1 PIECE TOPS ONLY!!!!
DISCLAIMER!:\
IF YOU ARE DULL ENOUGH TO TRY THIS FIRST IDEA, especially w/ a 3-piece top, THEN YOU ARE YOUR OWN DESTROYER, BLAH BLAH, BLAH, I HOLD NO RESPONSIBILITY OVER ACTS OF GOD, COD, OR THE WIFE COMING IN AND TELLING YOU TO GE THAT THING THE *&%^&^%&*DOWN FROM THE CIELING, HOWEVER, MY SECOND IDEA WILL BE BETTER
enjoy:
you can use the basic idea from the 50$ hard top hoists found on e-bay (bad idea)
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this is essentially it, very briefly, because typing sux:
get a good strong, long but skinny piece of Hollo Structural Steel and angle steel, (i went with a 3/4" x 3/4" 6' piece of HSS & a 2' x 1" x 1" piece of angle steel (find these @ your local home rona/totem) and 50' of rope (nylon because the regular hemp rope is only good to smoke) and 6 eyebolts of 1/2" diameter threads, the bigger the eye, the better. now, you're hss will have an assload of holes drilled into it if it's the same one i used. so take the L steel and line up the exact middle of it with the last hole on the HSS and it should fit really flush together, drill a hole that matches the one on the hss. next, drill 2 more on the ends of the L steel, and tighten 2 eyebolts on it, with the eyes parallel to the L steel, upside down. (eye points to the floor if you are having the L steel on the top of the HSS). Put a eye bolt in the middle hole you drilled and tighten it down, making sure it's parallel with the HSS. ok, set that aside. the fun part's over, have a beer, watch tv, play with you're kids, whatever floats your boat. now, HERE'S WHERE I WENT WRONG!!!!!!!!!!! DON"T DO THIS!!!!!!! put 2 pulleys on 2 bicycle hangar hooks, put them into studs and bend them back a couple of times. secure with small hose clamps. loop nylon rope through the pulleys and attach to a boat trailer whinch, attach winch to wall, be wary that the winch will only work in 1/2 turns unless you provide enough space for the handle (that sux, it takes 10 minutes to lower the top) now, attach another eyebolt, facing up, and parallel to the HSS into the HSS and tighten. string rope through the bolt on the end and the one about 1/4 the way down the contraption that you built before you had the beer. make sure the rope enters opposite sides of the eyes on the bolts. tie it off (this is only temporary) do you have old frayed bungee cords? cut them apart, save the hooks. tie the hooks to the nylon rope, so you have primitive bungee cords.ex: <_|=======|_>
same lengthrope hook thingies is imperitave, unless you want to have a stupid moment with the hardtoptilting and going all over the place. ok, so now you have a t-frame with two rope hooks laying on the ground, hooked onto the two inverted eyebolts. put to eyebolts parallel to the L steel about 3/4 the ways down the HSS, facing opposite directions in the holes right beside eachother. make a long rope hook thing that will fit underneath the front of the top and come around to the same spot on the roof of the top. ok, now, start hoisting. even with the trailer whinch, this is going to be tough and i reccommend 2 ppl do this, one to hoist, one to spot the top and steady it in mid-air. I DO NOT RECCOMMEND THIS CONTRAPTION AS A WAY TO STORE TOPS SUSPENDED FOR A LONG AMOUNT OF TIME. MY NEXT CONTRAPTION WILL BE.
If everything goes smoothly and you did everything properly, you should be happy. :twisted:
FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT HAPPY:
this one is good for those garages w/ higher cielings, and i think i may dismantle my current one and put this one up instead:
:evil:
Get some steel barn door track and the wheel & hangar kit from rona
pick up a block and tackle that should be good for the weight of your top. get some chain (20') some openable links and some GOOD hooks, preferably rubber coated and an ULTRA HIGH FLAME HARDENED SUPER DUTY steel ring, or use 2 cheap ones if you like. Bolt the track into your ceiling using the hangars, assemble the wheels and the endplates and mount them inside the track. hang the block and tackle from the wheels, and hang about 10' of good, heavy chain from the block and tackle, running it around. (however big your ceiling is) and put a openable link onto the bottom of it, hooking into the ring. close the link and put three more openable links onto the ring, add only enough chain to reach the bottom of the top when the ring is resting on the roof of it. it would be preferable if you hang the ring @ the back and chain down and hook the hatch if your rear hatch locks, then chain down the centre of the top and hook to the middle of the front, ALL SHOULD BE GOOD N' TIGHT , then lift away!! the goodness of this is that if you got the whole thing big enough, you can slide the top out of the way and out of the mind, the chain will hold it up no problem, although you may want to add a hook to the middle of the chain and to the wall to prevent it from spinning, or just put it against the wall to prevent it from spinning as well. IF YOU BUILD THIS BIG ENOUGH, YOU MAY EVEN BE ABLE TO USE IT AS AN ENGINE HOIST, ALTHOUGH I DON'T CONDONE IT!
the second one is by far the best, although the first one will work for people on a limited budget. you may also expand the design by making a square frame and hanging the top offa that, and if the pics don't work, just paste them into the "post a reply" window and all should become clear.
BE CAREFUL , HAVE FUN!!
Topic: Hardtop Hoist/258ci VIN code (Read 2430 times)