I posted that I was working on this some time ago, and have hae enough forward progress to post a few pictures.

Please note this is not a complete top only a first part off a temporary mold. There's still some tweeking we will be doing on this to get the part a better fit.

Here's the summary of progress-
We have the tooling for the top portion almost finalized and will be making some adjustments.

We are acitvely machining the mounts for the roof so that it will attach with adjustement that can be made in seconds to assure a correct fit. I had noticed on tyhe few Sarasota tops that the substructure appeared to have been repaired as it was pulling the roof too tight.

I'm working on a custom box for shipping and storage with a soft foam liner. It will be able to ship Fedex without hitting the second overcharge tier (shipping should be about $60 across the US, and will make a nice storage box for the roof when not in use.

The big key here is the mounting substructure. We aer making a semi ridgid frame that will allow for the OEM seals to be used on the rear and sides. This means it should seal as good as the factory roof.

We are on track for out budget for this project and the initial offering will be less than $600. Part of the equation is how many will want one. These should be ready for production to begin in 8 weeks if all stays on track. I will not accept any deposits until I have the prototype completed and tested for awhile. I will be posting more on the prototype in abotu 3 weeks, and it will give us an idea of any things we want to tweek before production.

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Very nice, i want one but won't be buying one. I'm sure you will sell plenty of them though.

A box for storage is a good idea. It need a confy home when not in use... The biggest issue I had was the fitment along the leading edge. It didn't snug in just right and the wind generated noice was scary.

And...Saratoga Top or Sarasota Top ????

Very nice Mark. I don't know if I will have it in my 914 budget for a while. I will want one at some point though. Way to go

THAT is FLippin....COOOL...

LOL now if I just had the money to buy one....

Steve

anychance you can get some pre-production ones out for folks to see? I like the idea of one, but for $600 i'd really like to see it first. these seems to be a great product idea.

it would be cool if you could get some pre-productions ones out there to folks that would not mind showing it off.


really very cool.

thanks

These will be LESS than $600. I will have a prototype shortly. There are some design details that we will need to work out, but the edges by the window on the original ones were the bigest problem. These will address that specifically. As well as a few other design improvements I'll announce once we have them in place.

That sure looks nice. Maybe.

Always amazing the masses, Mark

Looks neat!

Just the first piece of the puzzle.

Sure would make a super awesome door prize for MUSR 11 in October.

That would kick ass in the winter.

I know I'm going to use one. Here in Oregon, this should rock.

cant happen, it will never be a door prize, now if your talking roof prizes, thats a different story.

Stunning although we don't get much sun in the UK

Exactly, after this last winter I only got the top off for WCR. That's it. I really think it will make the winter driving more fun.

Saratoga, I stand corrected.

Well yours can be a Marks Sarasota Custom Top

Mark,
I for one, will take your word on it and be willing to buy it unseen. My gut tells me that you wouldn't be taking up so much of your time with the D&D, and be willing to attach your name to something that won't work.

Mark's Saratoga = or,l

A little heads up here, I'm still working out a few details. The mounting details are pretty much worked out, I have made a few detail changes that will make this roof easier(also less expensive) to produce a higher quality product, Win Win.

I will have final pictures and will be starting a group buy as the price is finalized. I think you're going to like it!

For those of you that follow my stuff. You may have noticed that I got side tracked on these.

I had to make the front bumpers with the solid support and that took me away from my planned schedule.

I'm back on these, and finishing prototyping in the next week to 10 days. You will notice that the new product has been redesigned completely, and the price on these should be quite reasonable. I'm debating on the shipped plan for these. I've looked into having custom cardboard boxes made, but inless I do 1000, they're comming back at $25 each. I'm working on a plan to make a reusable "crate" for shipping that will have memory foam to protect the unit when not in use.

I've just been so busy on these that I haven't been posting much.

I hope you will find these worth the wait as they will not be a poorly constructed product like the original. And price point will be less that $600.

I will be posting a group buy sign up list as soon as I have pictures for you to see exactly what I'm doing here.

Thanks,
mark

$25/box might not be bad since it could also be used as a storage box.

Wonder if the 911 targa guys would like one?

You could charge a lot more.

I am thinking the same as you, they pay 1200 and we each get one for 300? .

Hi Mark,

Interesting project. I put my original Saratoga top on today that had been sitting since last year. It was a bitch to install & took me over 30-minutes to get it installed on the front end above the windshield without damaging the seal. I had to take great care getting it to fit the rubber seal. It is really a 2-man job due to the flex in the curvature. I hope you put more material in this area for strength and elimination of the flexing??

Saratoga tops are great when the weather is chilly and fall cruising. Hey, I'll sell my origingal and buy your new one, maybe after I see it

Tom

Sounds great ! The storage box is gonna be a big plus ! Had a Saratoga and always has storage issues as well a front seal fitment issues. Ended up selling it to member in Singapore.

Looking forward to the prototypes.

Very cool Mark! Can't wait to see them. Hope I can afford it when they come available

Unfortunately this was double wall cardboard, and the quantity required isn't worth it. Fortunately I have a relationship with a company that builds pallets and crates, I'm thinking that in some quantity I may be able to make this an option. Not to mention I wouldn't have to worry about shipping (they would have to at least try to damage this).

You mean something like this.....

I can tell you this
It will be easier to install, it will seal better, and it will be more than $300, but for those of you that know me, I try to keep the price point as low as I can ( so you can have more cash for my other new stuff coming down the pipe!).

You're sitting on a big seller here: 914 and 911 Targa. Good luck with the prototypes.

I hope so, but the key is afordibility. Looks like I'll have a sweet pricepoint for these, and will be able to finalize the numbers in the next week.

The prototype is done and the fiberglass substructure complete. I will have the first parts to assemble the production completed in January.

Just was so excited to have this done I waned to post a few pics.

The new roofs will come with OEM style side seals, and rear seal. I'm actually machining new latches that will be adjustable without removing them from the roof, as well as rear mounts. The OEM ones are on the roof at this time.

You will notice that some of the bonding agent is visible through the roof top. This will be addressed by adding frit on the inside that will black out the areas where the 2 parts bond. I will be posting some pictures on a car later this evening.

This was a complete redesign from the original concept, but I'm much happier with the product.

I will pre-sell the first 10 units for delivery in March (or sooner) at $620+ shipping. I anticipate the production costs will put these at a retail of $750.

I will offer a plywood shipping / storage box for $40, with memory foam to hold it nice and tight.

I'm working out the shipping costs now, but it looks like about $45 in to LA, and about $65 to NY.

More to be posted soon

Top side

Looks awesome ... Any picture of the roof on the car ?

Wow!! Just Wow!!!

IIRC, ~ same price that origionals sold for 25 years ago!

I'll take one of the first 10, are you accepting payment for these yet?

Looks good Mark!

I'm filing my taxes as early as possible
I hope I get my refund in time to get in on this
very cool.

brant

Wow! you make some amazing things Mark

Got some pictures with the roof installed.

A perfect fit, just like OEM. The window sit right under the outer rubber lip. Good closure on the rear and at the front.

I do have some detail work to do on the final product that make it nicer that the one pictured. But they are cosmetic. Some of the issues we ran into were the bonding, and the work time for the same materials. I'm in the process of making the assembly jigs and mounting hardware from aluminum and stainless.

I'll be sending out the information for payment later tonight or in the morning. I'm only doing 10 right off the bat as I want to be able to assure my costs will stay where they are planned, and we can work out any bugs on a small production run.

So, yes I will be taking deposits shortly, and they will be produced in the order received.

I will do a larger group buy, but the cost may be slightly higher (hopefully not).

Here's some eye candy

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