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If you were to attach a spring loaded cantilever hinge to the waterfall, as it was raised it could pull back and then as it lowers the hinge would push it out to match the console location, A fixed mount coil wound spring mounted against the convertible top cover could assist the hinge. Food for thought
Last edited by Hary Gahtoe; 11-26-2014 at 04:45 PM.
Reason: incorrect term
Why not attach the waterfall to the structure, and have the tonneau come down to meet it with a bit of overlap at the joint? With the tonneau closed, I think you'd have the look you're going for, and it probably wouldn't be in the way of anything that moves (but verify this!).
I've been thinking about your idea and I've sketched what I think you're talking about.
The thing is, doing it that way would still leave a joint between the tonneau and waterfall, which is what I already have. I'd like to eliminate the joint altogether. But there is a viable reason to use the lever method idea of yours... Its for space. If I connect the waterfall to the lid, it will leave access to the trunk between the seats. Otherwise it will be blocked by the stationary waterfall connected to the center console.
I'm going to give this more thought and look into where I can buy a couple of lever assemblies that look OEM. Any thoughts?
Biggest obstacle is in the waterfall joint. How to raise and lower the tonneau while having it pull back on the way up and out going down without being too stiff or flop around.
The silver style rectangular type with the black arms would be a good direction to start or look into
Keep up the good work
Well, its been a while since I posted anything about this project. Life has a way of complicating things. But today I am going to get it finished. At least it will be painted and ready to install. I'll post photos of it after paint. I'm also painting a few other parts as well since they needed it and I had to buy extra material.
Here is a photo of the test fit... No clearance issues at all!!
The water fall is finished too. I had to fiberglass in the area where the C5 logo was. The waterfall is indented around the factory emblem. I'm going to put a C4 emblem there of some kind. I'll post a finished photo of it too.
In this photo, the ends aren't finished yet. That's done now. I also need to get the metal brackets that the top snaps into powdercoated. I set up a powdercoating station and oven in my garage so no problem there. I'm pretty excited about it!
Well, the tonneau is painted. I still have work to do on it. There are some cover pieces to go behind the doors and all the hardware needs to be installed. But it looks good.
The waterfall isn't all sorted out yet. I have it propped up but it isn't in the correct place. I'm working on that detail. I have new carpet and all the other interior bits to install plus a set of chrome seat hoops. I'll figure out the waterfall bracket when the interior is out of the way.
I bought a set of GS rear fender flares from a forum member. They are also painted and ready to install. But first the whole car will need a buff and wax.
Then new Billstein shocks and a C6 brake upgrade to get done. I'm following the step-by-step "how-to" posted on this forum to do the work. I hope it all goes well.
Looks great . On the bottom of this page they offer a waterfall for C5 coupes. It is shorter than the vert. Maybe they would be interested to manufacture your design
The seat bumps are fitted on the tonneau cover and the interior is gutted (It has been for a long time actually).
Initially I removed the carpet, which includes the center console and other trim pieces. I wanted to jump right in to get the sound deadener and carpet installed. But after everything was out of the car, a horrible smell was released. In the past I thought it was just a musty smell from mold or mildew, which was actually the motivating factor for replacing the interior. I could never get the odor out. Living here in the Pacific Northwest, it's common to have mold issues in a car; especially a convertible. What I discovered, however, was the absence of mold but an invasion of mice instead! I uncovered four large nests made of carpet insulation and cherry pits. There were several dead mice and mouse crap everywhere. Worse was the amount of urine saturated into everything. It was evident that mice hadn’t been “living” in the car for a few years, but the urine was still tacky and reeked terrible! It was yellowish-brown in color and all over everything in the back storage areas and in the dash. Anything metal was either oxidized or severely rusted. To add insult to injury, the mice had been gnawing on wiring behind the passenger knee bolster and glove box. Level areas had sticky, semi-dry urine 1/8” thick in some places. It was hard to get a grip on the method of repairing so much damage.
I started by dismantling and removing the dash completely. It was a huge ordeal but I took photos and video so I’d know how to put it back together. Metal brackets that had been urinated on and anything with felt, foam, or carpet had to be stripped. I tried washing everything but it still smelled. Then I sand-blasted all the metal parts to remove paint and rust. They still stunk! At last I powder coated everything I could remove. That got rid of it. Then all the foam, etc. had to be replaced. I’m a stickler for keeping things like that as close to original as possible, so I spent time locating materials that were the same as OEM. Lastly, I used various cleaners including bleach, hot soap and water, ammonia (not with the bleach), and other things to get everything else absolutely clean. I even removed all the HVAC ducting and scrubbed it inside and out. Wire was either soldered and covered with layers of shrink tube or replaced altogether.
I’m finally done with all of that and have been putting parts back on the car. The Dynamat is nearly finished and I’ve been installing the foil-backed sound proofing material in preparation for new carpet. One thing I've done is to stick felt “buttons” where plastic and metal parts screw together. I was tired of all the rattles and squeaks in the car. Isolating the contact points has helped to eliminate all of that. …Though the squeaks could have been from the mice, and rattles caused by cherry pits and countless coins bouncing around.
I had purchased a set of chrome seat hoops from Corvette America to install behind each seat. Since the seat bumps actually provide more space behind the seats now, there is room for the 2” tubing. Nobody manufactures a decent set of seat hoops for C4 Corvettes. I’ve found a company who builds a single-tube setup. It is bent to look similar to standard seat hoops but they look awful in my opinion. So, although I was told it couldn’t be done, I purchased seat hoops intended for a C5 to alter and install. Today I’m finishing up the modifications and will have the seat hoops done. They look really good and weren’t too difficult to figure out. If anyone would like to see what they look like before carpet is installed, please let me know and I’ll post some photos.
So the project endures. I’m really excited about the way it is turning out in spite of the extra janitorial work. Wish me luck!
IMO you should square it up some. The c5 has very curvy lines where the c4 has curves and some sharpness. The c5 waterfall will look wrong on the car. Compare it to the spyder waterfall and you can see what I mean.... It has some sharp lines integrated to fit the c4 styling.
There was one made years ago that was for C4 verts. The humps were more squared.
Yes. I've seen pictures of it. The way it looked didn't do anything for me. In fact, building squared-off humps wouldn't have been all that compmlicated. But I really like the smoother curves of the C5 and C6 bumps.
The C7 has seat bumps that are flat-ish on top. They even have an upholstered insert. I still really prefer the setup I made, however.
Its funny... People seem to think the C4 body lines are sharper than they really are. In comparison to C5 and C6, its design is much more defined. But the C4 style lines and hood are quite curvy if you really look over the body. Its very sexy actually.
I've examined my car over and over, from every angle now that the new tonneau and seat hoops are installed. It looks terrific. Several Corvette owners who live near me have stopped in to see how it is turning out. Everyone loves the modification. It really wouldn't be hard to change the seat bumps to something more square. If I thought I'd like it more, I'd do that. I just really like the way it looks now and you'll never see another C4 like it.
Last night I finally got the waterfall piece adjusted into place where it should be. I went ahead and bought the mounting hardware and latch assembly off of a wrecked C5. The latch works the same as the stock C4 latches with the added benefit of an integrated spring that pops the tonneau up. Its a pretty nice feature that wasn't expected. So now when I hit the yellow button, all three latches open and the cover lifts about 6".
The setup is pretty cool but let me say this about the coupe vs. convertible, this seat bump/waterfall project is the only redeeming factor for the complete lack of storage. Plus, I don't think it would be too tough to make a similar setup that would mount inside the coupe ...if a person was willing to sacrifice storage space.
11-24-2014, 01:23 PM
I uncovered four large nests made of carpet insulation and cherry pits. There were several dead mice and mouse crap everywhere. Worse was the amount of urine saturated into everything. It was evident that mice hadn’t been “living” in the car for a few years, but the urine was still tacky and reeked terrible! It was yellowish-brown in color and all over everything in the back storage areas and in the dash. Anything metal was either oxidized or severely rusted. To add insult to injury, the mice had been gnawing on wiring behind the passenger knee bolster and glove box. Level areas had sticky, semi-dry urine 1/8” thick in some places. It was hard to get a grip on the method of repairing so much damage.
