Really like the old pictures, that sure adds to an incredible car.

 

So I grabbed the soft top that Dad had stashed away to see if I would be able to install it on the car with the roll bar in place. Looking at it, I actually think this may have been the original top for the car.



The top fits nicely around the roll bar. One of the support bars on each side does hit the rollbar when opening and closing, but I can deal with that. The big issue is the the rear angled braces for the rollbar don't allow the top to fully close.





It looks like I may need to modify that rear brace to allow the top to be stored. I plan on replacing the vinyl with black or possibly tan vinyl seeing as the current vinyl cannot be saved.

 

Lots of history your dad stashed away.
I would have to fab a simple fixed frame for that cover and use it as wall art!

 

So, question for the peanut gallery...

Assuming I go with The black/metallic red stripe paint scheme that the car has sported for 40+ years, what are your opinions on a black vinyl top versus a tan vinyl top. White is out of contention. I don't think it would match well. I think tan would look good sine the interior is light saddle, but want other thoughts as well.

 

Have you tried photo shopping it to get an idea?

 

You guys get a lot more fair weather cruising days down there in Loo-ze-anna then we do up here though. I have to risk the occasional rain for a car show since we have a shorter season.

I'll have to do that. I didn't even really think about doing that.


Tonight I took over the living room and tore into removing the old vinyl top to see what needed attention on the frame. Took most of the evening to removed everything and get the old tack strips dug out. The rear brace base with the tack strip needs the most attention and even then it's mostly surface rust. I want to make sure everything is nice and freshened up to last another 50 years.




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i did see I wasn't the first person to dig into the top. One of the outer handle mount brackets has been drilled and bolted to the header bar. I assume the spot welds broke and that was their solution. I actually need to make the same repair on the other side because the bracket broke off at the spot welds lol. I also had to spend a good chunk of time trying to get the rear bar to line up with the mounting holes in the rear deck. It's finally pretty close to as good as I can get it. I also have at least one big spot to fix on the header bar as seen below.



I also think I solved my fitment problem with the roll bar. I had planned on adding a horizontal bar anyways to mount my shoulder harnesses to. So I will have that added, probably slightly below where the angled bars are on the main bar. And then the angled braces will be angled inwards about 30-45 degrees and angled a bit downward to meet up with the new horizontal bar.

You can see a picture below looking straight down the main roll bar showing how I need to angled the rear bars inward.

 

I broke the soft top frame down into the base components so that I could fit them into my sand blasting cabinet tonight. I will wire brush anything that doesn't fit in the cabinet. Overall everything is in great condition, just needs a thorough cleaning and repaint. I will have to have the #3 bow spot welded to fix a couple of cracks on each end. I also need to track down a couple of replacement rivets since I had to drill the rivets out for that box to finalize the teardown. Seems most vendors only sell a complete kit for the whole top assembly. I should have everything blasted and repainted by the end of this weekend.

 

What rollbar are you using?. I want to add one and have been looking at the Jegs kit.

 

I wish I could give an answer to everyone that asks me. Unfortunately I can't provide an answer. The roll bar has been on the car since around 1974.

 

Snagged dad's small Snap-On mig welder and brought it to my house to learn a new skill. Working on learning the settings and definitely need to learn to prep the workpiece better. Had a few decentish looking beads going. Lots more practice needed, but hopefully this will allow me to modify the roll bar with my planned changes myself.

 

Looking Good.
Santa left me a new mig welder under the tree this year so I'm looking to learn as well.
Thank god for U-Tube video.

 

So I have been working on new soft top frame links to try and help clear the roll when opening and closing the top. They are ready to be install on the top and hopefully I will be able to do that this evening and test it out.

The problem
Attachment 48345075

Mostly mocked up. Had to tweak a few things here and there for fit
Attachment 48345076
Ready to be installed



I also made new rivets out of 3/8" clevis pins as apposed to buying a whole soft top kit of them for $110. We will see how mine work out and go from there.

 

Roll bar modifications are beginning. I'm actually really happy with how the cross bar turned out. I still need to do a little final fitting on the ends, but they turned out really good for a couple chops on a cutoff wheel and some hand forming with a flap disc. New rear angles are up next. That will be the true test of my hand fitment.

 

Great job on the joints!. Can you post a pic of any mods to the convertible deck lid. And with it closed. Im wanting a rollbar but I dont want to mod the deck lid. Thanks!!

 

Those angles can be tough Chuck, nice job of getting that fit. Watching along as you continue with the roll bar and soft top balancing act. Great job thus far. Keep warm buddy, Winter winds are blowing up here now and the garage is cold.
David

 

I'll try and remember to grab some pictures this evening. Currently there are notches in the decklid due to the design made back in the '70s. The cross bar I am adding sits just below where the decklid is when closed, so the rear supports that I am modifying will end up clearing under the decklid so no modifications would be needed. This design will also allow the soft top frame to be stowed away unlike the original '70s design. Of course, the design changes that I am making will cause the roll bar to not be as strong front to back since the rear supports are no longer tied directly into the main uprights. But I think the cross bar should add some lateral rigidity. I may add some further support based on other roll cage designs I have seen. This bar is also made of 2in tube with about 1/8in wall so it is fairly stout mechanically.


Thanks David! what is hard to see is that the main hoop legs are angled slightly inward as it moves to the top so I had to adjust for that as well. I was pretty pleased that I was able to achieve that fitment with no tube notcher and never notching a tube before. As you know, the Michigan winters have seemed to be my main enemy on this project. It's hard to get motivated to go out to a chilly garage. But this winter has been an oddball one, we haven't had much snow other than a storm in October.

Keep up the good work on that '74!

 

So cleaned up the weld areas and I tacked in the cross bar last night. Next I tossed the new rear supports roughly where they should end up.



I think this will make all the difference in the world for stowing away the soft top.

I also pulled the roll bar back out of the car (big pain in the butt) and started welding the seam for the crossbar. I am a terrible welder and it shows, so I will likely grind out the worst areas and retry. More to follow, but I think all the hours in the cold garage are adding up and I'm feeling a bit under the weather so I may take a break for a bit. The wife and I will be in sunny Arizona in a couple of weeks for a week away from the frigid north.

 

you should look at an electric heater or heater out of a mobile home. I have one that runs on kerosene and the barn/garage stays at 55F until I need to warm it up. The barn cat stays out there and makes sure no mice move in. And I can warm it up in a few minutes

 

Did you remove all the paint in the area that you were welding? A mig will weld really nice if you have clean metal , It will also weld crappy if you have paint or rust. Not always the operator.

 

Also make sure the earth clamp is tight on clean metal , helps a lot !