Making a ifting roof on a 110

DividingCreek

Explorer
will water ingress through the the hinge get caught by the fabric pocket you describe ? I spent a week @ Bunchrew House on Beauly Firth several years back. My family are part of the McGregor Clan.
 

buff

Observer
Like your build, did a similar thing with my old 110. But ended up selling the roof etc before finishing it completely, made mine from box section steel/clad alloy. But used a shortened 109 roof .roof conversion. 016.jpg
 

wuntenn

Adventurer
Nice one Buff. I considered that route too but the sloping front causes the bit hanging off the back and the work to remedy it put me off, plus the roof-off and weather-in whilst its under way was a bit off-putting too. There's several ways of doing this - remains to be seen how mines ends up! Cant get into the welders for a week so next installment will have a delay.... although I'll get the ply for lining, and the insulation, more alloy for the roof-rack and a few bits an bobs whilst I'm waiting.
 

buff

Observer
Yes, i ended up shortening the 109 roof. Ended up selling it to a guy in the US, but what i learn't from that helped me do a flip roof for my 101.
 

wuntenn

Adventurer
Sorry - Dividing Creek I missed your post and your question previously.

To answer - no - the fabric will not run across the front only the sides and rear. And on the sides the pocket is only 3/4 inch or 19mm high - sufficient to slip a length of thin flat alloy inside to use as a stiffener through which the bolts will go. The upstand is about 30mm high so the fabric will be fastened on near the top of the upstand meaning any pooling water on the bottom wont soak up into the fabric.

The front has an alloy upstand behind the hinge which will stop water from running in. This upstand runs right around the lower edge of the new roof thus providing a good barrier to water. It wont stop it blowing in if driving into a deluge. SO, the sealing for the front will consist of the two faces of the hinge being bedded in silicone and then a pair (at least) of gaskets running the full width of the front which will seal when both open and when closed, depending on which seal is compressed. If I need additional sealing then a length of thin rubber running the full width of the hinge will suffice.

This shows one method of gasket fitting.

LR3.jpg


Bunchrew is a lovely spot. All autumnal just now and quiet too so pretty glorious. And bottlenose dolphins cruising past occasionally too. I think there are some McGregor's some way back in my family on my father's grandmother's side. (I think we're ALL related!)
 
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wuntenn

Adventurer
Just to explain the front end hinge set up and gaskets, and the fabric to side connection and seal.

Here's the upstand which runs all the way round the new roof (lower section) of the vehicle.

Hinge (1 of 6).jpg

Hinge (2 of 6).jpgHinge (3 of 6).jpg

If the worst comes to the worst I can simply put a long length of thin rubber (2" wide) under the top of the upper hinge leaf, round the ball of the hinge, and then fastened under the bottom of the lower hinge leaf. That will stop most water coming in.

Hinge (4 of 6).jpg

Gaskets will fit in between the leaves of the hinge and I've left a bit of spare alloy on the folded front upstand (about 1/4 inch) so that I can fasten an additional gasket there maybe on a piece of L angle laid on its side so that it seals against the back of the sloping/lifting front (top of hinge bit) when its closed.


Here's the thin alloy flat bar for inside the fabric pocket to connect to the side.

Hinge (5 of 6).jpg

And you can see here that the upstand is much taller than the flat bar, so the fabric-with-flat-bar-in-pocket will fasten to the upper portion of the upstand and there will be a decent gap between the fabric bottom and the aluminium where any water will gather so that should prevent water getting drawn up the fabric.

Hinge (6 of 6).jpg


I live in a wet place and in a previous life I made aluminium windows when they were regarded as 'new technology' - unfortunately they had obvious problems (well obvious to me) that the designers of the material (living far far south in the UK) had not noticed but which our climate in the north exposed in all their ugliness. Consequently I have a good idea about what will, and will not, keep water out (at least temporarily!).
 
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wuntenn

Adventurer
Today I established the locations for the holes for fixing the top leaf of the hinge into the elevating upper part of the new roof. I'd only had the hinge screwed to the lower roof up till now.

Stuff laid out on ground.

Hinge (3 of 8).jpg

Hinge (4 of 8).jpg

This was not an easy job. Mainly because I was on my own. Had to bodge up a ladder to elevate one end so that the other, hinged end, would fit, along with several lengths of wood to hold it up.

Hinge (6 of 8).jpg

Hinge (2 of 8).jpg

Well when I say 'alone' - I wasn't entirely alone - I had company and a stern critic.........

Hinge (1 of 1).jpg

But I was able to use the offcut of the hinge to establish exactly where I needed to locate the holes in the top section, drill a few pilot holes, add a small drop of WD40 to each and then self-tap screw through. Lifted it up and over and....it fitted beautifully.....

Hinge (7 of 8).jpg

Propped it up on a couple of sticks and got a sense of how it will look. Works fine and has given me a good idea of what the front sealing options will be (how the fabric sides will finish at the front end).

And then the rain stopped and the sun came out......

Hinge (8 of 8).jpg
 

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wuntenn

Adventurer
Thanks Frans. Thats a neat hinge. This was an alternative I considered poliall but it was very expensive so I opted for stainless. I love those teardrops!
 

wuntenn

Adventurer
Hi Red - the hinge is 1" closed 2" open and my plan if I need to completely seal the front, is to put thin rubber 2" wide under the lower leaf, over the ball, and under the top leaf; that should easily prevent anything blowing in. There's several internal gasket options I can employ which should prevent water ingress. I'm not overly concerned about water getting in when parked - I think the high upstand and tightly sealed fabric will stop that, but under way the pressure can force it in. Some field testing with the hose will soon find out!
 

overlander

Expedition Leader
Brilliant work! Great project to follow here. I would seriously consider something like this if I didn't have a full external cage.
 

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