First hardtop conversion in Waco, Texas

[F.Y.R.E.]

BTW F.Y.R.E., did you see Trey's Truck?

Yeah, I saw it, looks good, but I'm not goin' that route, I wanted a hardtop conversion with rollbars followin' the interior windows all the way to the rear for head clearance.
Here's the first shots of my festy so far with the hardtop latched in.


For now, this is what's doin' the latchin' duties, lol

Total price so far:$40
I'm definitely lookin' into pipes for the rollbar now, I have a friend that has a pipe bender and numerous welding machines at my disposal
Question: I'm lookin' at 2" pipe, that's not overkill, is it?
About the tailgate, I'm wanting to make it functional. So any help with that would be appreciated.

[ajb999]

i thought i'd seen a pic somewhere of someone who used the lower part of the hatch and then the hatch hinges to make a tailgate. it was split in the middle and each side opened away from each other. don't know if that's what you're looking for but you could possibly figure out a way to make it fold down this way.

[F.Y.R.E.]

exactly, i remember that pic, it looked like a junker of sorts. I will find a way and keep everyone posted. BTW did your Festy come with that sunroof? And from what car could I get one? At the JY I go to there was a Festy with the sunroof but no glass or hinges. Kinda sucked. But I'll keep searchin'. Anyways, one project at a time. :thumbright:
BTW, this is the first time I've ever done anything like this, I surprised myself, lol.

[htchbck]

yeah that was lilred's FUV there's lots of pics of it around, including some of it destroyed now that it is "no longer with us"

[F.Y.R.E.]

Let's have a moment of silence and respect for lilred's FUV---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[TRUCKtiva]

I was going to make my tailgate flip down with hinges from a small pickup, then use the seatbelt motors to push it down!! Just some Ideas!

[ajb999]

exactly, i remember that pic, it looked like a junker of sorts. I will find a way and keep everyone posted. BTW did your Festy come with that sunroof?

no, it didn't come w/ a sunroof. i found it on another festiva at the jy. it's a ford sunroof though so you might be able to find something similar there. a new one would be much easier to install.

[F.Y.R.E.]

ajb999, do you have any leakage issues, I just put a couple of weatherstrippin's together, overlapped one on top of the other and used some weatherstrippin' sealant but I found a nice pool in my car this morning :? I do have it pushed it together as far as it'll go. Anyways, I'll keep lookin' for JY's with hardtops and softtops to see if I can use some of their convo. parts. Again, the more info the better, thanx.

[ajb999]

i used clear silicone. no leaks yet and it's been at least 8 months or so. i need to clean it up some but mineral spirits are about the only thing to clean silicone up w/ and i worry about getting it on the paint.

did you use weatherstripping on both edges you're putting together and glue them down? so one overlaps the other when you put them together,preferably the front one. that should work because you would have an edge a little higher than the roof so water wouldn't get in as long as they were sealed to the roof.

kinda like this pic but w/ the two pices pressed all the way together when installed. sorry, i had to use paint because i haven't reinstalled psp yet.

[F.Y.R.E.]

Okay, I'm tryin' that, I used portions of hatch weatherstrippings. I sliced the tube off of one of them and put that on the hardtop then I cut the other tube in half and used that to overlap the hardtop.

I need to go another route, this was just temporary, got any suggestions, anyone?