Sunbeam 2000 build

[belmateo]

DanR,
My first attempt was to replace the top plate with steel instead of nylon. Nylon is very difficult to adhere to anything other than itslef, so it did not quite seal. What I have in the car now just to move it around is a brass tee tapped and threaded into a hole drilled where the factory one broke off. Just finished what is to be the final one made out of solid steel with two sleeves welded into the top plate, with the connecter sealed into it so I can replace thinkgs like the sending unit and pump with factory parts.

 

[DanR]

Lots of labor! Glad you can do that sort of thing. Looking forward to seeing the "finished product".....on-the-road....

 

[belmateo]

Me Too!
Had a chance to wash the beast and happy to say no leaks around the roof and windows. Yesterday I started working on the dreaded trunk details, Ugh!
Some square tubing with one side cut off is making its way to be a nice water channel behind the firewall. I also started to remember to bring the camera out to the shop so I can take more car porn for you guys.

 

[belmateo]

Front rain gutter attached to rear firewall so I can continue with the final quarter panel attachements (for the second time). Also attached the fuel vent lines tying all three tanks together.

 

[hartmandm]

Interested to see you are using J30R7 spec hose instead of J30R9.

Mike

 

[belmateo]

I used the J30R9 for the supply and return lines between the pump and motor. Should be okay, no?

 

[belmateo]

I need to use the maita trunk lid because it matches the deck cover. Of course it will need to be enlarged wider and will add the Sunbeam trunk panel to the back of it for the correct look.

 

[belmateo]

Success! The retractable hardtop goes up and down perfectly on it's own. Major milestone, now working of the deck cover motors and wiring. Waiting on trunk weatherstrip to arrive so I can continue with the trunk.

 

[SoCal'beaming]

PICTURE"S PLEASE! .... One of the mod's I've been waiting to see on your build.

..... David

 

[belmateo]

David,
I will post pics and a video so you can see how cool it is! It was much easier than anticipated. The Miata motors were used but had to be rewired with the car plugs. After I tested them to make sure A) the windows would roll down first B) they were turning the correct direction. The top goes up and down suprisingly fast.
belmateo

 

[SoCal'beaming]

Looking forward it! ...... A retractable Sunbeam hardtop, WOW .. Something probably impossible to do with a stocker without a serious case of migraines .... David

 

[belmateo]

I worked on the trunk today, first tried to bring a point to the front but that interfered so in pic 4115 you can see the final shape

 

[belmateo]

here is a shot of the hinge supports and initial trial of the Sunbeam trunk in position. The last three pictures are of less Mazda and MORE SUNBEAM!
I only cut off the portion that had the hinge holes. The video has been taken and will post as soon as it is sent to me.

 

[belmateo]

Okay!
Here is the top in action. The deck cover is not hooked up yet so I opened it manually to show you guys how well the top works. I tried many times to post the video here, but could not work. So here is a google drive link.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_R9tv7FpiYdXCLKVzK_c4gjuirGfTr9G/view?usp=drive_web

 

[DanR]

It works Nice!

 

[SoCal'beaming]

Looks to work quite smoothly ... Sure is taken shape nicely. That top looks somewhat similar to the early series hardtop ... looks like a future project for a SII, along with the shooting brake I'd like to fab.

 

[belmateo]

Thanks, I am pleased with the progress so far. I don't see why you could not use the hardware from the Miata and adapt it to any top to make it wider or narrower. The length is already what I believe to be the limit for the motors. We were able to compress the video to make it a smaller size, but still not able to upload here. Any other way to post a video on here?
Here are two pictures of the way I did the top of the windshield to mate the two.
I like your thinking outside the box.

 

[SoCal'beaming]

I'm not real familiar with the S2000 ... Did you add that header pc. to the windshield to capture the hardtop line?

..... David

 

[belmateo]

David,
Yes, I bought a new windshield frame from the dealer and merged the two together. It was tedious and I am happy with the transition. The advantage you have with the Sunbeam is there is nothing behind the seats to interfere with any retractable top you can go with. Mine took quite a bit of time because Honda stuffs many things under the convertible top i.e. tall fuel tank, spare tire.
Guy

 

[belmateo]

The wiring for the deck cover that sits just behind the roof took a lot of figuring out how to wire it up. After much research and thinking, it turned out that I could use another roof switch (which only uses three pins). Even though it has five call outs, I wired two 5 pin relays together and to both motors. It is located just above the fuel pump access cover, diagram below. With that taken care of, been busy sorting out the console switch layout and at the same time decided to change out the boot color.