:23

Steve wrote:The black is 1.5" wide and I can come up 4 lengths of about 60cm.
(did that make Spokey go quiet? )

Not really, but I suspect you might be hearing from a whole bunch of women real soon...

c_w · Post by **c_w** » Tue 05 Oct, 2004 19:23

Find an MG Metro for the bespoke red seatbelt look!!

I would have expected a single fixing in the middle wouldn't prevent the perspex wobbling about a lot; surely 4 thinner straps more top and bottom would be better?

zroadster.net

Let's find out the preference for top down motoring then

When I have the top down I ...

Hmmmm

Let's find out the preference for top down motoring then

Clear!

Clamps

Nice!

Re: Cool!

Cool!

Cuts.

Good points indeed.

Strapping.

You've been there.

Re: You've been there.