It’s a typical sight in the farming areas of the world — a group of enterprising automotive hackers take a humble economic climate car, as well as saw the roofing off, building a convertible the least expensive method possible. Being the city dwelling type, I always looked on at these paddock bashing antics with awe, wanting that I as well might engage in such automotive buffoonery. This year, my time would come — I was approved a hatchback for the princely sum of $100, as well as the personal residential or commercial property on which to thrash it.
However, I wasn’t just keen to recreate what had come before. I wished to take this chance to develop a option for those who had experienced like me, growing up in the confines of suburbia. surrounded by homes as well as with authorities on patrol, it just isn’t possible to cut the roofing off a vehicle as well as drive it down to the beach without getting yourself in entirely as well much trouble. however then again, perhaps there’s a way.
The goal was to develop the vehicle in such a method that its roofing might be cut off, however stay connected by removable brackets. This would enable the vehicle to be driven around with the roofing still attached, without increasing as well much suspicion from passing glances. For reasons of legality as well as safety, our develop as well as test would be conducted completely on personal property, however it was about seeing what could be done that mattered.
To accomplish our goal, it was made a decision to utilize a series of off-the-shelf steel brackets with M10 bolts to hold the roofing on. two would be put between the top of the windscreen as well as the roof, as well as one each would be put on the C-pillars of the car. To cut the vehicle apart, we ended up sourcing a reciprocating saw, with a range of other hand tools assisting to eliminate the car’s trim as well as interior panels.
Christmas Tree bits – understand them, own them, like them. Credit: Lewin Day
Before making any type of cuts, we lined the brackets up on the vehicle to drill the installing holes. With the brackets taped in place, I broke out the cordless drill to make method for the M10 bolts that would hold the roofing on. After drilling pilot holes with a routine bit, a Christmas Tree bit was fantastic for enlarging the holes. If you’re not familiar, they’re a fantastic method to drill holes as much as 30mm with a routine handheld drill, without having to get costly private bits. However, when we’d drilled all the holes as well as put the bolts through, we hit a snag.
Cutting the C-pillar skin out was finest accomplished with an angle grinder as well as cutting discs. Credit: Lewin Day
The C-pillar of the vehicle has both an interior as well as exterior metal skin, indicating that when we fed the bolts with from the outside, we couldn’t really connect the nuts on the back of them. This was fixed with a quick run down to the hardware store to source a grinder as well as cutting wheels. With some judicious slicing as well as dicing, we produced lots of sharp edges, as well as just sufficient space to get the nuts on without slashing one’s hands to pieces.
The windshield brackets had a easier issue — the roofing liner was in the way. Kudos to the Hyundai motor business where they are due. After 16 years the roofing liner was still taut, clean as well as presentable… up until the box cutter came out.
Our plan all along was to get the brackets mounted as well as bolted in location prior to starting the cutting. contemporary monocoque vehicles lose a great deal of stamina as well as rigidness when the roofing is removed. If we’d cut the roofing away, it would be inordinately tough to hold everything in location while we then tried to drill holes for brackets to install it back on. By installing the brackets first, we’d get some semblance of an original in shape after cutting.
Keeping the brackets bolted up during cutting stopped the roofing collapsing as well as wobbling around the location during the operation. Credit: Lewin Day
With the brackets bolted on, we might now commence hacking the roofing off. With the reciprocating saw terminated up, we began to slice along the C-pillars as well as the windshield. Brackets were only unbolted one each time as we cut past them, which made cutting much easier, as the vehicle wasn’t falling apart as we worked. Reciprocating saws can be surprisingly efficient as well as powerful — just be wary of what the blade may catch on the other side of your panel. We were cautious to make sure we avoided any type of wiring, fuel, or hydraulic lines — hitting one might quickly spell disaster. Nevertheless, we got the task done without any type of major incidents as well as the roofing was now cut free, however bolted in place.
Reciprocating saws are best for quick as well as filthy hack tasks like this. Credit: Lewin Day
Those of you with a mechanical inclination are most likely asking some concerns about our techniques here. reality be told, putting bolts with holes in thin sheet steel isn’t fantastic for longevity. The shock as well as vibration tons of the automotive atmosphere will tear the steel apart in fairly short order. In our case, it didn’t matter — our Hyundai was right here for a great time, not a long time.
With the major cutting work done, it was time to up the stealth factor. shiny steel brackets were far as well evident for our tastes, never mind the gaping cuts in the body work. A can of black spray paint as well as a roll of duct tape enabled us to cover the worst of the modifications. From 30 feet or so, the laid-back look would just see a beaten-up old hatchback, as well as that’s exactly what we wanted. however would it be drivable?
The short response — surprisingly so. On the rural property’s smooth tarmac roads, the vehicle was barely worse than stock. There was some extra wind noise, however by as well as big the vehicle didn’t feel a whole great deal different. Upon hitting the rough dirt roads, things altered quite quickly. The bumpy surface was making the rough-cut panels rub as well as squeal against each other as well as general it was a rather horrible experience. We slowed to a crawl as we made our method out to our trick test paddock.
We shown up to a sandy wasteland, where nothing much grew, as well as the ground was just firm sufficient thanks to some recent rain. We broke out the spanners in the dark as well as attempted to eliminate the bolts holding the roofing on without nicking an artery — thankfully, our convertible antics did not ended up being a blood sport. It took four of us, however we handled to prise the roofing free, dump it on the ground, as well as then climbed into our wonderful steed for the evening.
The events that complied with were precisely what you’d expect — a series of wild weaving, handbrake turns, as well as the inevitable bogging in wet sand. It turns out our convertible Hyundai handles just fine, at least for one night. In routine utilize I’m a lot more than specific that the chassis would swiftly flex as well as autumn apart. There’s no feeling rather like tearing along underneath a remove night sky, with the wind in your hair as well as a jagged metal edge perilously close to your ideal elbow. We had some great times, as well as the Hyundai served us well.
Feeling exhausted, it was time to pack up – as well as to our surprise, the roofing really bolted back on the vehicle successfully. had we the means, we likely might have utilized the vehicle for additionally antics, though the necessities of genuine life indicated that after one short evening in the moonlight, our humble sibling from Seoul was destined for the scrap heap.
I think about the job to be a success — we developed a convertible that didn’t autumn apart, as well as was stealthy sufficient that it might pass with the typical neighbourhood without increasing as well lots of eyebrows. It was likewise our goal to do this cheaply, as well as I broke down the costs below.
2001 Hyundai Accent – $100
Grinder + cutting Discs – $40
Reciprocating Saw – $150
Fasteners as well as Brackets – $30
Fried poultry – $30
All up, I was in for $350 which, for any type of kind of automotive experiment, is very budget-friendly in my book. There’s a specific flexibility that comes when working with a vehicle that’s headed for the crusher. While our Hyundai was falling apart, we were able to provide it one last crowning glory, as well as have an absolute blast doing it. inspect out the video below, as well as begin planning your own madcap develop today!