Before I bought the Ibex, my plan had been to buy an unbuilt kit, which would have been a hardtop of some type. Once I'd bought this one, I began to plan a bolt-on hardtop, using steel tube and aluminium panels, in the same manner as a factory hardtop Ibex.
Fabrication of the hardtop frame, constructed from 3mm wall tube.
Sorry about the quality of the photo, it was taken with my PDA (the only camera I had with me.) . I think you can get the general idea though. I tried to follow the build up of a standard Ibex as far as possible - Thanks to Andy at www.red-ibex.com (dead link) for the following very useful picture.
The info gleaned from this photo helped me to plan the hardtop frame. The door posts are 50mm x 50mm box section, the majority of the rest is 50mm x 25mm to form the main structure. 25mm x 25mm is used to meet the existing ‘B’ pillar. An additional hoop was added (in 50 x 25) to provide a strong mounting for a roofrack if and when required. With a 92″ wheelbase and no rear overhang, storage space is limited for extended trips, especially trips where a second spare wheel would be required.
A roof frame from Foers Engineering really simplified the task of working out how to form the roof and make whole structure regular and looking ‘right’. The only addition required to this will be a flatish centre aluminium panel which can be bonded into place once the outers have been TIG’ged together. At this stage I aim to form the hardtop in two sections, the rear frame and the roof, such that swapping from hardtop to soft-top can remain a one man job, if a little time consuming.
The first panel cut and bonded into place on the now painted steel framework. This panel looks pretty bleak but the final version will have windows in the sides and so will not feature the large blank panel seen here. POR 15 was used to protect the steelwork, and panelling from corrosion.
After something of a delay caused by pressure of work, the roof finally looks like it’s coming together….
... and then a conversation at a LR show with a boatbuilder friend caused me to abandon all the work to date, and go with a fibreglass roof design instead...