Single piece roof: where is it stored?

[hondekop]

Hi Guys,

My Deon has got a 2 part roof, The original 246 GTS has a got a single piece roof. Where is the single piece roof stored on the original while driving open, as I can find no place where it would possibly fit?

Cheers, Kai

[NeilF355]

Originally Posted by hondekop

Hi Guys,

My Deon has got a 2 part roof, The original 246 GTS has a got a single piece roof. Where is the single piece roof stored on the original while driving open

Cheers, Kai

Hi Kai
On the original GTS the roof was stored behind the seats during open air driving.

If you have a look here http://dinorestoration.com/carpeting-complete/ you will see that the transmission tunnel on the original is a lot smaller than on the Deon or Classic replicas car. The larger replica transmission prevents storage of a one piece roof in the correct place in those replicas.

A friend of mine has a classic replicas Dino which had a single piece roof which he converted to a 2 piece so that he could store the individual pieces behind each seat.

Neil

P.S. I've just found a picture showing that the original also has a cut out in the roof which allows the roof to straddle the transmission tunnel when the roof is stored behind the seats. https://www.fantasyjunction.com/sold...otos#photos-18

[hondekop]

Quite extensive answer, no single part roof for me then. Thanks, Kai

[Mitchelkitman]

Originally Posted by hondekop

Quite extensive answer, no single part roof for me then. Thanks, Kai

Why not? it wouldn't be difficult to graft on a 'transmission tunnel shaped' piece on to the roof - indeed the bit you cut off the panel can be used!
GRP is the ideal 'can be repaired forever' material. Doing it this way is certainly a lot easier than making a 2-part roof.

[rossnzwpi]

Aaaah, so that is the reason for that extra bump in the roof behind the seats of the GTS Neil! I always wondered.

[thecarbuilder246]

Originally Posted by Mitchelkitman

Why not? it wouldn't be difficult to graft on a 'transmission tunnel shaped' piece on to the roof - indeed the bit you cut off the panel can be used!
GRP is the ideal 'can be repaired forever' material. Doing it this way is certainly a lot easier than making a 2-part roof.

With the deon and early classic rep cars the transmission tunnel is massive that's why the roof was split in to 2 pieces. I doubt you could make a 1 piece roof section that would fit behind the seats
ian

[hondekop]

The advantage of added chassis stiffness (compared to the Dino's, which cannot be impressive) is more important for me than the benefit of a single piece roof, so I guess I will have to live with it.

BTW.: Have you all managed to get your cars water tight like a bog standard car? Or is it more like a Smart Roadster where only a fraction is really water tight?

Cheers, Kai

[Fibreglass]

Originally Posted by hondekop

The advantage of added chassis stiffness (compared to the Dino's, which cannot be impressive) is more important for me than the benefit of a single piece roof, so I guess I will have to live with it.

BTW.: Have you all managed to get your cars water tight like a bog standard car? Or is it more like a Smart Roadster where only a fraction is really water tight?

Cheers, Kai

The GTS chassis is very different from the GT coupe chassis, the rear bulkhead is completely different with larger tubing and a lot more of it, there are also more gussets. It is a very rigid chassis. I have actually been making the targa roof today for the GTS I am now building. Even the handbrake centre console is different on the GTS to allow the targa roof to sit behind the seats. Here are a few pictures.

[molleur]

Nice work Kai