1997 400 Sundance Home Made Hardtop

Just found this very AMAZING thread.

KUDOS to Riptide - WOW!

Question........ Will the generations that follow ours have the skills, abilities and tenacity to be able to think through, create and execute such a project?

BEST !

RWS

Not a chance, unless it requires building somebody completely on a phone or laptop.
Nice job riptide!
 
Done!
View attachment 124319 View attachment 124320
Now it’s time to mount. I’m trying to get opinions.
For mounting on the front half I used polyester resin. I wet out some chop-strand mat and sandwiched that between the two parts. For good measure I also added a bead of 5200. That has worked well thus far. However, it was very stressful due to limited working time of resin. It could have been a disaster.

I don’t plan on separating the two parts EVER.
I could do the rear half the same way, however, someone told me they thought 5200 alone would be enough.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
I like the idea because I would have more working time before it kicks.
Is there a chemical bond with the 5200 or is it just mechanical?
Correct me if I’m wrong but the resin chemically bonds and the two pieces sort of melt into one.
I would like to hear some other options and opinions.
Thank you.
Hey...first awesome job
Late to the party as far as attaching methods but when I did mine I used Plexus MA310
https://www.rshughes.com/p/Plexus-M...MIsLj1vsyO-AIVy8mUCR3fqQ7bEAQYAiABEgJYTfD_BwE
Along with male/female tabs routed into the radar arch. Like you, I never plan on separating the top/arch and so far not a squeak or separation crack in the joint.
IMG_1341[1686].jpg
 
Hey...first awesome job
Late to the party as far as attaching methods but when I did mine I used Plexus MA310
https://www.rshughes.com/p/Plexus-M...MIsLj1vsyO-AIVy8mUCR3fqQ7bEAQYAiABEgJYTfD_BwE
Along with male/female tabs routed into the radar arch. Like you, I never plan on separating the top/arch and so far not a squeak or separation crack in the joint.
View attachment 127845
Great to hear. I considered plexus but wasn’t sure. I would like to use that in the future. Does plexus dry hard or rubber like? Did you build yours with polyester resin or epoxy? I assume epoxy.
On a different note, thank you for the compliment. Yours too was inspirational.
 
Great to hear. I considered plexus but wasn’t sure. I would like to use that in the future. Does plexus dry hard or rubber like? Did you build yours with polyester resin or epoxy? I assume epoxy.
On a different note, thank you for the compliment. Yours too was inspirational.
Plexus is basically an Aerospace Super Glue (thickened)....comes out of mixing nozzle in a peanut butter consistency. It is used a lot in the boat building industry to bond panels.
When fully cured it is as hard as the fiberglass but not prone to cracking. The slight seam left after bonding (between hardtop and radar arch) was filled with white silicone.

I used vinylester resin only because it has a better bond to core material and doesn't absorb water like polyester resin. My boat building experience is all with vinylester and polyester so I stuck with that.
 

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