brokenpath
Member
- :
- 2002 mazda protege 5
Success!!!
Zero leakage.
The hunt for aesthetics begins.
Zero leakage.
The hunt for aesthetics begins.
I'm about to DIY a Panoramic Roof.
- Thread starter brokenpath
- Start date
brokenpath
Member
- :
- 2002 mazda protege 5
So after drinking at a friends house he came up with a genius idea.
Why don't i use the cover that was on it originally cut it up Put a bit of cushion/filler/w/e to make it even all around and use contact cement to glue it down.
For the corners I will stitch them as cleanly as possible. This will give me a clean all around look and I already have the materials!
My paint is also rough on the roof so i'm going to use vinyl wrap and black the roof out. The part that sucks is that the roof lines go all the way down the hatch and down to the front clip so it'll be near impossible to make just wrapping the roof look good... considering wrapping the entire car but we'll see what happens.
Why don't i use the cover that was on it originally cut it up Put a bit of cushion/filler/w/e to make it even all around and use contact cement to glue it down.
For the corners I will stitch them as cleanly as possible. This will give me a clean all around look and I already have the materials!
My paint is also rough on the roof so i'm going to use vinyl wrap and black the roof out. The part that sucks is that the roof lines go all the way down the hatch and down to the front clip so it'll be near impossible to make just wrapping the roof look good... considering wrapping the entire car but we'll see what happens.
Neither the Plexi (acrylic) or Lexan (polycarbonate) will be DOT legal as auto glazing unless fabbed and bugged by an automotive glazing company. The thinnest acrylic or polycarb transit bus side windows are 1/4". Most are 3/8" - 1/2" and you see those drum. A good auto glass shop can cut flat laminated glass to size but it's very expensive to get it curved, especially with a dual sweep like you have; side-to-side and front-to-rear. Dual-swept tempered glass will be next to impossible for a one-off, especially in that size. A good upholstery shop that deals with convertibles should be able to locate parts or repair your Hollandia.
Try American Sunroof or Corona Sunroofs; Both in Corona, CA
Try American Sunroof or Corona Sunroofs; Both in Corona, CA
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brokenpath
Member
- :
- 2002 mazda protege 5
Cool, I was wondering about the legality of this whole thing.
Well, I can always tell a cop if i get pulled over and asked that I got it done at a shop.
We don't have to do safety inspections in California to register vehicles so it can pretty much stay this way forever.
If I were in your shoes I'd get that soft top fixed and operable. There's nothing like open-air driving and you don't need to slide that soft top all the way open. You can open it only a foot or so and lock it in place. Like I mentioned earlier, an upholstery shop that deals with convertible tops can fix it. There's dozens, if not a hundred or more of them in SoCal. Where are you located? I'm in Murrieta (Temecula) and drive my P5 to LA every day.
brokenpath
Member
- :
- 2002 mazda protege 5
I'm in studio city. Well, the soft top costs $1400.
I figured if this holds, it'll be fun to see how long it lasts being that at the moment it is costing less than $100.
Also, many of the parts were damaged beyond repair and the model i have is outdated with only the open and close option.
I figured labor wise it would probably be easier to just rip it out and replace it than it would to try and reglue the seals on the roof, Track down which moving parts aren't working correctly, ordering those specific parts replacing them, and cleaning and relubing the thing etc etc.
Would be more man hours than to just simply take out and put in. Thus offsetting the cost of the roof itself.
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brokenpath
Member
- :
- 2002 mazda protege 5
So i cut the old vinyl top and it looks pretty good!
These pictures represent a very rough draft the top is just folded and placed on top of the aluminum area and roof. It will be much cleaner when I put it on.
The only problem I have now is how i'm going to permanently attatch this to the roof.
I've been looking into different adhesives and none of them seem to be able to hold vinyl and acrylics together under these extreme conditions.
What I might end up doing is backing out the old screws and inserting them Under the fold on one side putting it back in, then using new screws on the top to attatch it to the other area of the roof, this will give it sort of a rugged look but this isn't that type of car and it would probably just look ghetto.... I also don't want to back the old screws out, because when i put them back in it will inevitably be weaker...
Maybe i'll get very very small self tappers and put them into the plexi.
I'm not sure but that's basically my next step is figuring out how to attach vinyl to plexiglass...
I don't know.. but the hunt for something to attach this begins....
Once i find that, all i have left to do is clean up after myself and smooth everything out.
If you guys are wondering what that "drape" in the back is...
That's the original cover for the underside of the roof
. Yes, I will be able to cover this up when it gets really hot so my hair doesn't light on fire or when i just don't feel like looking at the sky.
It looks amazing and factory on the inside, I also have to clean that up and figure out a way to attatch it to the INSIDE of the roof while still being able to remove it. I can probably put something cool and removable on the side that will see the roof. Maybe something screen printed on canvas. just canvas alone, or idk..
In terms of rolling it up and attatching it so i just don't have a huge drape going behind the seats I already figured out a system for that.
Some of the roofedge is inside of the car, so i can attatch very small hooks to this. I will get some D rings attatched to straps and stitch them onto the cover then roll the cover up, and place the straps and D rings there so i can hook the roll onto the back. Or i can do it real cheap and easy and just do velcro, but that probably wont hold well enough and it'll look worse.
These pictures represent a very rough draft the top is just folded and placed on top of the aluminum area and roof. It will be much cleaner when I put it on.
The only problem I have now is how i'm going to permanently attatch this to the roof.
I've been looking into different adhesives and none of them seem to be able to hold vinyl and acrylics together under these extreme conditions.
What I might end up doing is backing out the old screws and inserting them Under the fold on one side putting it back in, then using new screws on the top to attatch it to the other area of the roof, this will give it sort of a rugged look but this isn't that type of car and it would probably just look ghetto.... I also don't want to back the old screws out, because when i put them back in it will inevitably be weaker...
Maybe i'll get very very small self tappers and put them into the plexi.
I'm not sure but that's basically my next step is figuring out how to attach vinyl to plexiglass...
I don't know.. but the hunt for something to attach this begins....
Once i find that, all i have left to do is clean up after myself and smooth everything out.
If you guys are wondering what that "drape" in the back is...
That's the original cover for the underside of the roof
. Yes, I will be able to cover this up when it gets really hot so my hair doesn't light on fire or when i just don't feel like looking at the sky.It looks amazing and factory on the inside, I also have to clean that up and figure out a way to attatch it to the INSIDE of the roof while still being able to remove it. I can probably put something cool and removable on the side that will see the roof. Maybe something screen printed on canvas. just canvas alone, or idk..
In terms of rolling it up and attatching it so i just don't have a huge drape going behind the seats I already figured out a system for that.
Some of the roofedge is inside of the car, so i can attatch very small hooks to this. I will get some D rings attatched to straps and stitch them onto the cover then roll the cover up, and place the straps and D rings there so i can hook the roll onto the back
. Or i can do it real cheap and easy and just do velcro, but that probably wont hold well enough and it'll look worse.
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brokenpath
Member
- :
- 2002 mazda protege 5
I've been driving around with this roof everyday and I gotta say I have zero problems. I forget it's there most of the time. It doesn't have any wind noise, it doesn't leak, and it doesn't make any noises on its own.
I like it!
People stare at it too when im parked. Probably because of how ghetto it looks right now lol.
Only times i remember it's there are when the sun is shining directly onto my head it gets hot. That's why i left the cover on the inside so i have an option and I'm not just going to be tortured when i'm on a long road and the sun is cooking my head.
I'm looking forward to when it's completely done and I start travelling again. Girls will love it! I'm sure it'll look awesome in a city where the buildings are tall enough to where you can have a top view of them. I can also park and lay the seats back and look at the stars, or whatever else happens to be above me, or watch rain trickle onto it.
Right now all i see is clouds and at night time it's just black. Nothing cool at all :/.
I like it!
People stare at it too when im parked. Probably because of how ghetto it looks right now lol.
Only times i remember it's there are when the sun is shining directly onto my head it gets hot. That's why i left the cover on the inside so i have an option and I'm not just going to be tortured when i'm on a long road and the sun is cooking my head.
I'm looking forward to when it's completely done and I start travelling again. Girls will love it! I'm sure it'll look awesome in a city where the buildings are tall enough to where you can have a top view of them. I can also park and lay the seats back and look at the stars, or whatever else happens to be above me, or watch rain trickle onto it.
Right now all i see is clouds and at night time it's just black. Nothing cool at all :/.
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719prottege
Member
- :
- 03 msp
tint it?
brokenpath
Member
- :
- 2002 mazda protege 5
I was thinking about it but it might take away from the nightviews i can get.
I have the cover on the inside if it gets too hot. I think i'll try it like this for a while and down the line i might give it some tint.
