Project SEi Half Hood

[Stuart Davis (fatblokestu) AO - Devon & Somerset]

I started playing around with the hood I acquired to see how well it will work as a half hood. They are ‘unobtainium’ for narrow bodied cars, so this seems the only way of getting somewhere near what I want. Just you watch someone offer one for sale now 🤣

 

I cable tied the SoftBits roof bars to the right length to try them before cutting down. They are way too long, so quite a lot needs cutting off.

 

I’m using clamps to create points on the roll bar to tension the hood against, I want to avoid any bodywork fittings. Thanks @Rob Waldron for the tip, they work very well. I just used some rope and plastic grippers to allow me to tension the hood as a trial, worked ok. It looks worse than it will end up doing as all the excess hood is tucked up inside.

 

My plan is to cut along just above the window line and attach webbing straps for the tensioning. Depending on how well I get along, I may put zips in the roof to allow easier access as it requires a bit of gymnastics currently. If I add half doors it will be very tricky to get in.

 

I ended up adding one of the original metal hoops which gave the roof a better shape and tensioned it better. I will attach this to the clamp points either side, currently it is cable tied in place.

 

So, a bit of progress and I think I’ve proved to myself that it can work.

 

Next steps, cut the roof bars down to length. Fit the metal hoop in place on the clamps and then cut the roof down to its basic end shape. Will see where to go after that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Robin Parker (Red Spider) - Yorkshire AO]

Great idea, I've been thinking of doing the same thing with my hood as it doesn't fit now since I fitted a taller roll bar. 

Have you stitched anything, or just cut the hood?

[Stuart Davis (fatblokestu) AO - Devon & Somerset]

1 hour ago, Robin Parker (Red Spider) - Yorkshire AO said:

Great idea, I've been thinking of doing the same thing with my hood as it doesn't fit now since I fitted a taller roll bar. 

Have you stitched anything, or just cut the hood?

In those pictures I hadn’t actually done anything, just folded the hood up inside to see if it could be made to look roughly as I wanted it to.

 

Mrs Stu is away tonight, so I’ve made some more progress. I’ve cut along the line of the windows to give a basic shape to work with, and also removed the side flaps which Velcro to the top of the doors as I won’t be using full doors. I had bought some, but don’t think I’ll fit in comfortably with them so have ordered some carbon half doors instead.

 

So, this is where I’m at. It will never be a full roof again, that’s for sure! I’ll try it back on the car again before deciding how much more of those side protrusions to remove. Ideally I will use part of the rear window to reproduce the small window in the proper half hood. I also am now thinking I can use the side strips as the cover flaps for the access zips if I do them. They are just about the perfect shape and can be cut to length. I think I will have the roof bars fairly close together to make access easier. That might compromise rigidity a bit but at least I will be able to get in!

 

Apologies if anyone has a funny turn looking at the kitchen floor, it is a bit lively 🤣.

 

 

 

[BigSkyBrad]

You've beaten me to it! As we only have a Jap bar on our car, I've been meaning to make a half-hood that uses the frame of the full hood (which we use alot). I'm an industrial textile fabricator (canvas-pvc worker/upholsterer/trimmer) by trade, but like a plumber's toilet or a mechanic's car, I just haven't got round to it!

[Stuart Davis (fatblokestu) AO - Devon & Somerset]

@BigSkyBrad I’m sure what you produce in the end will be a different league to mine!

 

I managed a second fit of the cut down hood. Works pretty well I reckon. I need to drill the holes in the roof bar so I can fix it properly in place then all should work better.

 

I don’t think I will cut the side flaps off, they fold up underneath very neatly and will add a bit of strength. I’ve ordered some webbing and clips to make the fastening straps with, then it’s just a case of getting to know the sewing machine! I’ll try to do some neatening around the back of the roll bar, plus some cut outs for the nuts that hold the angled struts in place to avoid undue wear and tear.

 

Once I’m feeling braver, I think I will add the easy access zips in as it requires a bit of contortion to get in and out currently. With half doors on I’m not sure it will be possible at all, might need to hinge them in some way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Stuart Davis (fatblokestu) AO - Devon & Somerset]

Roof hoop drilled out and fitted to the clamps, just need to cut down the threaded rod a bit now.

 

Roof bars cut down to length. I’ve put some foam pipe insulation around them which seems to work well.

 

I’ve added a strap between the roof hoop and the roll bar which allows more tension to be added plus a bit of height. The whole lot seems pretty well tensioned now, almost tempted to go and give it a road test as it is to see how it fares.

 

I must say, I doubted my ability to do this successfully but I reckon it will turn out pretty well now. Just need to master that sewing machine!

 

 

[Stuart Davis (fatblokestu) AO - Devon & Somerset]

We’re going to need a bigger sewing machine! 🤪

 

Have been looking for Mrs Stu’s sewing machine, which I finally found….. I had no idea they made them that small! Have bought one off eBay which I hope will be up to the job. Whilst I could take the hood somewhere and ask them to do it, I’ve always wanted to be able to do stuff like this myself so let’s see how I get on!

 

[BigSkyBrad]

@fatblokestu You'll be wanting one of these then!

 

I've been out of the trade for 15 years now - my knees are thankful for it after years of kneeling on concrete floors cutting out 100 metre square pond liners and music festival stage canopies. But I still have this industrial walking-foot and an industrial 5-thread overlocker, and keep my hand in doing random work. I've still to get round to making that half-hood, but I knocked out a spare wheel cover for our truck camper on the weekend.

[Stuart Davis (fatblokestu) AO - Devon & Somerset]

20 hours ago, BigSkyBrad said:

@fatblokestu You'll be wanting one of these then!

 

I've been out of the trade for 15 years now - my knees are thankful for it after years of kneeling on concrete floors cutting out 100 metre square pond liners and music festival stage canopies. But I still have this industrial walking-foot and an industrial 5-thread overlocker, and keep my hand in doing random work. I've still to get round to making that half-hood, but I knocked out a spare wheel cover for our truck camper on the weekend.

That’s a serious bad boy Brad! 😱 I bet if I tried to use one it would get the better of me and the wife would find me stitched to the table 🤪🤣

 

I’ll see how I get on with the one I’ve bought and go from there. Hopefully I can finish this half hood without making too much of a Horlicks of it!

 

I’ve got all the bits now, just need the machine and the time. Soon hopefully.

[Stuart Davis (fatblokestu) AO - Devon & Somerset]

@BigSkyBrad or anyone else, any ideas on where to source some of this edging trim from?

 

Sewing machine is here and seems well up to the job.

 

[Gary Taylor]

Here you go try,

Woolies-trim.co.uk

materials, bindings

[Stuart Davis (fatblokestu) AO - Devon & Somerset]

9 hours ago, Gary Taylor said:

Here you go try,

Woolies-trim.co.uk

materials, bindings

Great, thanks Gary 👍

[BigSkyBrad]

@fatblokestu  Yeah, that's the stuff. Best you use single-fold vinyl bias binding - that way you've a far better chance of catching the back-side of the binding (double-fold is a b**ch without a binding attachment on your sewing machine). If you've any tight curves, take it slow and you'll need to pucker the binding on the back-side - a small screwdriver can be used to help feed it under the presser foot. The excess on the backside can be trimmed by 'running' a sharp pair of scissors alongside the stitching.

 

[Stuart Davis (fatblokestu) AO - Devon & Somerset]

54 minutes ago, BigSkyBrad said:

@fatblokestu  Yeah, that's the stuff. Best you use single-fold vinyl bias binding - that way you've a far better chance of catching the back-side of the binding (double-fold is a b**ch without a binding attachment on your sewing machine). If you've any tight curves, take it slow and you'll need to pucker the binding on the back-side - a small screwdriver can be used to help feed it under the presser foot. The excess on the backside can be trimmed by 'running' a sharp pair of scissors alongside the stitching.

 

Brilliant, thanks very much for the info Brad 👍

[Stuart Davis (fatblokestu) AO - Devon & Somerset]

Woollies trim arrived, just the job. Pre-folded on one edge which is perfect, makes life much easier.