WTB hardtop in ****************ty condition/cracked/broken

[Qmulus]

Just an observation on using a factory hardtop on a racecar. While using a factory hardtop may sound like a good starting point, in reality using these fiberglass hardtops end up being a much better option. Why? Well, there are a few good reasons. For example, if you have a cage in the car, you can't use the original hardtop mounts, so you will need to fabricate brackets to work with the aluminum factory hardtop. Then there is the issue of needing to strip everything out of the hardtop and cut up what is left of the aluminum bracing to get it to fit even close to as tight as a fiberglass skin hardtop. There is also the issue of the glass, which isn't very convenient on something you will want to be able to remove quite often.

I know a local shop tried to use a factory hardtop at a customer's request. In the end, none the original "advantages" of using a factory hardtop could be realized and the idea was scrapped, along with the poor factory hardtop, and a fiberglass top was fit. So, they would have been better off selling the top, and using that money for a couple of the fiberglass tops.

I think the ideal fiberglass top would incorporate the clam shell and look like the original with a lip like the clamshell that fits around the well that clam shell goes down into. If that makes sense... I know there is one offered that is kind of like that, but with a different profile making it look a bit odd. YMMV