Ok, I posted the Question on the Targa top for an eclipse. I have seen the pictures and did some drawings myself that included the body kit and all the stuff i wanted to put on it, and i love the way it looks. Now i just need to figure out why there are structural problems. Why would this affect the chassis? Can i do something to prevent it from twisting? The Mistu Spyders dont have this problem and they dont have a roof. I guess im not getting this. Please exlpain it to me guys.

Thanks

Neonblacksun@hotmail.com

It affects the chassis cause you have basically nothing holding it together. Open both doors of a convertible car with the top down and step away to look at the big picture. You'll notice the only thing holding the front end and the read end together is the floor.
Convertible cars have a lot of extra bracing underneath designed from the factory to minimize the flexing. This is why they weigh a couple hundred pounds extra and even then they're not as stiff as coupes.

^^ yep

yes, im telling you...go to dsmtalk.com and read the whole deal on targa tops. there are people on there that did it and were posting while they were having it done. it will answer ALL your questions and then some. the reason that the spyder eclipses dont have structural probs is because it has a shit load of reinforcments...right down to the a-pillar. thats why it weights 3000+ lbs. they havent completely solved the flex/roll prob either...not even with a 6 point roll cage...they are still getting roll. last i checked it was deemed more of a mod for a show car, not a performance car. think about it, if you wack the top of a car off which relies on that top strength for structural stability (hard top), your gonna have probs there. and believe me they have done plenty of structural mods to this thing.

here is the link......educate yourself :-) http://www.dsmtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60653&highlight=targa+top+eclipse

http://www.dsmtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57005&highlight=targa+top+eclipse

http://www.dsmtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=41313&highlight=targa+top+eclipse

why did you start a new topic when all you had to do was post on the old one:nono
later

I reposted because i did post and nobody posted back. I will check out the site. Damn i was really hoping i could do that without screwing up the car... ill keep readin thanks

from what I understand, you need heavy duty strut bars, tie bars, floor bar, roll cage, and some cross members welded underneath. It's also a good idea to do diagonal bars and stuff. Some people have done this and have basically welded all kinda stuff in. Go here to see his site- http://www.twingles.com/ideck/

my supra has a targa top

>my supra has a targa top


but doesnt run.....;)

Well, i have been doing some reading and im gonna keep reading. I have a few idea. I refuse to do this i it costs me allot of performace. If i cant speed then whats the point. Then its just another eclipse thats looks flashy and has no balls. and that is definately rice worthy. I have a couple of friends who are welders. And i know a few old time rodders so ill see what i can find out. Thanks for the help guys. Ill keep you posted on how it goes. I will find a way to do it w/o forkin up the chassis.

we've already told you: REINFORCE THE CHASSIS:rolleyes

you got pics of what the other guy did when he did his. use that as a reference:nono
later

theres no way around it man..,you need to reinforce!!!

Goto DSMtalk, and look for MitsuReaper..

Its great having a guy, that lives a few minutes down the street, who has targa topped his car ;-)

~Tacoman

Well, for those of you who didnt catch what i meant. I WILL be reinforcing the chassis. I am just going to find the BEST way to do it so there will be little to no flex/twistage. sorry if i didnt word the last post right :+

well hate to tell you, but youll ALWAYS have some sort of flex/roll in the chassis. our cars werent made to have the top end hacked out of it. its only a unique mod in that it takes alot of money, time, and experience. there is no "cheap" way to do this. and no offense, but you dont sound very educated in car suspensions and what not...considering you cant understand why cutting the top out would comprimise stability. youd better have at least $2k layin around cuz this is a serious mod. yea, you can take your torch and cut out the top out of it but there are other things to consider besides chassis flex, which happens to be the biggest problem. they leak, they still havent solved that problem, you need to find a way to secure the top to the car when its on. its alot more complicated than you think. note, the guy working on it over a dsmtalk has his own shop to work on saving much $$$ on labor costs. he has been working on his for months. the reason you see hardly anyone with that mod is because its costly and inneficient. even reinforced, they had problems going over speed bumps in the thing. the chassis would flex so much that there would be a 1-2 inch gap between the door and body. as i stated earlier, its a show car mod....not a performance car or even daily driver mod. youd have better luck building up a spyder to a targa top since it has reinforcments.