Interesting about the two heat cycles. I didn't know that.

 

just to help clarify things a bit.

The company I'm working with is a very large plant. All they do is plastics. They've been doing it for a long time and trust me, they have the equipment to do it right. No shape is out of the question. Ever see the curved windshield on boats? This is the company that makes them.

As for cost. To give you an example, they made a sign for me that used considerably more material (and thicker) than the sunroof would be composed of. This sign required a lot of labor and post processing. My cost was $300.

I'm not going to deny that there are a lot of questions to be answered, but I really do not expect this to be anywhere near $1000. My hunch is that $300 - $500 is going to be the range for this thing. There could be some up-front costs for a pattern, but this could be reduced if they are able to use an existing sunroof as a pattern.

As I said, I'll know more next week. It may just be that this thing would be a lot more than I'm thinking, so hope for the best, but expect the worst.

 

Don't worry, I'm hoping for the best!

 

If this does work out for $400 or so I wonder how the people that recently bought used saratoga's would feel

 

I would say about as bad as the people who went out and bought their own porsche valve stem caps.

 

That is just uncalled for...

 

Tifo, do you still have that picture with the tumble weed...what was it, 'Another group buy that didnt materialize' or something like that?

 

I wish I had more dilithium crystals to power my spaceship to go back in time and get us all Saratoga tops!

 

There were many versions... I have a real Saratoga w/out latches- a dark tinted lexan type version. They ranged from glass w/dif tints in electric & manual to lexan in elec & manual, etc. Actually, I'm not 100% sure it's lexan, but it's some type of lexan or something... It's NOT glass & I HAVE picked up a glass one before. This lid weighs 10.5lbs. Stock manual weighs ~18lbs. Stock Electric weighs 19.5lbs. I picked up a gold tinted manual glass Saratoga long ago & it felt to be ~17lbs compoared to my stock electric.

BTW, unfortunately, my Saratoga has some scratches. Plus, I have not found new latches (really haven't spent time looking for)- I have one of the real Saratoga latches, but it was glued on (as were the others) & popped off. Mine must be manual & it appears that one could not raise it in back like the electrics. Now, I fully realize that stock manuals CAN be raised in the back, but the Saratoga latches do not appear to allow this, nor is there any kind of strap attached to keep it from rattling.

And yes, based on what you're saying (as several others are) it sounds like it might just be a bit more expensive- hell, the brochure showws $598 back in 1986!!! Still, by the time you hit $1000, I doubt you'd find too many takers as that's really getting pricey. I've got a guy looking into making CF ones, but I'm not too optimistic of it actually happening. ANd, knowing the cost invloved in CF, I'm not sure it would be any more cost-effective. It would not be see-through either, but it WOULD be lighter... :-) Oh well, I'll keep people informed if it ever pans out, but I'm not counting on anything. It would be nice to get that option, as well as this Saratoga option to come through- having options is always nice...

 

Robby,

Care to post a picture of your top?

I recently purchased a Lexan top here on Rennlist with latches similar to what you described.

 

Ok, I just took these- the panel has been sitting for awhile & has accumulated some dust- it looks better in-person, though... Also, some pics of the single Saratoga latch, beside the Altoids tin & my newest edition, a Matchbox 951- want to repaint silver to match my real 951

I still don't understand how to keep the pics fairly large w/out them being such a large file size, but hopefully these will work well...

 

Robby, even if the original Saratoga guy doesn't want to make the full tops, maybe he can provide info on all the hardware and make a "hardware kit" for the DIYers.

That latch you show is a "toggle clamp" and a relatively inexpensive hardware store part. But it will not allow for the back to open up.

 

Van- thanks a lot for the info. Yes, I was hoping he would at least be able to steer us towards the hardware. I knew, by looking at it, that this latch would not allow the SR to open up in back, but I was hoping that some of the Saratogas might have had dif hardware(?).

This particular latch does not have any writing or #'s on it- it's very basic- I'm not 100% sure it is a factory Saratoga, but I'm assuming it is. It's made up of 3 parts. Theres a larger circular piece made of hard plastic that glues to the underside of the SR panel itself. This circular piece is screwed onto a rectangular metal piece. The toggle hinge is screwed onto the other end of the rectangular piece, on the other side of it... Is the "toggle clamp" that one could buy at HD or Lowes, etc, just the end, hinged part of this whole piece?

 

Hey, I was just joking!

(unless someone comes back and looks at this thread in 2 years and wonders why nothing ever developed, which in that case my real name is Clair Voyant.)

Here it is, not that it necessarily applies here (or not, or so, or whatever)

 

Well, I can tell you that I will have a quote for this thing by next week. If it's more than $500 (without hardware) I'll be surprised. If it is more than $500 then I don't think it will happen, despite the fact that glass Saratogas are going for $1000. Which I think is absolutely nuts, BTW.