Convertable to Hard Top? Possible?
 

Is there anyway i can convert my vert into a hard top? Ive heard of kits but are they real?

Never heard of a kit and it won't do anything but add weight.

are verts slower then hard tops? dunno why im asking... im not a newb lol

Verts are slower than the regular hardtop FC's due to more bracing (weight) on the 'vert chassis and other things.

Adding a hardtop to a vert will not make it faster. ;) Just sell the vert and buy a regular FC. I saw someone who laid fiberglass on the stock cover and it looked horrible in my opinion.

not mine

you can usually sell a vert for the price of a descent turbo 2 (depending on year and how good of shape yours is in)...i see them go for 4000 to 7000 dollars!

That'd look really weird.. An FC3S with a trunk!

I would agree with the statements above. If it's a nice vert, you can sell it for a LOT of money, I regularly see them for 7 to 8 thousand, mainly because even though they are 15 years old they still look sweet. Then take that 7 to 8 thousand, but a T2, and repair/mod the hell out of it.

Haha well i mean its a project car so it isnt in good shape, i wanted a hard top but i couldnt find one and if i did it wuz to much $$ to buy so i found a vert a decided w/e ill get it. Im sure i can figure out how to make it haul ass but i mean w/e. Its still a 7 right?

The verts are good cars, i love mine but they do need more power then stock. The 300 or so lbs makes a difference. But you can make them fast, just takes some money and time.

a hard top vert.. i wanna see this or some pics at leat :D

Yeah, from the factory they are. The convertibles weigh more than the NAs, even the Turbos.

I guess ill just get a body kit and take off the bumpers, that should knock off a whole lot.... i dunno... its my first car so i mean its not to bad....

^ YES THEY DO. thats you you just use them to cruse..

:)

Possibly... but the weight would really depend on the material used to make it. If you were to get one made of steel or aluminum (possibly even fiberglass)...then yes i'd prob be heavier.

However, If you were to build the hardtop out of carbon fiber and the rear window out of Lexan, it would weigh much less. You also have to remember, by making it a removable hard top you get rid of the soft top's motor and clear up space on the center console for something else.
A CF top like that would have a total weight of about 15 or 20 lbs. The soft top, including both sections, motor and rear window easily weighs almost 40 lbs (maybe even more)

Also how else could you hope to get a hardtop 2nd gen with a trunk..... not everyone likes trunks, but I find them quite useful when you need to store something and you really don't want other people to see it... you know like something really expensive or a human body..... :)

the vert trunk wouldn't be big enough to hold a human body, whole or in pieces

It's true that the trunk is very small(btw, I was kinda joking about the body thing, but it is nice to be able to keep some things out of sight ;))....but that's just untrue.

I crawled into my trunk out of curiosity (I'm 5'10" 170lbs). It is VERY tight, but a human body will fit (assuming they are of small-average size and rigamortis hasn't set in yet :D)

haha wow, you crawled in out of curiosity? Did they have emergency relese on those cars then? That woulda sucked if you got trapped in. It would also make for an awesome story if you servived and someone found you.

no.....I had my sister close and open it for me (though there might be an emergency release....I didn't check....)

you and your fancy logic, haha. I don't think they had Emergency release, I think that became mandatory in like 98 or somethin.

I just looked for the E-release....it doesn't have one(that I could find), but if you were lucky and you had the right tools with you (how likely is that?) you might be able to get out on your own

That would have have been really funny (at least from the outside :D)

the jack that comes with the spare? you could jack the trunk open, and buy yourself a new lock.

The jack is under a floorboard in the trunk (the spare is in a hidden compartment behind the seats) so it's not really in the way(but it's barely accessable)....you might be able to use it...but i dont think it would extend high enough (also, movement is very difficult, and dont even bother trying to change orientation).
With the right tools (and assuming you're nimble enough) you could mess with the back side of the lock and possibly get it to pop open. I would also assume this would be easier if the shocks in your truck still have pressure so you don't have to lift it (I had to get my shocks replaced about 2 weeks ago, so i'm betting other's have had to do this as well :))
Also, if you were to break the lock in the process that would be very expen$ive to fix, so this should be avoided if possible.

.....Wow, that was a heck of a bunny trail :D....

So back to the original question....Does anybody know if someone makes a hardtop for the RX7 vert (prefferably carbon fiber) or would I have to get a custom shop to build it?