[manasm]

Desideep and Maverick - thanks! better pics coming once the mould is complete. We are working on the front facing seats as well. Pic of the type of seat is attached. This will take a while though...all available energy, money and time is going to the hard top.

Slight delay in the works as we are re-designing the rear door to accommodate a locking mechanism and a completely uncovered glass (no visible beading on the glass)

Do you think we should put a small rear spoiler on the top (like the Santro) or would that just spoil the look?

We were hoping to have the prototype complete by the coming weekend but looks like it will be another couple of weeks.

Regards,
Manas

[nnn]

Manas,

Great to hear about your progress.

How would you get to the Front facing Seats as the front seat does not hinge forward to allow access. Will you modify the front seat.

Regards

nnn

[manasm]

NNN,

For now, we are leaving the front seats as-is. You will have to go between the front seats or as in the attached pic, you will need to fold one seat and hop in front and then lower the seat. Its a bit of a problem I know especially for older folk, but we don't want to sit and modify everything right now. We would prefer to take it in stages. What we are thinking is that at some point, we will have a fitting which will allow the designed rear seats to be used up front as well.

What would be useful to us is a wish-list kind of thing from the users here on team bhp. Not for the more mechanical/technical things (I think Allan owns that field among others), but more usability related and cosmetic stuff. For example, if the HT works out, we are also looking at a replacement for the current dash - but at the moment that looks light years away...

The seats will take longer since we are not interested in "Jugaad" work. We want to have things done correctly from the start...there should be correct back support as well as thigh support...should not be too hard or too soft...lets see how it goes - this may just be a one off for me since I am not sure how many people would be interested and I like to travel with my cooler close at hand!

Regards,
Manas

Originally Posted by nnn

Manas,

Great to hear about your progress.

How would you get to the Front facing Seats as the front seat does not hinge forward to allow access. Will you modify the front seat.

Regards

nnn

[neon_daytona]

Can a innova/fortuner third row style seat be fitted?
Fold front first and then sidewards.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/Toyota...DSC03584_l.jpg

Picture taken from GTO's T-fort review

[manasm]

We thought of that...the problem is that the seats fit between the wheel wells...which are quite high in the bin of the Thar. Also, it will mean that you will need to drill into the body or weld on the body to fit the corner hinge which people will probably not be interested in.

We are trying as much as possible to keep things as plug-n-play solutions - all bolt ons...no drilling/welding/tinkering with stuff.

Will work on something and try to get something done in the next month or so...hopefully.

@Neon_daytona - Would appreciate a wish list...

Thanks,
Manas

Originally Posted by neon_daytona

Can a innova/fortuner third row style seat be fitted?
Fold front first and then sidewards.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/Toyota...DSC03584_l.jpg

Picture taken from GTO's T-fort review

[slalom]

Hi Manasm ,

The wish list-
The good looking hardtop ,I guess you are on the right track .
The rear forward facing seats ( as shown in your pic).
A tiltable co-driver seat .

I'm a fence sitter waiting 4 your creation or M&M 's to get hold of the Thar

[4x4addict]

Originally Posted by neon_daytona

Can a innova/fortuner third row style seat be fitted?
Fold front first and then sidewards.

Another forum member has fitted Innova third row seats. However, the wheel arch has to be cut to accommodate these seats. With the original MM550 track, the rear tires will foul with this area under extreme articulation. This can only be done, if you have the wider 53" track at the rear.

[maverick56]

manasm
no spoiler please, would make the it too much "bling"
the spoiler is better suited for the likes of Jeep compass or patriot
which are cr-v , captiva look alikes
guess it makes the thar more sissy
amar

[gthang]

Originally Posted by manasm

We thought of that...the problem is that the seats fit between the wheel wells...which are quite high in the bin of the Thar. Also, it will mean that you will need to drill into the body or weld on the body to fit the corner hinge which people will probably not be interested in.

We are trying as much as possible to keep things as plug-n-play solutions - all bolt ons...no drilling/welding/tinkering with stuff.

Have you considered a couple of the single seat portion of a Qualis's second row? Has fold and tilt, and the mounts seems simple enough.

Should be able to source a couple from a salvage yard, I imagine?

BUT, I seriously doubt if you will be able to change seat configuration without some amount of cutting and welding. If done properly, should not be a problem.

Best of luck on your project. Looking forward to finished product.

One question that popped into my head when I saw your prototype. Pardon my weakness in strength of materials, but does fiberglass tops also benefit from reinforcement ridges like in sheet metal? Seems like some amount of time would have been spent in shaping the ridges. Common sense tells me that it would aid rigidity, but I dont know enough about fiberglass. Someone please enlighten?

Cheers.

[jp1]

Originally Posted by manasm

We thought of that...the problem is that the seats fit between the wheel wells...which are quite high in the bin of the Thar. Also, it will mean that you will need to drill into the body or weld on the body to fit the corner hinge which people will probably not be interested in.

We are trying as much as possible to keep things as plug-n-play solutions - all bolt ons...no drilling/welding/tinkering with stuff.

Will work on something and try to get something done in the next month or so...hopefully.

@Neon_daytona - Would appreciate a wish list...

Thanks,
Manas

I am also interested in the hard top and the back seat arrangements. Keenly awaiting the progress. Your seat design seems to be practical considering the fact that the body need to not be touched in any way other than bolting the seat to the body. Even removing that would be easier.

[manasm]

Gthang:

Thanks for the lead - will look into the Qualis seats. Might be easier than starting from scratch! We are talking to some people about the seat fabrication...need to keep the seats as light as possible without losing strength. The idea is that one person should be able to unbolt it and remove from the jeep or put it in and bolt it on. Lets see...

Yes...frp also benifits from ridges. We have put in ridges where possible without affecting the overall look. We also have some sheet metal as reinforcement for the top. This also helps with flex as frp may not flex too much!

We don't know too much about frp either. We are learning as we go along - have made a few mistakes so far. But keep the questions coming - it might be something we have not thought of...

Manas

Originally Posted by gthang

Have you considered a couple of the single seat portion of a Qualis's second row? Has fold and tilt, and the mounts seems simple enough.

Should be able to source a couple from a salvage yard, I imagine?

BUT, I seriously doubt if you will be able to change seat configuration without some amount of cutting and welding. If done properly, should not be a problem.

Best of luck on your project. Looking forward to finished product.

One question that popped into my head when I saw your prototype. Pardon my weakness in strength of materials, but does fiberglass tops also benefit from reinforcement ridges like in sheet metal? Seems like some amount of time would have been spent in shaping the ridges. Common sense tells me that it would aid rigidity, but I dont know enough about fiberglass. Someone please enlighten?

Cheers.

[Ricky_63]

Hi

Would the hard top you are developing going to look anything close to this ?? If it is possible for you to do this I can assure you of an order for 2 right now

I am attaching the pics of what I want my Jeep to look like or atleast very very close to this !!

Do PM me the cost of what you intend to sell & by when


Cheers

[manasm]

Ricky,

Will not really look like this. This looks good, but in my opinion, the one we are working on will look much better.

For one, because of the rounded profile of the B-pillar, we cannot have the edges that this top has. If you want the edge, you will have to remove/modify the B-pillar.

There are some other basic design differences between the Wranglers and the Thar/540/550, which when taken into account will not allow the tops to look the same.

Will post a pic of the completed outside of the top in the next day or two. We still need to finish the mounting points and the interiors. We thought it would be done by now, but things are getting delayed due to our regular day jobs and some small setbacks.

As for pricing, still to figure out since we have not completed the interiors and the mounting.

Hope this helps.

Manas

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

Hi

Would the hard top you are developing going to look anything close to this ?? If it is possible for you to do this I can assure you of an order for 2 right now

I am attaching the pics of what I want my Jeep to look like or atleast very very close to this !!

Do PM me the cost of what you intend to sell & by when


Cheers

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by manasm

Ricky,

Will not really look like this. This looks good, but in my opinion, the one we are working on will look much better.

For one, because of the rounded profile of the B-pillar, we cannot have the edges that this top has. If you want the edge, you will have to remove/modify the B-pillar.

There are some other basic design differences between the Wranglers and the Thar/540/550, which when taken into account will not allow the tops to look the same.

Will post a pic of the completed outside of the top in the next day or two. We still need to finish the mounting points and the interiors. We thought it would be done by now, but things are getting delayed due to our regular day jobs and some small setbacks.

As for pricing, still to figure out since we have not completed the interiors and the mounting.

Hope this helps.

Manas

Like your spirit - I am sure you are right !!

Sure it helps.....but not till the numbers & more importantly the final product rolls !

Will look forward to your response on the same.



Cheers

[Ricky_63]

I hope you are considering an option of not having the Sunroof. Other than possibility of a leak it will certainly add to cost & strictly as per me, the Sunroof in Delhi weather is a BIG no no !



Thanks