Softop installation no Holes

[The taxidermist]

[robs71k5]

Thanks for removing the stain. As for the being a vendor here I think not . And it has proven itself throughout this board as an excepted form of moving parts and have whitnessed on many occasions with other parts being offered in the same fashion . My position is merely one of middle man . Yes I designed and built the mold for a one off part solely for use on my truck. I presented photos of my truck here as proof of concept and was congratulated with many questions to supply more , much to my surprise. I had and still have not the facilities for this production so I have been getting them built individually from a local fiberglass shop . I merely provide the info to the shop . The shop employs a experienced diabetic person from the street to built them but this person has recently lost a leg to his disease. I had no idea these parts would be as popular as they have become . If this board finds this arrangement in contrast to its rules I shall only be to happy to comply and move this site to a more fitting environment such as EBay where I would be forced to step up production or just pack it in all together I shall not take any further orders until this has been resolved Thanks

[The taxidermist]

[CTENTA1]

I have one I purchased when robs71k5 first started making them. Still new, never installed I'm considering letting it go since I wont be running a soft top anymore.

[chevyguy_72]

Originally Posted by CTENTA1

I have one I purchased when robs71k5 first started making them. Still new, never installed I'm considering letting it go since I wont be running a soft top anymore.

Sent you a pm

[robs71k5]

Having problem with that email account . Can reach me at 604-999-9574 Rob

[NJKelly]

Looks great. Definitely a market for them. Now design one for a Bestop and I'm first in line.

[chevyguy_72]

Originally Posted by NJKelly

Looks great. Definitely a market for them. Now design one for a Bestop and I'm first in line.

Whats different about bestop?

[NJKelly]

not really sure, I've never installed it I just recently picked it up. It's used but in excellent condition previous owner hardly used it at all really. I'll let you know.

[Bigb401]

Any word if these are being sold anywhere?

[hemi43]

Originally Posted by Bigb401

Any word if these are being sold anywhere?

Is this for an existing top, or are you buying new? This will not work on the newer tops.

[Bigb401]

These are for if you want a soft top but don’t want to drill into the header of the front windshield. The maker built a header the same measurement of the very front of a hard top. This way you could bolt it on to the windshield header and drill into that for the soft top. It makes it so you preserve your windshield frame. I wanted one years ago for my blazer but life happens and I had to put my build on hold. Now I’m starting up again where I left off. I was curious if there is anything like this still being sold. I suggest going Back through the thread and look at some pictures. It’ll prolly explain it better then I can

[A1971Blazer]

First off this post is not intended to be an advertisement of any product that is currently for sale in any form or fashion.

Further, I have been looking into the possibility of producing these but, as of yet, haven't been able to do so in a way that would be affordable.
I am still pursuing the idea.

My business is in CNC machining. Mostly contract work for industrial customers but, being a 67-72 enthusiast has compelled me to make some custom pieces specific to them.

I will share what I did to mount my bikini top to my Blazer without drilling holes into the header.

Starting out by doing a bunch of measuring and CAD drawing, I was able to closely recreate the geometry of the top of the windshield header on my '70 K/5 Blazer.
I then created a machine program and some fixtures to fasten on a piece of 1/8" aluminum sheet. I had to do it in two sections because of the limit of my largest CNC mill.
I milled the shape and put the holes and slots in at the calculated positions.

Then using a larger, thicker piece of aluminum, I machined a fixture to clamp the piece on and bend the proper angles to match the header geometry.

I used a malleable grade of aluminum and used a soft hammer to shape it to the fixture.

The center tabs are slotted and bent downward to align with the factory hard top mounting holes. and I simply bolted through the outer visor/hard top mount.

The bikini top I have uses a "J" channel along the front to fasten to the mount piece so there are no snaps to attach, but it would only be a matter of drilling and riveting them on if the application called for them.

This is only the prototype and again I'm still trying to work out a way to produce these that would be both profitable to me and affordable to the buyer. I won't go into the specifics of the manufacturing costs but it would be a substantial investment on my part, especially for such a niche product.

Any way here are a couple of pictures of the concept.
These are before the center tabs were slotted and bent into position and one is after the bikini top is loosely attached onto the header.
The additional hole are simply used to clamp the piece onto the fixture for machining.

[Yukon Jack]

Still dig this!

[craneboy72]

some nice work

[1972CST]

Hello there A1971Blazer- Did anything ever develop since we last talked about Softopper being interested in your design for the windshield header?

[A1971Blazer]

Originally Posted by 1972CST

Hello there A1971Blazer- Did anything ever develop since we last talked about Softopper being interested in your design for the windshield header?

To be honest, I had forgotten about it.

I'll probably reach out to them whenever I get it worked out to where I can produce them at a reasonable price.

I'm trying now to get the blanks laser cut at a decent price and I'll still have to build a set of bending dies.