I am thinking about make a clubman convertible what are the types of tops and i should be looking for, are there motorized tops? manual tops? can the material be bought and molded to a custom frame? ideas?

 

Have you thought about the structural integrity of the car after you chop the top?

 

Yes, I was thinking maybe weld that piece from a convertible. i think it is thicker and designed for that. Also, the car will be used like on the weekends and medium range trips.

 

I used to design OEM convertibles professionally. It won't be an easy job if you want it to be anything like a normal car. If you're just looking to take a junker with a decent motor and hack the top off and live with rattles and leaks and mis-fitting parts, then maybe it won't be so bad.

If I were looking for a topstack (the name of the roof frame and cover together) to base everything off of, I'd start with an older VW Golf Convertible and modify it from there. Because of the third door and the barn doors in the rear, it will be a tricky thing if you DON'T fill some of those areas in with braces. At the very least, you'd want to continue the beltline around the back and make the barn doors into a flip up (or down) boot with the beltline being a solid continious frame.

Good luck if you decide to pursue this project. It sounds like it could be really fun! Post pics for us all to see your progress!