Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Time for another update. Because im an addict.:smoke:

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Ya...c'mon!

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

agreed it has been a while......

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I'm with these guys. MUST SEE MORE!

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

I can't believe I'm not subscribed to this thread...so, I'm also in on what it looks like now...

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Pat did a rendering for a customer, but it wasn't a retractable top. It was a phantom style removable top. That was an idea he and I discussed many times, but I never got one built.

This is amazing...

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Wow... it has been a while again.. :lol:
Geez where do i begin.. Well, first of course like many projects on here I had to put this one on hold going back to mid December... I am building my family a house and breaking ground on it in 3-4 weeks..
I am doing the building myself so needless to say it has become my new project... But the good news is I'll have a large garage to play in as well after I am done..
- As for the blazer, I did get some stuff done on it since my last post up until 4 weeks ago.. I finished all my floor and patch work, POR 15'd the under sides of the tub and I mounted the body to the frame with the body mounts etc. I wanted to get this done so the rest of the body work I am doing would obviously be required to have no shifting of the tub.
I decided to get all new body panels to speed up the project. I bought new doors, front 67 fenders, new 67 hood, 2 swb boxsides which I already cut down to blazer size and have one side finished. I'll get some pics of the progress when I get a chance. Another part of this taking a while is its freezing cold outside here right now and the house I'm renting while building has no heat in the garage so that takes a bit of motivation away..
It's all good though, I project by this time next year I will have a 1300 sq ft garage to work in with heat and I can enjoy the 2nd leg of the convertible progress... And I will definitly be finishing this, I pretty motivated on this blazer and really enjoy what it has become so far. I know it won't sit too long..
Its great to see interest in this top project, thanks guys..
Kris

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

I'd be with ya on this without the wizzy top. I've started trying to fab a soft top frame into a manual rag top; built a front section for over the windshield etc but I'm gonna concentrate on gettin it done with the factory top this year.

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Wizzy top? Not familiar ..

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You don't think a powered rag top on a Blazer is wizzy?...I do.

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Not sure what wizzy means.. Hopefully not pu$$y :lol:
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Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

I think he meant wizzy as powered.

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Wizzy....you know, cool....neat, "hey, his top is powered, that's pretty wizzy!" No?

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Wizzy means cool.. :lol: never heard that saying before...
must be red deer slang LOL..
then wizzy is a good thing , sweet.. man i wish i could still continue to work on the blazer... i'll post some pics later with the new body on the passenger side.

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Bringing this thread back...... finally! I'm done building my house now and getting ready to start working on the blazer again in the next couple weeks once i have the odds and ends from the house build completed ...
- i was wondering again, i've been thinking about how i want to do the rear windows ( back passenger windows ). Now, i have all the parts to do a powered window etc. but its going to be lots of extra work to get them to work properly plus the cutting of my new boxsides to "tuck" the windows down inside the box sides to the rear wheel wells...
So will it be worth the extra work to do the powered rear windows or just have them set in place like a T-Top window the has some sort of latch and then is manually removeable? Of course i want to do the powered rear windows with a higher cool factor and being able to have them sit at any height while parked cruising etc. but lots of work, i did have my one boxside already cut out for the window and i know i'm able to get it tucked low enough its just hard for me to start cutting into the new box side basically. below is a pick of the blazer parked in its new home ( at the back of my tandum garage i'm in the process of setting it up as the shop.. I've also ordered a 4 post hoist for working on the blazer to help try to speed things up so i can get it on the road quicker :metal:

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Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Dude, thats totally how I would justify that to my wife. :lol:

She wouldn't buy it for a second. But good for you. And congrats on the new house too.

My opinion on your window dilemma is that you are just going to have to man up and build it the way you envision it. You have done some great fab work and put a lot of engenuity into the build so far. If you already know you can do it, and know how it needs to be done, well, that kind of settles it doesn't it? Anything less will always be a regret. You will look back and think "I should have done this when I was at that stage."

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Good to see you back at work!
I was out for beers the other day with some friends, turns out on of them is the guy that sold you the tops. Small world:)

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I agree with hgs_ you will probably regret it later if you dont complete your vision..

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Go for it!

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I am in to see how this turns out. Prior to being a Blazer owner, I was a Jeep guy. The removable softtop/ convertible idea has been in my head for a while. The great thing about this forum is ... no matter what you are dreaming... someone has probably already done it. (or at least started it)

SO... get it done already. haha :lol:

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

I think you boyz are right.... lets cut those boxsides up!
It will take me most likey 3-4 months extra to get the drivers side bed side trimed and welded up to the door pillar ( from a swb not an actual blazer side ) and the windows all working properly on 12 volts and room for seals, glass cut, yada yada.. If i cut too much i can always get repo boxsides again i guess :lol:
- i also still need to make the new the boxsides level with the doors and get rid of the step down. I have tops of old doors cut and ready to tack on with the same contour of the doors to follow through to the tailgate as well. This will give me 2" more to tuck the top of the rear window away as well...
Man i wanna start cutting! :metal:

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Hey YBnorml,
its a small world forsure. Yeah Quinn is a cool guy, i had to meet with him 2/3 times for the second top and parts etc. as soon as I started cutting and welding i realized i was in for as many extra top parts as possible! He;s a welder as you probably know and does crazy nice custom work on his cars.. You should check out the sweet 81/82 El Camino he has..

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Haha, I have known Quinn for 10+ years. The Elky sure was sweet, unfortunately he wrote it off. He's in the process of building a 63 impala convertible now. It is insanely clean.

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Glad to see your back on this and the house is done! I'm glad you're going with the power windows, that "cool factor" is well worth the effort if you ask me.

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So today i rolled the blazer out of the corner to clean the area out in prep for the hoist and took some pictures to show what stage its at now with the new passenger boxside and soon to be done drivers boxside intacked to the door pillar. In case anyones wondering what that red thing is next to the front passenger side of the truck up here in canada we call it a snowblower :lol:
6/7 weeks from now we will be done with them up north here not like we needed them much this winter but after last year many people ran out this fall and scooped one..
The other red thiing on the drivers side is a 04 vfr i aquired a couple weeks ago. It seems that now that i have the garage cleaned up from the house build i can't help but have the dirty need to fill it! :metal:
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Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

thats a great work space you got there, the Blazer looks great sittin in there. cant wait to see more work on your top!!!

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Hey thanks,, since i was able to build my own house it help freed up funds with the sweat equity put in to build my dream garage also mainly with the blazer and future projects in mind and to have a cave to hang out in.. Here's a picture i think is pretty cool with just framing ( From 6 months ago , Mid August ) which shows the 1400 feet of 1/2" pex tubing i laid under the slab to keep the toes warm in the winter.. The radient heat is pretty amazing and has huge efficiency benefits.
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Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

man you sure did it right just dont drill into your system putting up your lift ;)

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:lol:
I bet some guys do... That would suck man..
The main thing i'm going to like about the 4 post lift is the casters to move the pig around if I need to, i was reading some guys move the lift with the vehicles still on them too should be able to do that with the light blazer on it hopefully.

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Yeah I've those castors they work pretty slick you will like that lift!!
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Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

i worked at 2 shops where they decomisioned the heated floor by cutting it up. I couldnt believe it. When its below 0c outside it is the bomb:metal:

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

geeze eh, i would think if a guy did chop it up in a couple spots you could try to carefully break away existing concrete and get to the cut and do some sort of repair on it using shark bite fittings and re pour the area.. Most systems have many loops for mainly even heating and efficiency but if you did chop up a section you couldn't repair you can just block it in. The layout for for garage design has 6 separate loops, hard to tell unless you are looking directly down on the footprint.. IN the summer i'm going to try and reverse the system and use the cool garage/basement slabs and circulate the water through at night etc. as the nights here are cool enabling this. Thats another project on the list lol.. I'm never without things to do thats for sure.

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

[QUOTE=zammer;5187302]Hey thanks,, since i was able to build my own house it help freed up funds with the sweat equity put in to build my dream garage also mainly with the blazer and future projects in mind and to have a cave to hang out in.. Here's a picture i think is pretty cool with just framing ( From 6 months ago , Mid August ) which shows the 1400 feet of 1/2" pex tubing i laid under the slab to keep the toes warm in the winter.. The radient heat is pretty amazing and has huge efficiency benefits.
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interesting read & picture of your shop floor heating system under const. ... alien concept for a Miami Fl. native that's never lived much N. of Orlando. QUESTION?: If you loose power to circulate/heat water does the system freeze and bust the floor? OR do you circulate something that won't freeze?

I've got castors for my 4 post lift and only tried 'em once right after I assembled the lift. It's been a few years ago but I remember it not working very well. The 4 upright posts are loosely attached to the ramps and crossbars. I was by myself but as I recall the posts kinda wanted to go in 4 different directions. Took the castors off and haven't moved it since. Never bolted it down but it seems secure.... hasn't squashed me yet.

Re: the retractable convt. top... hurry up and make a nice easy to bolt on kit.

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The water used can be mixed with glycol to lower the freeze point, but that is usually just used when the water is heating a slab outside the building, like to melt the snow off the driveway or sidewalk. Once the slab in the garage is warmed up it would take several days below freezing before it would freeze, and with the pex tubing incased in cement, it shouldn't ever expand enough to damage the tubing, which is also flexible. I've seen large old buildings go without heat for a few days with temps below 0 F and be comfortable.

I'm a boiler inspector by trade and see these systems all the time, but I have never seen one run with cooled water through it. Maybe I misunderstood what you are planning. A cold slab will end up absorbing a lot of moisture and seem damp all the time. Could end up with mold problems. Can't say I would recommend it.

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

Yeah i'm running a 30/70 mix just for extra protection. 30% glycol 70% water If it does ever get cold enough around the edges of the slab in the garage it will ensure the pex doesn't burst.
- The idea i was going to do is in the summer use the slab when its cold in the garage during the summer (no heat on to the slab when its warm outside) and then circulate it through my water coil in my furnace. So this will then take cold water going out of the garage loops which will be chilled from circulating through the now cold garage pad and be used to cool the house with the air going though the furnace. SO the water going out of the furnace will be warmer then by the circulating air and then give off its heat to the water, then garage pad ( which will warm up the garage pad in a reverse mode) which is the same as what the boiler does. So then since the garage pad is used as the heat sink it can give off its heat to the outside ( i have a vent fan in the garage which will pull in cool air at night to cool off the garage and pad with windows open etc )
- This of course will all be dependent on how cool i can get the garage pad at night... I'll have to play with it when the weather changes to experiment.

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

OK, curious how that works out for you.

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Your only going to be able to remove as much heat from your living space as your heat rejection area, your garage floor, can expell. As mentioned above, the concrete holds heat very well. It is not a good heat tranfer medium.

If your plan works at 100% effientcy for some strange reason, then congradulations! The inside of your house will be the same temperature as it is outside!!! You could have just opened all the windows:lol:

Now there is a way to achieve coolingwith a plumbed concrete, but you need the a high exhaust point and a low air intake point and the whole building is designed around it. This is to avoid the dampnes. There is no fans involved. Oh and you need a production and injection water well.

Here is a building in penticton i drilled the wells for that is using this technology. At the bottom http://www.penticton.ca/EN/main/depa...-building.html

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If my house can be as cool as it is outside at night that would be perfect! Without having to use a whole house fan to exhaust all the air in the house that has been conditioned and trying to keep the indoor air as clean as possible. I thought i would try it and see what happens. I do have a high mounted industrial canarm exhaust fan @ the top of the ceiling good for 650 cfm and an itake that is 5' off the ground for fresh air while welding etc. It all depends on how cool i can get the slab temp at night until the morning. I just need to plumb in the garage water loop with the heating coil for the air handling unit and either use an existing circ pump or get a another separaste pump on a thermostat.. BUt your most likey right in the sense that it will be hard to do. I'm going to concentrate obviously on getting this top working and the cooling thing will be pushed back until 2015 at which time i will probably just put in a AC coil :lol:

Re: Blazer retractable convertible top
 

OK update time.. a small one but a good point.
Spent the last two weeks finishing the drivers side bed side replacement, setting up the 4 post lift etc.. Then it was time to get to the driver side window :metal:
- So i started with cutting the top of the bedside to make room for the window and welded on the tops of 2 doors.
- then I cut out the section where the window will go down into the boxside so it will basically rest on top of the inner bedside were it gets bolted to the fender tub.
- I purchased a set of the Electric Life Universal street rod powered window regulators to try and use them to power the rear side windows and it looks like they will fit nice. I measured and cut the one side down which you will see in the pictures of what the before and after differences in the regulators
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Also here is a pic of how i had to widen the back of the top rack a 1/2" so it would be the same angle as the drivers side window and also so it would be in the right spot for the rear window to fit into
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