-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Gentry <tgentry@execpc.com>
I said:
>>>This isn't an official definition (I've never seen one), but IMO, a
closed car has a roof which is an intergal part of the structure.
Removeable
>factory tops wouldn't qualify.>>
Tom replies:
>Midwest Council and VSCDA accept hardtop equipped sports cars as closed
cars, I don't have any first hand experience with other groups. According
to your definition T-tops and targas would be open cars....
No. Targas and T-tops *do* have a roof structure integrated with the rest
of the body shell. Porsche and Fiat made 911s, 914s and X 1/9s into targas
because they believed Federally-mandated rollover protection would prevent
them from selling open top cars.
>I have always wondered about the cars with glass tops. They race under
closed car rules, but in a roll over will revert to open car status when the
glass shatters. Hmmmmmm.
Good question. I'd say the question hinges on what holds the glass up -- if
it's a part of the bodyshell, like glass-topped 911s, then the roof
structure shouldn't collapse.
>Yes, you could argue that my hardtop could be torn off in a rollover, I
would argue that it is securely attached with grade 8 fasteners.
It may not come off, but will it collapse? That's the real threat in
rollovers. The roof stays attached, but the headroom's kind of short. Of
course, there's no guarantee that a fixed tin top won't collapse (saw this
happen to an airplane I was supposed to be in later the same day....), but
the chances are better the structure will take the load. And advertising
aside, *I* don't trust the windshield header to hold things up by itself.
>No, I am not willing to give it a go! LOL
Aww -- where's your thirst for knowledge?! :)
Jamie (former terminal velocity test pilot -- digging holes deeper!)
'92 Prelude Si
Speed Demon Racing
http://www.mindspring.com/~jsculerati/sdr
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