so i guess you probably dont know how much the hatch and the convertible top motors & etc. weigh huh... you should probably put some work into your car before you talk ****...

but yea i thaught they weighed more, and your friends GXL prolly has the regular steel hood and plus the hatch is alot of weight... the TII hood weighs alot less than the steel one... the guts too

 

i took the interior out of my turbo two and i got it down alot.. the thing with my vert is that for me even drop weight on it i gotta take the motors for the top out and stuff which is sum i didnt wana do...

 

Yeah I do love the vinyl and mine for being an 88 and a 20 year old top is still in amazing condition, all the seals and rear window are in amazing condition, but I have those all too common 1/4 inch rips behind the drains that formed a few years ago, and it was garaged until I came upon in 06, I've put off the new top for a long time and will have it done by this spring, lucky I was able to find a local shop in jersey to do it for a fair price and he's giving me a 7 to 10 year warranty with it.
Although times I do wish there was a hard top to put on it during these winters because I don't have a garage to put it in only a decent cover, and every time I take it out the vinyl just feels like its going to crack.

 

man id love to buy a hard top for mine.

 

yeah it would be really useful for the winters, I've heard people on this forum and others vert guys I talk to locally show interest towards it. I've actually taken the time for the measurements and drawn out plans to do one and I have access to a nice shop to get it done in, but it would take a lot time to fabricate something like that and I don't think you could sell more than 10 of them or so, and the cost would probably be pretty high after labor and such it would just be cheaper in the end to buy a whole new top installed.

 

i can guarantee you im interested and my father is a master fabricater.... ive actually spoken to him about that but it was just an idea but if you got measurements and plans for it man i would honestly try my hardest to get one made... but from what i was told... it would probably also involvesome fiberglass and other products

 

If you can keep the price around 1500 you should be able to make some sales.

I'd buy one, just so I could track my turbo-vert without hassle.

 

wat sucks is that im in FLORIDA so were on oppisite sides right now

 

illtakeyochik thanks for your response. yeah i think they are great looking cars





id love to make an s2000 killer out of one

 

that could just better our chances, we both take a stab at it and see which one comes out better, always better to have more than one person for input on a project like this

 

that white vert in Hyperteks pictures looks great so clean

 

i think a CF top would be awesome.... but now I'm dreaming.

My vert:

 

About the whole weight argument.. here is something I researched (using Mazda sourced information)....

1993-1995 FD = 2789 lbs to 2910 lbs (depending on numerous trim levels and options, most FD (touring models) weigh around 2850-ish with sunroof/spoiler/bose options)

1991 FC = 2787 lbs (nonturbo) 2987 lbs (turbo) 3071 lbs (convertible) per Mazda sales literature
1989 & 1990 FC = 2765 (GTUs) 2800 lbs (GTU) 2881 lbs (GXL) 2987 lbs (turbo) 3045 lbs (convertible) per Mazda sales literature
1988 FC = 2655 lbs (SE) 2755 lbs (GTU) 2795 lbs (GXL) 2845 lbs (turbo) 2900 lbs (10AE) 3003 lbs (convertible) per Mazda sales literature
1987 FC = 2700 (non-turbo) 2850 (turbo) as per Mazda sales literature
1986 FC = 2625 (non-turbo) as per Mazda sales literature

FWIW = the 1986 FC was less than 100 lbs heavier than the FB it replaced.

 

The convertible has always been the heavyweight of the RX-7 family. Heck, it's heavier than a normal RX-8 GT @ 3003 lbs.

 

Hmm I guess some models are heavier then others. Oh well. I still like how the vert handles compared to the coupe though.

I was thinking of buying another vert and making it a 40 F +, no rain car. Meaning I would strip everything out, top and components included, but leave those nice leather seats lol. And making a Renesis project out of it too. lol

As for a hardtop, I think it would look really strange. If done really well it could look great.

I'm seeing alot of verts with the TII hood. I'm looking into getting one myself. lol

 

Well my vert is a TII so, my hood is legit.

Yeah I can explain what made each car heavier if we want to get into all of that "technical" stuff... hehe

As far as the hardtop I think it would look a touch out of place, kind of like the way an S2000 or Miata looks with a hardtop.

Example:


I think to do it properly you might have to use the rear glass from a Miata or something similar... using the stock glass would look like crap. We actally sat my freinds Miata hardtop on it.. just to get an idea and it looked kinda weird.. a little too curvy, however that's something a good fabricator could fix. Give it more of a square-flare look as it's been called.

 

nah it's okay. I'll look it up on my own time. lol This thread is about verts specifically anyways

Yeah, I've seen some S2000s with hardtops. They look better then miatas do with them. I think for me it's the color of the top. If I see it in the same color as the body, I don't think it looks good. I think most convertible look great with a black top. Plus most convertibles have a short top, meaning the roof doesn't extend fully like a coupe version does.

 

That wouldn't be too bad of an idea. If both come out great then it gives options for people on both coasts

 

I'm actually going to show my auto cad schematics to a friend of mine who is a better fabricator than myself and show him the proposition for making at least one with the potential to make more and some profit. He will do it for real cheap cuz he makes alot during his regular business, but he usually takes for ever unfortunately but I can wait, I will let you know how the conversation goes and his input on the design because if I can atleast get the frame started thats atleast getting somewhere.

Yeah I do love the TII hood on the vert it looks sexy, I've been workin on getting a black one for mine because I intend on doing TII swap anyhow and it would serve the purpose later on but my motor only has 80K on it now so I will wait till it needs to be rebuilt and go from there.

 

NO PROB MAN!

 

yea its a crazy idea but i think it would be a good addition of customization for the vert... and hell yes you should get a TII hood, not only does it set the car off but if i remember correctly our stock hoods are HEAVY AS HELL... and i think the TII hood is one of the best looking hoods for the FC PERIOD....!

 

DAMN I LIKE IT!
WHATS THAT WING YOU HAVE IN THE BACK??

 

I kinda wanted to keep the Targa top or if not, some how make a T top.. but i also think we should think about performance too.. so i think a top made of a light weight but strong material ould be better than a full steel top... but not carbon fiber that **** would cost us way too much money and then to sell it would ****** suck too.. but maybe like the urethine stuff because that stuff is used for alot of random stuff....

yes get the TII hood, its the best way to go for any FC... but i wonder how much weight difference there is between the TII hood and the carbon fiber hoods made for the car?

 

Yeah it would be nice to keep the targa top part an option, but I'm not sure how realistic it would be in the beginning for a new rough design, the design I came up with essentially you would have the top down and the targa in the trunk and this frame would go over it as the S2000 and miata do and similarly lock and seal into place. Unfortunately you cant modify the body in any way because then it becomes too trouble sum.
But my preliminary design i want made out of the cheapest thing possible for now and the only thing in the shop I use which is in abundance right now is steel, later designs if it is made to work could be made out of lighter and better material, but for now I feel like its the best bet. And as DrKillJoy said earlier I might have to stalk around the junk yards to find a suitable rear glass to test it with which could be one of the hardest parts of the project itself, finding the right rear glass to compliment it correctly.
But I don't wanna get in over my head and I don't want something I won't follow through with completely, as I said last night I'm going to throw this proposition to my friend who is a skilled fabricator and bring my car there as well and see what his thoughts are as far as design, cost and turn around time. Then hopefully if he sees interest we can begin working on it and I at least have a more skilled person than myself to rely to help with it.

Yeah as far as the hoods, I was pretty sure the NA hood was steel and the TII was Aluminum which was probably a 25lb difference, correct me of I'm wrong. I like some of the CF hood but just too pricey and after paint it would just be worth it wait to find one off a parts car.

Brink-of-Time sorry of the thread jack on this subject, just love talkin about the verts haha

 

haha I have no problem, as long as it's about verts, not coupes lol.

My hood is alum. I think only the convertible has a stock NA alum hood. The TII hood does look awesome though, I like the wide low profile scoop it has.

@RXfuel: Well keep us updated on your project if you and your friend decide to pick it up. If it works out really well, I'd like to get one. It does kinda suck that you only have steel as your mass material. It's a bit hard to work with, and heavy. But like you said, once you have a surefire prototype, then aluminum (or even fiberglass!), would be a good material of choice.