Bye bye roof!

I finally got around to cutting the roof off the car tonight, along with some help from my little brother in law (seen using the cutter). We used a plasma cutter to remove all the sheet metal that wasn't adding to the structure of the car. The "halo" remains around the perimeter and the car didn't seem to distort by removing the roof. The roll cage will tie in to the A and B pillars anyway, so I'm not too worried about the integrity of the structure for now. I'm tempted to go crusin' for chicks in my new convertible...Ha! Not sure if my wife would approve.

The carbon roof cap fits nicely and has about a 2" overlap all around. I think a little epoxy and silicone will bond it nicely to the car. Overall weight removed is approximately 41.6 lbs, including the sunroof panel and motor. The new carbon roof is about 3.8 lbs. It was a lot of work, but a nice project and it was a great way to teach myself some composite construction techniques. I ordered about 9 more yards of carbon to complete the hood and trunk. My neighbor suggested "why stop there? Re-body the whole thing!" We'll see...it might just happen if the winter is long enough!

The next few things on the are:

1. Move the battery from the trunk to the engine compartment (or passenger seat?) Replace with a lightweight Odyssey battery. Get rid of the extra 12' of 0 gauge battery cable.

2. Remove AC system.

3. Install short shifter once it gets here (thanks eBay).

4. Replace rear windows with Lexan