Transparent Roof.
 

Ok... So I was just at the custom's shop getting my Laser jammers installed, and I noticed a pretty nice looking corvette. The thing about it though, was that once you got inside of the car, the roof was transparent when you looked up.

From the outside, the roof matched the paint perfectly.

So this led me to wonder, is there any type of roof replacement for the Z that's like this?

I was so impressed with it that I want one immediately lol.

Yes, it's called a convertible. :icon17:

omfg... no it's not a convertible LOL. Put your top down in a thunderstorm then get back to me lol.

The vette was blue, and the top looked blue from the outside, then when you got in the car, you could see right through the roof.

T-top Vettes come with transparent roofs, they probably just painted it, but I don't get how that works? I know you can colorcode the taillights to the car and when they light up, you can see light through it... but I don't see how you'd be able to clearly see through a painted surface.

Edit, I highly doubt the roof you saw was painted AND transparent. Transparent roofs only come in a black tint, it nearly looks painted from the outside, this would be impossible with paint. What you saw was a blue vette w/ the transparent roof option.

exactly, I had one, although it was black and matched my black car. although the tinting is blue, and maybe under the right lighting conditions it can look blue too.

do you have any pics? would you mind if you could post some of them?
i am really interested in how they looks like.

Mike, your DD is....out of place. lol You try to make up for all the gas you waste on the track and towing shyt? lol

yeah, and its a fun little car, especially now that is lowered and wheels are powdercoated black. I even have a test pipe to install on it when I get time!!!!!

current pic:
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/1083/dsc00977m.jpg


no pics from the inside, but looking out, it was a blue tint.
http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1439/11vw2.jpg

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/760/73193849aj9.jpg

I cannot help you with the Corvette because my 69 had a tru transparent top, no I could not see the clouds in a thunder storm with the top up. But I do have an experience sim. to this. I went on a Carnival Cruise and ate in their steak house. If you look at thier ads the base of thier smoke stack has red glass, well that is the glass roof on the steak house. It is 100% clear from the inside but is red on the outside. Don't know how it is done.:rolleyes:

I don't know if it was paint or not, but I'm telling you, IT WAS BLUE lol. it blew my mind.

This.

I don't know how it was done on that vette either, but it was done.

I know what I saw damnit lol.

amazing what google can bring up
C6 Corvette Targa Top 2005-2009 Transparent Roof GM - Mid America Motorworks

Thanks for proving my sanity.

Would love to know how this is done for some fabricated Z mods.

The contours of the Z's roof would make this very difficult and expensive, but a glass roof would be pretty awesome. It's the one option I wish I got with my Mustang. :facepalm:

This is very doable in the Z and anyone who has seen the Z's bare roof knows it would make a killer mod... If my next Z is a coupe i May do this or make a CF roof... hmmmmm decisions....

If you can retain the lines of the stock roof then it would be awesome. But if you had to flatten the lines out it would kind of suck. :(

You could retain the lines of the roof but the cost of the roof would go up... I will look into it though and see if it would be better to do a poly roof or glass... its definitely a trade off each has their own perks.

Poly:
1: retain roof lines
2: less expensive
3: probably safer then glass
4: Lighter than glass

Glass:
1: Higher clarity
2: Higher Quality
3: more durable

IDK those were just off the top of my head...

You're right. It would be very pricey but man would it be awesome.

If anyone is concerned with weight, on the Mustangs, the glass roof option adds about 20lbs of weight to the roof. The average sunroof (with rails, motor, etc) weighs up to twice that.

I feel like it would be a tough job, fitment would have to be perfect (to avoid leaks), yet still maintain the same lines.

would be awesome if it was done right....

Subscribed.....

I'm wondering what would be a better way to go about it? Do the bare roof mod and just fabricate a glass top made of the same corvette material?

Or do a T-Top Mod and just fabricate the transparent panels to fit into the open cut outs?

Personally, I think having an entire roof made out of that material would be killer.

My guess is you will just cut the roof, remove the entire roof panel,install the supports, weather stripping, and then the glas roof. Before it was a factory option there were aftermarket kits available for the Mustangs. Here's a pic of the install process:

http://www.v6john.com/Main/Appearance/Glassback/gb1.jpg

That is probably the best way... you keep the roof support structure that you'd lose with a targa top, and installation should be fairly simple.

With any luck you'd end up with something like this:

http://www.moddedmustangs.com/wp-con...glass-roof.jpg

^^ that would be very sick.

What was the cost of doing something like that to the stangs?

A Targa version would be a cool thing to see. If they can do it in a 911, why not the Z.


http://www.techfresh.net/wp-content/...he_targa_7.jpg

I want to say the glass roof kits were around $1,000 not including labor.

It would be incredibly expensive (and heavy) for a motorized targa top. I think a fixed glass roof would be your best bet.

Our roof serves functions beyond just weather protection. They are a main structural support. I was asking a local shop about chopping the roof and making a removable middle (leave the structure running from the A to B pillars) but they said I'd still need a lot of custom work to maintain structural rigidity. You can't just chop the roof, put on a clear one, and call it a day.

Well it would definitely take some R&D. My guess is your shop hasn't chopped the roof on a 370 yet so who knows what it would take. We really need to see a structural drawing to determine what could be cut away. If the center section is just a sheet of aluminum body panel then there's a good chance it could be cut out without any negative impact on the structural rigidity of the roof structure.

If you look at other similar body structures it shouldn't be a problem. Trying to find a 370Z cutaway picture or drawing to get an idea of what the roof structure looks like.

Yes, but it's not impossible. You would have to reinforce the chassis in the same way the convertible is designed. It's not going to be as rigid as a full metal roof, but it will still be more rigid than the vert. Does anyone know what areas were reinforced for the convertable. I could be wrong, but I though they designed the 370z with the convertible structure in mind, then designed the structure for the coupe.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/26/2...ork-auto-show/

Found this picture from the AM Performance build.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._7645146_n.jpg

Looks like we've got a simple aluminum body panel with a brace to support the panel itself from caving in at the centerline, but not to provide structural support to the actual frame. We should be able to cut this out and install a glass roof without any (structural) issues.

Of course we probably should just talk to Shell. :stirthepot:

TopGone did a targa for the Z. I'm sure there is enough research there to tell you what can be cut and what needs reinforcement.

and remember, the corvette has a removable roof panel to begin with, so its just a lexan skin on the same frame. comes as an option from the factory, solid roof, transparent roof or both, your choice

This?

[IMG]http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/...7_43Pjz-XL.jpg[/IMG]

I was thinking of the same exact car. I would think you'd need the side supports for this implementation though.

i'm sorry but that T-Top is pretty ugly imo

Agreed. The roof line is lost.

A nice tinted glass roof would look sick, though. And the driving experience would be totally different. An open air driving experience without all of that nasty pollen. :tup:

I'd leave the supports running along the tops of the windows (A pillar to B pillar). Then just pull off the glass rectangular panel that forms the roof.

An easy way to know is to pull the interior roof liner. Apparently, it's easy to pull off once the rear mirror is removed.