All right, everyone's been asking what wild new modification I will do with my TT.

Increased displacement?
New transmissions?
Wild bodykits?
Engine swaps?

Nope. I don't really like everything about the TT Coupe (before you flame me, read on)... the one thing I don't like is the lack of a sunroof. The curvature of the roof doesn't allow for blah blah blah. Okay, whatever. I don't like ragtops, so the spyder was out of the question... the car will occasionally be on the track and I'd prefer not to witness the ragtop "tin can effect" from inside the car.

Ahh... what to do?

I've always loved Targas. Not just Porsches, but all Targa-style designs, the NSX-T, the Del Sol, on and on. And so I started calling a few friends,

"How much time and money would it take to make my TT into a Targa with a light pop-off top panel made from carbon fiber or another lightweight material that would stow nicely under the hatch and be light enough that one person could easily install it quickly in case of a rainstorm?"

Both the time and money numbers were acceptable, and I'll be sending a 50% deposit against the projected cost in the near future.

When my TT arrives, it will spend its first two weeks at Vortrag Motorsports for instrumentation changes and Alcon brakes with Vortrag bracketry. It will then spend another three months out of my hands undergoing a comprehensive Targa conversion.

More information to follow, design for the Targa top and latching system will be finalised within the week. Deposit and point of no return on the project is in two weeks.

Cameron

Can't wait to see it!

CraigB
(ex-Honda del sol and Porsche 914 owner)

nt

Any websites (Honda fan sites?) that would have Honda NSX and Honda Del Sol weights for the lift-off tops. Just wondering for comparison, hoping to write an article on the conversion and it would be neat to have a little chart like:

TT ... top weight (kg) top dimensions (cm)
Del Sol
NSX-T
911 Targa
914
Diablo VT Spyder
Etc.

so people can see what differences in materials, latching systems, etc. result in. I tried putting the top on a Diablo once, absolutely impossible as a one-person job without scratching the car unless you're a lot taller than I am and never find yourself in a hurry.

How is the Z3 doing? Do you have a hardtop for it in the winter, or is the Quattro your hardtop?

Cameron

Cameron

I am curious as to the instrumentation changes you are making, and also any reduced rigidity that may be imparted on the car without the roof structure in place...knowing the roadster was beefed up considerably to prevent scuttle shake.

Regards

Graham

The entire instrument pod will be removed and replaced with an aluminum and carbon fiber pod with digital readouts and only one analog gauge (tach). There are eight digital readouts and two other displays that can be toggled between more than thirty different functions including:

outside temp, oil temp, oil level, boost level, coolant level, coolant temp, temp warnings, shift warnings, ice warning, radio settings, wheel speed, fuel level, radar level, laser level, radar and laser direction, etc.

Dash is from Vortrag Motorsports.

As I understand it, supports will be fashioned to run from the top of the windshield (where the attachment will be) down to the door supports (at the end of the engine compartment's latter crumple zone limit) and then further down to the chassis and triangulated between the lower two supports and the forwardmost of the passenger cell bulkheads. This was their provisional plan, though there will refinements made through the week, I'm told. The hatch structure is apparently very strong and is said to only need a "secondary hoop" reinforcement at most.

This same shop constructed a T-Top in a 550 Maranello for a friend, so I'm interested, but not concerned, with their engineering prowess. I have been informed, however, that for any serious driving (>130kmph) the additional rigidity of the roof structure is always recommended. During long trips at those speeds, I would have the top on anyway to reduce wind noise... in addition to increasing safety and structural rigidity.

I'll release the name of the shop doing the Targa work when I write the article...

My email is enclosed here if you have further questions you want to ask offline... not that this forum couldn't use a little filling-up :-)

Cameron

...I believe the del sol roof panel is ~24 lbs; it's made out of aluminum (funny thing is, that I just threw out the owner's manual the other day). The 914 panel was lighter than that, since it's fiberglass. The del sol has a really nice bracket system in the trunk to hold the roof panel. It lifts up out of the way on hydraulic shocks (like the trunk lid). They were both easily handled by one person.

The Z3's great! I'm anxious to ski, but with this unusually dry, warm weather, I'll just have to settle for some top down driving. 8^) I thought about trading it for an M Roadster (mine's a 2.3), but I pretty decided to do suspension and a supercharger instead; that'll save me $10K and give me more power anyway. No hard top for the Z3; quattro rules!

CraigB

CraigB<ul><li><a href="www.clubsol.com/">www.clubsol.com</a></li></ul>

CraigB<ul><li><a href="http://www.clubsol.com/">www.clubsol.com</a></li></ul>

Obviously, you don't have much of a budget limitation when it comes to mods. Not a dig, I think that's really cool.

Therefore, have you considered getting some sort of HUD for the car? If you're already getting custom instrumentation, why not have a HUD fabricated so you never have to take your eyes off the road? Have it display RPM, MPH, radar/laser detection and fuel status on the windscreen. You might as well also try to undertake fabbing a full remote setup for a V1 radar detector. That would be really cool- have the front antenna integrated into the top of the windscreen, back antenna integrated into the top of the backlight, with the speaker interfacing with the stereo system and the display integrated into the instrumentation. You would do Mike Valentine proud by accomplishing this.

Do you have any plans to upgrade the power output of the engine or do any interior mods beyond the targa top and custom dash? How about a full carbon fiber dash with Alcantara covering? Talk about lightweight and non-glare. That would be very nice.

Regards,
TM

and I think most of what will be going into my TT will be aluminum, to match the motif.

For your reference, the back seat, wingtips, hood, etc. on my A4 were carbon, and that looked very nice. That car has now been sold to another enthusiast and, in the TT, the look is much more "mechanical" and less "racy" -- something I'd like to maintain.

Being an avid flight enthusiast, for both fixed-wing craft and helicopters, I can tell you that heads-up displays (like any reflected images) look especially funky from within a dark cockpit. As part of the reason I acquire interesting cars is for the purpose of entertaining guests (as well as for my own enjoyment), it's difficult for me to justify making the instrumentation more cockpit-centric even if such modifications would also make the cockpit more driver-centric. This idea would most likely distract passengers and not make the car a good place for conversation.

The instrument pod for my TT already uses Valentine 1 logic and receivers integrated into a system with outputs for directional displays on the dash. All STACK and stock trip computer functions are available, in addition to custom functions like boost. The dash is controlled through a stalk system, and the driver's hands do not need to leave the wheel to toggle dash functions.

I thought about integrating a radar sensor into the top of the windscreen, but feared it might be damaged with the installation/removal of the hardtop.

Seats will likely be replaced also, just like my last car, but haven't decided on a specific seat or color scheme.

No glare problems for me yet in terms of the TT interior, and the dash has enough recesses matched to features (air vents, for instance) that I'd prefer not to change it if I don't have to.

Surely the car will need more power, but I haven't decided how much more. Certainly the plans will be more "subtle" than my 2.1-litre A4 blueprint.

A smooth-shifting, nice, 6-speed hatch with great styling is what I need from this car. To be honest, if I want to go and play for an afternoon, I'd take one of the Porsches... the TT has a separate elegance.

Further suggestions are welcome...

Cameron

I see your point about the HUD. Just what kind of entertaining do you do in the car? Do you use it as a conversation piece? The TT is very good for that purpose.

What color is your car? That would definitely influence any interior/exterior mods.

I would try to extend the "gadget" motif of the interior even further, integrating a Nav system and other such things into the car in the same manner that the radio, vent controls and seat heaters all have a very neat mode of operation.

What about using an electrochromatic panel for the targa top? When you want it dark, you can black it out and on nice moonlit nights, you can be able to see through the panel and gaze at the sky. Or better yet, electrochromatic windows as well. Tint the windows opaque when you park and lighten them at night.

I'd love to see what this car looks like when it's done, as well as your old A4.

TM

Just show up at a track event in the midwest or northeast... quattro club, and the new owner for my old A4 will likely be there, roll cage, carbon, and all.

The TT used to be Lake Silver, but I recently changed the order to Aviator Gray... partly to be different from all of the Lake Silver TT's, partly because as a targa I think Aviator Gray is a better "convertible color". I can always have the car repainted if I don't like Aviator Gray, but I'd prefer to have a color I'm at least likely to favor out-of-the-box. My repaint preferences would be Ferrari Fly Yellow (355/360 color) or Renault Zinc Touring White (Elf Sport Limited color), but I never like to have cars taken apart and put back together more times than is neccessary.

Yes, I plan to use the car as a "conversation piece"... mainly due to its unique design and due to the fact that my cars, clothing, housing, etc. do (like it or not) represent aspects of the organizations I work with... and hopefully make clients and donors more comfortable than they might be otherwise. It will also, of course, presumably be the only TT with this top design in the United States.

Due to the structural nature of the top panel, it cannot be made clear and maintain any type of additional cockpit rigidity... an argument I favor if only for placebo effect.

You should be seeing plenty of pictures of the car this spring, thank you again for your helpful suggestions.

FYI, the "industrial" motif of the air vents is repeated in the gauge design of the dash and in the ratcheted locks for the targa top. That detail on the targa has been approved, though rollover provisions have not been finalised. I refuse to have a traditional roll hoop unless absolutely neccessary, and we are looking into other strengthening methods that could be hidden within the TT's interior space more elegantly (honeycomb composite structures or an angular "hoop" with tetrahedral reinforcement within the TT's arcs and bends are two of the stronger among the six proposals I've received).

I like your electrochromatic window idea as a parking security measure, do you know of any good online sources for information on this technology? I had always considered this technology too much added complexity and a significant power draw... these may be misconceptions due to technological improvement. I'm constantly amazed by the low power requirements of some electrolumenescent devices, Indiglo technologies being a case in point, but I have embarassingly little information on filtering or light transmission limiting devices and their related power requirements.

Sorry to ramble, this idea has always appealed to me -- since I saw Blade Runner the first time.

Deckard: "It's too bright in here."
(thirty-foot by eighty-foot electrochromatic window in the conference room suddenly clouds so the Replicant/Nonreplicant test can be performed on Rachel)

Call it childish, but we all bring childish ideas into our dream cars, don't we? That's why we dream, after all, to conceive of things as we once did -- when the world had fewer limits.

Best Regards,
Cameron

I'm planning on going to some PCA and QC events next season, but places like Pocono, Watkins Glen and Lime Rock. I don't think I'll make it out to Mid-Ohio or anywhere further west.

Sorry, Cameron, I don't think I know of any places online that carry information about electrochromatic technology. I don't think the current draw would be very much, considering all of the stuff I've seen uses liquid crystals with the charge only used to affect the matrix orientation. Charge to turn it on or off, but not continuously. I've seen prototype technology on some vans and RVs in Japan, but nothing since. It was also exhibited in some "future home" segments on Hometime, the home improvement show on PBS/TLC.

However, this may end up being prohibitively expensive if you have to custom-fab glass panels and a power supply and control devices. What about photochromatic glass? Some of the current photochromatic lenses for prescription glasses work quite well, not too temperature sensitive anymore and lightens and darkens acceptably quickly. I don't think I've even seen that done on a car. Contact Corning and see if it can be done.

Have you thought about communication? VOX activated cell phone, VOX controlled stereo, integrated CB, police scanner, etc.? I'd like to have a radar jamming ECM device, police radio jammer and a directional EMP pulse generator, but that's not feasible and highly illegal. :-)

Regards,
TM

At least using that "transitions eyeglass lens" coating has been used on showcars for awhile now. I've always had worries about pulling into a parking garage from a bright street and being unable to see for awhile, though. The glasses change quickly, but not as quickly as cars buzz around parking structures... ah, if only people had commmon sense.

My Nokia 8110 hybrid works fine for now as far as communication goes, though as the technology improves it's sure to lure me in. Voice-driven technologies have been slow to catch on and even slower to work properly, though the NAV sector seems to be breaking down barriers in this respect.

Please post more, I'll be out of the country and unable to respond for the next week, but I'll look back a couple pages when I return.

I'll see what I can find about electrochromics.
How do you like the Nokia 8810 and, if you don't mind my asking, which carrier are you using? Any problems with dropouts, battery life, etc.? Any accessories available yet?

I'm thinking of upgrading my 6120 in the future, and a black (not chrome) 88xx looks to be in my future. I don't like the Startac because my friends have had so many problems with them. I'll need to get a car kit and some other goodies as well, though.

I'd like electrochromics as well, when they come down to a reasonable price. Being able to lighten your windows for nighttime, darken them for parking or other reasons would be really nice. Any idea how much photochromic coatings cost for a car application? Also, you wouldn't tint the windshield, so I think your parking garage worries are unnecessary.

Regards,
TM

Probably my last post for the week, stuck at CDG with a delayed flight to Nairobi allegedly on the way.

Positive reviews on the 8810 (8810/8840EH). I've had it for six months now, and I haven't had any problems... and I have the "hybrid coil" assembly so I can use it 900/1900 hybrid (important, since it's a CC44 phone). There's a big hole in GSM coverage in the Western U.S., but thankfully Seattle is pretty well-equipped. Seattle, London, Chicago, and Paris are my primary usage cities, so GSM twin-channel (soon triple-channel when it's released) is the technology of choice.

Positive review for the Toshiba Portege 7020CT laptop, as well, which has served me well despite a display failure some time ago. The DVD docking station is "a must", but it's a quick and relatively sturdy laptop. It has a cool titanium finish to match the metallic Nokias and the Sony digital cameras, too.

So thumbs up for both of those products.

Let's hope the airplane scheduling gods are smiling on me today...

Stuck as usual,
Cameron
Level 2, CDG, and too far away from a certain car in Gyor, Hungary