Jody, that looks good! The flared ends make the quarters look like they are supposed to be that way.
Very nice work.
Truly awesome Jody! Now, what about the band that covers that seam? And can you make a cover for the side to first back pieces?
BTW, Isabel’s first outing this year to work today, I’m like a kid on Xmas! 64 and sunny, YEE-HAW!!!
Looks good, well done!
Steven
The “band” is just an experiment and is more noticeable in the pictures than in real life. As for the other seam, I’m open to suggestions. My plan was to have the side trim bend over the top, but there’s no way to bend 1/4 stock that sharp without it breaking. Now if I could weld aluminum…
51 degrees, top down and snow tires. That’s how we live here in Wisconsin.
You could have it tig welded, but that area may not be as shinny as the rest when finished. You should use the right filler rod for the job.There are two major classifications of TIG filler rods used to repair aluminum: ER4043 and ER5356. ER4043 is a general-purpose filler rod to use if you are unsure of the exact chemical makeup/composition of the part. ER5356 is used when TIG welding on anodized aluminum, because it provides proper color match after the anodizing process is completed. NOTE: if an ER4043 rod is used and the part is to be anodized, the weld zone will appear as a dark gray, unattractive area after anodizing is completed. Use an ER5356 filler rod instead if the part is to be anodized, and there will not be any discoloration in the weld zone.
Jody the top down picture with snow on the ground…cool too say the least. Your Cougar looks like would be quite at home in a warm climate as well for top down cruising. Here is a photo my brother sent me from yesterday just before sunset. He said it was nice spring time weather in Miami, perfect cruising weather.
Steven
The seemingly never-ending winter here in Wisconsin has got me to thinking about a new approach to my project. Too bad I got rid of the old roof.
Now THAT would be a cool mod!!!
You could take that a little further and have it fold up into the trunk. Mustang had that as well, at least I think it was a prototype.
Wonder what happened to Bruce Habel’s 69 retractable project
I think twelve Mustangs were made with hardtop convertibles. Here is a link to Hemmings article on two of the cars.
Steven
http://www.hemmings.com/hcc/stories/2005/10/01/hmn_feature5.html
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013/04/04/hemmings-find-of-the-day-1966-ford-mustang/
I was just kidding, guys, but now you’ve got me really thinking. I wonder how much it would cost to have a fiberglass guy pull a mold from an intact 68. The boot moldings on my car follow the same line as the original vinyl top trim so a hardtop molded from a stock roof would fit like it belonged there. A basic aluminum frame could be made to give it some support and points to mount clamps and weatherstrip. Cover the whole thing with vinyl and viola! I’ve still got the rear glass sitting downstairs, but I suppose plexiglass would be much lighter. Hmmm…
Not to detract from the current lofty thinking of the thread but Jody, I have been meaning to ask, what is limiting the retraction of your top frame? It seems to sit kind of high in the down position (and would make boot construction we spoke about a bit more challenging). Is it the interior quarter panels? Did you beat down the tops of the inner fender wells (like factory on 69/70)? Just wondering, would like to see the top frame tuck down more.
Bill P., did your top frame tuck in well, i.e., like on 69/70?
Regards,
Bob
Bob: I did pound down the wheel houses like they were on my donor car (or at least as close a match as is possible with a BFH). Everything seems to line up correctly with the top frame and glass so so my guess is that the quarter panels on the later convertibles (69 up Mustangs and Cougars) must be a bit taller than on the earlier cars, providing a deeper well for the top frame.
Well, thanks Bob. I remembered that I had a set of the little clamps that hold down the top. The holes for these clamps are pre-drilled into the mount so it occurred to me that by installing them, I could see if the top is going down as far as it should. The holes on the clamps are slotted to allow up and down adjustment. So I dug them out and installed them. As you can see in the picture, with the clamps as high as they go and the top pressed as far down as it will comfortably go, there is still about an inch gap on the driver side. The passenger side is slightly better at 3/4 inch and I can push that side down and latch it, but it’s obviously too tight.
So you are right, the top isn’t fully retracting, but not by much. The question is whether or not I can live with this?
By messing around with how the top folds as it goes down I managed to eek out an additional 3/4 inch of drop-- enough to have the latches grab when its down. The photo doesn’t show it, but the top header is now about 1/4 inch lower than the edge of the trunk behind the rear seat. I think that’s as far down as it’s going to go.
My top sat up a bit as well. Here is a side shot with the boot in place:
This was taken right after the conversion was completed. Notice that the pinstripes aren’t even on yet.
That looks much better to me Jody! Now what are these latches that grab when the top is down? The only latches I can think of are the hook thingies that grab the windshield header and I don’t think they do anything (or could) when the top is in the down position. So, I’m baffled. Enlighten an old fart, would 'ya? 
They were only used on non- power top cars.