PDA

View Full Version : Rear Window Louvers



BlitzWing
06-29-2014, 12:14 PM
So like a few people here I often keep my hardtop on over summer, I love having the roof off but I don't have any place to store it in the long run so once I've had my fun on it goes again. Well one problem is the heat they store inside the car so within a few hours its like an oven. So the idea of louvers interests me and I wont lie I also think they look amazing. However I've yet to see a set that really does it for me I think that its only KG works that had something close to a retail kit and frankly it's not to my taste.

I had been keen to do it before but looking around I could never think of anything that really quite worked. the closest natural fit I believe would be the ones on the 3rd gen Firebird/Camaro so a series of strips however the MX5 hard top is a bit too steep to really work and the 2nd FB/C louvers are an odd 3 peace design that frankly looks way too crazy even for me. Another problem is actually securing it. For some time I basically come to the idea that its going to be some strong ass glue or something but I had that horrible idea that I could be driving down the road and I'd just see it popping off with some paint taken with it.

So after I had really forgotten about it till I was sussing up repainting my top and I got this idea to use the bolts inside the OEM top as a way of mounting a bracket. The only catch might be a small leak but that's noting some liquid gasket could not fix and if the fitment is right no one would know. So I drew this up a basic design that I could replicate with some card I have sitting around and then if it sits on I could move onto something more permanent.

http://i62.tinypic.com/sn1kbn.jpg

Rogue
06-29-2014, 12:59 PM
I think a set could be done for the inside that would look good without disrupting the flow…….or looking stuck on.
Something like this but in carbon fibre and better fitting the contour.
11959

m00se
06-29-2014, 01:07 PM
I had exactly the same idea and want to try it when i have time :) but i didn't get further than you in the planning process yet...

BlitzWing
06-29-2014, 01:09 PM
I think a set could be done for the inside that would look good without disrupting the flow…….or looking stuck on.
Something like this but in carbon fibre and better fitting the contour.
11959

On a pit crew these would be great but I'd want them on the outside as I use the space behind me for storage and I might get a cage at some point.


I had exactly the same idea and want to try it when i have time :) but i didn't get further than you in the planning process yet...

Great minds think alike. I have a few things I'm still mulling over. First is material. for the bracket a 1.5mm think peace of metal I can have cut to shape, bent by hand and then painted black. Not sure what I want to do with the wings Fiberglass seems the best choice right now. Second is the normal hardtop wing. Do I want to make my own or incorporate an existing product? making my own seems like the best way to make sure they all look right however the speed and ease of just buying one off the rack is tempting

Malibu Q
06-29-2014, 02:03 PM
These were popular in Australia in the 1980's and were made for many cars. A friend has one for his Rx-3 sedan which I was looking at recently. They were made with a single piece of plastic moulded to shape with holes cut into the vertical areas. Double sided tape was used to fix them to the rear window. I would use glass or carbon to produce a new one. Use a 4" block of surfboard foam to create each louvre individually. When you're happy with the design, mask up the window, stick your louvres in place and glass over it. You may be able to dig all the foam out of the back and use your prototype piece, but it would be better if it was cleaned up to produce a mold from which you could make a better quality final part. Cut open the vertical areas to see through at the end.

vote4pedro
06-29-2014, 04:25 PM
Dodge/Plymouth originally put these on their muscle cars in the early 1970's. Pretty cool for the period. They were very durable and hinged at the top for easy cleaning, plus they worked for cooling. I know KGW sold them, unsure if they still do. JDMPalace has a hard top with them built in I think, similar to the last picture, or that may even be his roadster.

BlitzWing
06-30-2014, 12:26 PM
had some fun with cardboard today. This was a simple go at a 2 louver design with the possibility to add a bracket to support a hard top wing. tomorrow I will make one that can do 3 louvers and then I will need to hunt around the shed to find some card I can try and make the wings from. the final one will most likly be far tighter to the existing window but I don't want to start cutting off the excess just yet till I make some basic card wings to get the correct spacing.

http://i57.tinypic.com/16k3n1v.jpg

also notice the horrid paint on the hardtop. I dont know how the last owner stored it but I'm guessing it was very damp.

Sean5294
06-30-2014, 12:45 PM
I know I have seen a Mita with a set back in the day.

vote4pedro
06-30-2014, 04:48 PM
had some fun with cardboard today. This was a simple go at a 2 louver design with the possibility to add a bracket to support a hard top wing. tomorrow I will make one that can do 3 louvers and then I will need to hunt around the shed to find some card I can try and make the wings from. the final one will most likly be far tighter to the existing window but I don't want to start cutting off the excess just yet till I make some basic card wings to get the correct spacing.
also notice the horrid paint on the hardtop. I dont know how the last owner stored it but I'm guessing it was very damp.

What material are you thinking of using to make them? The old Mopar ones I put up were made of aluminium.

BlitzWing
07-01-2014, 02:45 AM
Aluminum for the bracket fiberglass for the wing segment. I'm not so much limited by budget as I am by what tools I've got and my somewhat limited skills so making the bracket is relatively easy but getting the wing parts to look like and flat is going to be trail and error.