Hard Top Hoist

[87bor]

Has anyone built a hard top hoist recently. There was a scheme using a roof rack some time back but I found this concept on ebay which is for a Porsche. Looks nice and simple to make.

Barry

[uzbek]

I constructed one for mine this month. It has worked well but undeniably lacks the elegance (and the cost) of the one above.

I was going to use the 'roof rack' solution but I then discovered I had an old boot mounted bicycle rack which has four webbing straps each with a good strong hook-shaped clip on the end for looping over the edges of the boot when fitting. I stripped them off and they curl nicely around the roof gutter with a little bit of rubber padding. I simply attached those to a single length of wood across the width of the roof. I then attached a cheap pulley (Amazon for £7) to my garage apex beam and to the block with an eye bolt. With my wife guiding it gently (and after fiddling a little with the clip positioning to make sure it balanced nicely) it then pulled up easily into the garage roof.

Just to stabilise things and for some extra security I have added a couple of webbing straps slung under the hardtop and around the beam in the apex of the garage.

It is extremely basic but it is secure and is not going to mark the roof either. Re-fitting it is still going to take two people to get the alignment right as it is lowered but is no longer a matter of brute force. In truth I do not intend using it much as my soft top is very snug.

A cross-shaped wooden section and a clip to front and rear (like the picture you showed) would perhaps be more more stable but you then have to get the front and rear edge lifted enough to get the fittings underneath.

I've no doubt something similar with a couple of roof bars would work well too. Just need to check you get the roof rack 'feet' that fit old-fashioned gutter-style cars. I actually have a pair of Thule feet I bought off Ebay and was looking for the bar to go with them when I came upon the bike rack solution. You'd be welcome to them.

I know a picture is worth a thousand words. I can take some perhaps later this weekend if the above does not make sense.


Bruce

[Westfaling]

Got a sewing machine and some old seat belts? Why not make one of these.
Nick
IMGP0073-small.jpg

[DJT]

Here's a previous thread with an old photo of my solution. Been using it for 10 years and it takes only a minute or two to take off or put on. Whipped the hard top off yesterday for my 'you drive mine and I'll drive yours' outing in the Audi R8 (Big Boys Toys thread).

http://www.stag.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?17318-Hard-Top-How-do-you-fit-yours&highlight=Roof+rack

[87bor]

Got a sewing machine and some old seat belts? Why not make one of these.
Nick
[ATTACH=CONFIG]25634[/ATTACH]

Yes Nick. But the following photo in that sequence shows the roof at a precarious angle nose diving towards the bonnet like something out of the Battle of Britain. That was because the glass wasn't installed to create the right balance.

Hoisting 45 kilos of metal above my pristine baby with my limited needle and thread capabilities ain't gonna happen.

Cheers

Barry

[uzbek]

Looks like Nick uses the same sort of hooks as mine.

[Ian Durrant]

I bought roof bars for a Transit van for £20 on ebay. They are too wide but the bar only slides in to the gutter clamp so I will just cut them down. Next job is to put a beam across the garage and then wait for Aldi or Lidl to do their cheap winch and job done.